Chris Balderstone made 376 appearances and scored 68 goals for Carlisle United in a Brunton Park career that spanned a little over ten years. In that time he became one of the most liked and respected men the club has had the pleasure to employ. Probably his proudest moment came when he played in the team that first won promotion to, and then played in, the First Division. A genuine Carlisle United legend, even the youngsters know his name. Only Allan Ross has made more appearances than Chris, both men proving to be committed and outstanding servants to the club. Balderstone had the added notoriety of being one of the dying breed of sportsmen who made their living during the winter playing football and, during the summer, playing cricket.

Chris Balderstone was born in Huddersfield on 16th November 1940 and grew up intensely proud of Yorkshire and it's sporting connections. He represented Huddersfield boys at all levels of youth football and was an integral part of the Yorkshire schoolboys cricket academy that proved so successful in breeding a string of cricketing greats. It was in 1957 that the Huddersfield manager, Bill Shankly, cemented his long standing interest in the young Balderstone and offered him a contract as a full time professional. Chris agreed and took his place with 'The Terriers.' A player by the name of Dennis Law was also at Huddersfield at the time, and was largely responsible for keeping the incredibly keen and ambitious young Balderstone confined to reserve team football. Finally, in March 1960, Law moved on and Balderstone made his debut in League football against Cardiff City. In keeping with the style of the man he managed to score on his debut and became an immediate hit. The fans had wondered how a rising star of the likes of 'The Lawman' could be replaced and in Balderstone they got their answer. Just a fortnight after his debut he travelled to Anfield to play the mighty Liverpool. Bill Shankly was the manager of The Reds by now, and he was genuinely delighted to see the player he had discovered and nurtured score against his side. Chris went on to make over 110 appearances for Huddersfield, over a four year spell at his home town club.

It was during a reserve team clash between Huddersfield and Carlisle United in the latter stages of the 64/65 season that Alan Ashman watched Balderstone decimate the United midfield. Carlisle were well on their way to the Division Three Championship and Ashman knew he would have to strengthen the team for the following season's difficult campaign. Carlisle offered £7000 in June 1965 and Huddersfield accepted.

Balderstone made his debut for The Cumbrians on 21st August 1965. It was United's first ever game in Division Two, against Norwich City at home, and yes, you guessed it, he scored one of the goals in a 4-1 win. In fact, it was the first goal of the season and it came after only two minutes. Carlisle largely struggled that year, finishing 14th, with Balderstone the teams top scorer on 14 goals. In the seasons that followed Chris became one of the most popular players we've seen. He could pass with either foot, had incredible balance and seemed able to read the game seconds fatser than those around him. The one criticism always raised was his perceived lack of pace. However, anyone who watched him knew that this was irrelevant. His speed of thought and natural ability to hold and pass the ball accurately more than compensated for the fact that he was definitely not the fastest of players.

He was an important part of the team that went all the way to the League Cup semi-final in 1969, the team that took part in the famously successful European campaign of 1972, and the team that took this proud little club to the highest Division in 1974. That season, playing in the countries highest League for his adopted city in a team he had grown to love, was one of his proudest periods in football. It was also his farewell to Carlisle. As his time drew to a close he found himself playing more and more in the role of sweeper and adapted to the role perfectly. However, at the age of 33, with the club having been relegated, he felt that he could best serve the team by moving on and allowing a new breed to attempt to take Carlisle back to Division One. He moved to Fourth Division Doncaster Rovers in June 1975, where he spent a year in their midfield. His intentions to retire were put on hold when in the August of 1976 he signed for Queen of the South. He left them at the end of 1977 to play non-League football for Enderby Town in Leicestershire where, at the age of 38, he finally hung up his boots.

As mentioned earlier, Balderstone spent the summer months playing cricket. He was extremely proud to make his debut for Yorkshire CCC in the summer of 1961, though he never made enough first class appearances to win the coveted Yorkshire cap. Competition at Yorkshire was fierce and, in 1971, he found it impossible to turn down the offer from Leicestershire of more first team appearances and he made the switch, though it hurt deeply to have to leave the Tykes. It was at Leicestershire that his cricket career took off. He won the man of the match award when his team destroyed Yorkshire in the Benson and Hedges Cup Final of 1972, and he was awarded the Leicestershire County cap the following year, in 1973. In 1976 he finally earned the test squad call up that his play had deserved. He faced the West Indies in the first test, scoring 35 runs and 4 runs in his two innings, but suffered the ultimate pain when being bowled out for 0 in both innings of his second test appearance. He returned to County cricket where he scored over 19000 runs and took 300 wickets, but was largely forgotten when the test squad was being picked.

Probably the most talked about sporting moment from Balderstone's life was on the 15th September 1975. He ended the day 51 not out against Derbyshire, got changed in the dressing room, and was rushed full speed to the Belle Vue Ground Doncaster where he played against Brentford that very same night. He returned to complete his century the next day and also took three wickets. No-one had ever played First Class cricket and League football on the same day before, and no-one ever will again. He retired from the playing side of cricket in 1986 and immediately qualified as an umpire, where he again made history. He became the first ever third umpire to be used in a test match.

Chris settled in Leicestershire, but returned to Cumbria in early 1999. He was often seen at Brunton Park, watching those who now played on the turf he had made his own. A genuine sporting giant, it was with great sadness that news of his death was received in March 2000. The likes of Chris Balderstone are few and far between and it is with some amount of pride that we can look back and say 'he was one of ours.'