I was sorry to hear the news of Paul Hince’s death. I met him a few times over the years and in 2002 did a small feature in the Manchester City match programme about him. The game was against another of his clubs, Charlton. Here is that small piece as written at the time with a few quotes from Paul:
16/11/2002 Charlton article
Maine Man – Paul Hince
Born: Manchester, 2nd March 1945
City debut: v West Bromwich Albion (h) 25/3/1967 (Scored twice in a 2-2 draw)
City Appearances: FL: 7 apps. 4 goals
FLC: 4 apps.
TOTAL: 11 apps. 4 goals.
Against Crewe we featured Stan Bowles and today our Maine Man is another player from the late sixties who is more familiar to City supporters for events off the pitch. Whereas Bowles was a frequent headline grabber, Paul Hince became a headline writer and is featured here because of his connections with both City and Charlton and because of his role as a City-loving journalist.
Hince would be the first to admit he is never likely to feature in a list of great players, nor is he to be regarded as a key member of City’s squad, however he did appear and score during City’s 1967-8 Championship season and has chronicled events at Maine Road for the Manchester Evening News while demonstrating his passionate support for the Blues.
When Hince made his debut in 1967 he had an immediate impact: “I scored two goals in a minute, but the ironic thing is that in between those goals I missed a much easier chance! Ralph Brand set me up beautifully. All I needed to do was chest it down but I decided to go for a spectacular header. I thought I’d make an impression… I did… I totally missed the ball!”
Despite the goals, Hince wasn’t retained in the side. It was the busy Easter period and Hince had already played in a number of important reserve matches causing manager Joe Mercer to rest him. The following season he returned to the first team for a run of six consecutive League games early in the season: “I was running on pure adrenaline when I played in those games and the 3-0 win at Coventry was by far my best performance. It’s certainly the one I’m most proud of, but in the match at Arsenal two weeks later I suddenly ran out of adrenaline. I was exhausted and seemed to be chasing the game. I was substituted of course. Francis Lee was signed shortly afterwards and I knew I had to move on.
“I went to Charlton and, although I didn’t play well, I was delighted with the way the fans treated me. The Charlton supporters were genuinely nice people and when my wife gave birth they bought us romper suits and other baby items. We really appreciated their support, but on the pitch I was trying too hard. Eddie Firmani – the manager – used to tell me to slow down. So did the other players – Graham Moore, Keith Peacock, and the rest. All good people, but I couldn’t correct it.
“Although I enjoyed the support and the players, I did miss Manchester, and when the chance came I moved to Bury. I was back into my journalism by this point – I worked on the South East London Mercury while at Charlton – and my writing career was what I focused on.”
Hince went on to become a highly respected journalist with the Manchester Evening News and spent a very enjoyable time covering the rise of Oldham Athletic before being asked to cover City: “I loved my time covering Oldham. The club had progressed a great deal while I was writing about them and I was delighted for them. Being a City fan – I used to walk to Maine Road from Gorton to get in for free at three-quarter time when I was a boy – meant that I was always destined to cover the Blues. City were a brilliant club to cover and I had a great relationship with Peter Reid and Brian Horton.”
Hince became the paper’s Chief Sportswriter around the time of Alan Ball’s departure but still focuses on the Blues whenever he can. He remains a loyal City fan and, although he jokes about his role in City’s history he deserves his place as a Maine Man.
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