Fan column: A tribute to Wolves winger Terry Wharton

Bolton-born Terry Wharton made 242 appearances for Wolves between 1959 and 1968 scoring 79 goals from the right-wing as well as providing numerous assists with the power and accuracy of his delivery into opposition territory. 

He made a scoring debut at Ipswich as a teenager and added  another 10 goals that season in 25 appearances as a faltering Wolves strove to avoid relegation. 

He was an effective conventional winger but an accomplished finisher benefitting from being a magnificent striker of a ball from either close or long range. He was acknowledged as one of the finest and most reliable penalty exponents ever to have undertaken the responsibility at the club. 

His nerveless conversion of two early spot-kicks in a fifth round FA Cup tie against Manchester United in 1966 at a packed Molineux still talked about to this day. 

He had fine ball control, good balance and an astute footballing brain that saw him forge two outstanding wing-partnerships at Molineux first with Alan Hinton and latterly with Dave Wagstaffe. The two left-sided players won more plaudits in their careers than Wharton, but his contribution was no less significant. 

After Wolves dropped into the Second Division in 1965, Wharton played a vital role in returning the club to the top flight in 1967. He scored 23 goals during that successful campaign including a Molineux hat-trick against Cardiff City. 

It came as a genuine surprise that Wharton was allowed to leave the club after operating in his usual position for the first three months of the new campaign. With Wolves struggling to reassert themselves his experience and eye for goal appeared indispensable and his replacements did not prove as effective as Wharton himself. 

He joined his home-town club Bolton after signing off with his final Wolves’ goal against Newcastle in October 1967. He later played for Crystal Palace and Walsall and briefly appeared in South Africa representing Durban City. 

He retired from the game in 1974 with a total of 98 goals in 347 League games.

He never lost his affection for Wolves, attending numerous social functions and as recently as September he played nine holes in the former player’s golf day at Oxley. 

In November, he and his wife were guests at the Wolves’ museum where his career was deservedly celebrated. He happily reminisced about his time at Molineux under managers Stan Cullis and Ronnie Allen. 

He proudly wore his former player’s tie that evening and he will be remembered with respect and affection amongst a generation of Wolves’ fans. 

It was a pleasure to know him and to see him perform so skilfully at Molineux. A true Wolves’ man.