Bob Hatton made 111 appearances and scored 47 goals for United between July 1969 and October 1971, taking on the mantle of goal scorer expertly in the wake of the departure of Brunton Park favourite Hugh McIlmoyle. He quickly established himself as a crowd pleaser and, in his second season especially, became a crowd favourite.

Bob was born on the 10th April 1947 in Hull but, somehow, was missed by the local scouting network. It was Wolverhampton Wanderers who recognised his potential and invited him across to the Midlands for a trial period. His stay at Molineux was short as Bolton stepped in with a definite contract offer, and Hatton realised that the chance of security was not one to be missed. From Bolton he moved to Northampton Town, but never really settled in a struggling team. The inevitable drop to Division Four in the 1968/69 season could not be avoided and many of the squad were tempted by better offers. Bob Hatton was one of them.

Carlisle United were a steady, mid-table outfit back in 1969 and manager Bob Stokoe was always on the look-out for a sharp deal that could help to take the club onwards and upwards. He offered Northampton Town a reported £8,000 for Hatton early in July (though this figure may well have been higher) and was amazed when they accepted. Hatton was well known for his hard work and finishing prowess in front of goal and could easily have commanded a higher fee. Stokoe wasn't about to argue though, and signed Hatton on a two year deal.

Bob Hatton began his Carlisle career playing alongside McIlmoyle but was soon thrown in at the deep end when the popular Scot moved on to bigger and better things with Middlesborough. To be fair, Hatton was actually already ahead of Hughie in the scoring charts when the tall striker left and it robbed the fans of what would probably have been a fascinating tussle to claim top goalscorer at the end of the season. Bob wore the number 9 shirt for most of his first season with us and took only a short while to bed in. His first two goals came against Hull in a 2-1 win on 6 September 1969 and he went on to make 50 appearances, scoring 14 goals along the way. He played a huge part in United's successful League Cup run that was cruelly ended in the second leg of the semi-final at the Hawthorns and he netted consistently throughout the season to go on to finish as the club's top scorer.

1970/71 was a very good year for Bob Hatton. It was in this season that his name began to be mentioned in the same breath as some of the Carlisle scoring greats of days gone by. 46 appearances brought 24 goals, which included some fine performances. Two of his most memorable games, from a season littered with excellent performances, both occurred at Brunton Park. Oxford were the visitors for the 3rd round of the League Cup in October 1970 and they found Hatton in blistering form. Two fine strikes before half time were eclipsed by a bullet header just after the break, and man of the match Bob Hatton walked away with the match ball to commemorate a quality hat-trick in a convincing 3-1 win. Even better was to come in December when Portsmouth came North, for a game that is still talked about now. It was 4 - 0 by half time and 6 - 0 at full time, and Bob Hatton had helped himself to four of the goals. Thing is, with a bit more luck, he could even have had more. This game ensured that he had 'arrived' as far as United fans were concerned, and he went on to build up an excellent relationship with the Brunton Park faithful.

Bob signed a new contract in the summer of 1971 much to the delight of everyone concerned with the club. What no-one had realised though was that it had a release clause. After just 15 games of the 1971/72 season the shock news filtered out that Bob Hatton was moving to Birmingham for a club record fee of £80,000. He scored 9 more goals for United before his move and, fittingly, notched a goal in the 2 - 0 away win in his last ever game for the club at Luton on 23rd October 1971.

He went on to shine brightly for Birmingham, sharing in and contributing to their success, for nearly five full years, before moving to Blackpool in 1976 for £60,000. This was followed by a move to Luton in the summer of 1978, where he spent two good years, then a further two years with Sheffield United. He finished his career off with a very short spell in Cardiff before he finally retired from the playing side of life in 1983, aged 36. He has worked closely with the PFA ever since, and has settled in the Midlands.

Bob Hatton had a scoring ratio of just under 2 goals per game throughout his time here and was an important part of all of Carlisle's forward play. Strong and athletic, he could be relied upon to create scoring opportunities if he wasn't putting them away himself. A very fine player indeed, he certainly ranks up there amongst the best strikers this club has had the pleasure to employ. Was he the best ever? That's your choice.