Barton Town keep James Hitchcock’s memory alive ahead of landmark FA Cup tie
‘He is always with us’
As Barton Town prepare for one of the biggest matches in the club’s history, James Hitchcock will be present in the way the non-league side remembers him: in the shirt tribute stitched in his honour, in stories shared among team-mates, and in the family he left behind.
Hitchcock, known to friends as “Hitchy”, was Barton’s goalkeeper. His widow, April, and their son, Freddie, are expected at the club’s FA Cup third qualifying-round home tie with Chorley. For April, returning to the ground where her husband played is both comforting and painful.
“It’s really sad looking at where James used to stand in goal and saying ‘where is he?’” she told BBC Sport. “He should be stood there.”
Hitchcock died in December 2024 after he was punched from behind at York railway station while returning from a day out with friends. He was 32 and had become a father only months earlier. He was taken to hospital with a fractured skull and brain damage, but died after being placed on life support.
His father, Chris, described the continuing grief of seeing Freddie grow up without his son. “Even now, more than 18 months on, it has still not fully sunk in. I see little Freddie growing up and it hits me so hard.” He added: “I don’t live any more – I exist.”
A club united in remembrance
Barton manager Anthony Bowsley recalled Hitchcock’s last match, a 1-1 draw with Bottesford Town in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division. Hitchcock had made an important save, prompting Bowsley to call out “great save Nigel Martyn” as the Leeds supporter came off the pitch. It was a moment of humour that would become their final exchange.
“Until you start speaking about it again… it almost doesn’t feel real,” Bowsley said. Barton shirts now carry “Hitchy #1” on the back, and a plaque in his memory stands at the entrance to the players’ tunnel. The club and Hitchcock’s former side Bridlington Town also meet each year for the James Hitchcock Memorial Trophy, raising money for the Victim Support National Homicide Service.
Defender Jack Bulless, who had played alongside Hitchcock at both clubs, remembered him as a team-mate who could always make people laugh. Friends recall his distinctive, infectious laugh and his habit of bringing sweets into the dressing room, sometimes rustling the bag during a team talk.
“He is always with us,” Bowsley said of the tribute on Barton’s shirts. Andy Norfolk, a close friend and former team-mate, said he takes a moment with the shirt before each game: “I look at the back of the shirt and have my 10 seconds with Hitchy before I put it on.”
Football remains a place to remember
Hitchcock had been part of the Leeds United academy before playing for clubs in the Hull area, including Bridlington Town and Barton. Chris, who once stopped refereeing so he could travel to watch his son play, has since returned to officiating. He said it helps to have football as a focus while coping with the loss.
April said the football community and Barton Town had continued to include her and Freddie. “Keeping his memory alive just speaks volumes,” she said. “Freddie and I are fortunate that we haven’t lost that – and they’ve not lost touch with us either.”
Mckenzie Dicicco was jailed for six years and eight months in July 2025 after pleading guilty to manslaughter. At sentencing, the judge described the attack as “cowardly, deliberate and vicious”.