Howard Riley: 1938-2026

It was with great sadness that we received the news that one of Leicester City’s all-time great players, Howard Riley, died on 8 January, 2026 aged 87, five months after his wife Renée passed away last August.

2026-01-10T14:25+00:00

by Admin

Published

10 Jan, 2026

Howard Riley: 1938-2026

It was with great sadness that we received the news that one of Leicester City’s all-time great players, Howard Riley, died on 8 January, 2026 aged 87, five months after his wife Renée passed away last August.

Admin

2026-01-10T14:25+00:00

Howard Riley: 1938-2026

It was with great sadness that we received the news that one of Leicester City’s all-time great players, Howard Riley, died on 8 January, 2026 aged 87, five months after his wife Renée passed away last August.

Admin

2026-01-10T14:25+00:00

Howard Riley: 1938-2026

It was with great sadness that we received the news that one of Leicester City’s all-time great players, Howard Riley, died on 8 January, 2026 aged 87, five months after his wife Renée passed away last August.

Admin

2026-01-10T14:25+00:00

Howard Riley: 1938-2026

It was with great sadness that we received the news that one of Leicester City’s all-time great players, Howard Riley, died on 8 January, 2026 aged 87, five months after his wife Renée passed away last August.

Admin

2026-01-10T14:25+00:00

England Youth and Under-23s international Howard was a speedy outside-right with a powerful shot who played in two FA Cup Finals and won the League Cup while at Filbert Street.

He was born in Wigston. His father and grandfather both played first-class cricket for Leicestershire and his brothers were also on City’s books.

Capped at England Youth level three times in 1954/55, Howard made his First Team debut against Nottingham Forest in the old First Division in August 1955, four days after his 17th birthday.

Between 1957 and 1959, he did his National Service with the Royal Leicestershire Regiment.

He represented the British Army in matches against the French Army, the Royal Navy, the Irish FA, the Belgium Army and the RAF.

He also was able to play, when available, for Leicester City while in the Army. A highlight in this period was scoring a penalty in an 8-4 victory over Manchester City, the only occasion that the legendary goalkeeper Bert Trautmann conceded eight goals.

Howard’s England Under-23s debut was against Wales at Wrexham in 1958. His team-mates that day included Jimmy Greaves, Johnny Haynes and Brian Clough.

Demobbed in August 1959, Howard, renowned for his speed and powerful shot, was initially in competition with Tommy McDonald for the No.7 shirt but he soon made the position his own.

In 1960/61, when the team finished sixth in the top flight, Howard starred in the FA Cup Final when Leicester unluckily lost to league champions Tottenham Hotspur.

The following season, he played in all four of Leicester City’s games in the European Cup Winners’ Cup and, in 1962/63, he was a key member of the famous ‘Ice Kings’ side which were a realistic contender for the league and FA Cup double.

A personal highlight was providing each of the crosses for Ken Keyworth’s six-minute hat-trick against Manchester United in April 1963, which took the team to the top of the table with only five games to go before the end of the season. He also played in the 1963 FA Cup Final side defeated by Manchester United.

That summer, aged only 25, Howard went part-time to train as a teacher in Saltley near Walsall, but he kept his place in the side and scored in the 1964 League Cup Final victory over Stoke City.

He signed for Walsall in December 1965 and, in 1967, he was recruited by Phil Woosnam to join Atlanta Chiefs in the USA National Professional Soccer League before returning to the UK in 1968.

He finished his Football League career in the 1968/69 season at Barrow, managed by his old Leicester City captain Colin Appleton.

In July 1969, Howard returned to Leicester and took up a teaching post at Westcotes School, where he taught PE and History, before moving to King Richard III School, which later amalgamated with Fullhurst College. There, he taught PE and gymnastics for 20 years as well as starting a cricket team and running the football teams.

While in his first year at Westcotes, Howard played for Rugby Town and then spent two years at the Burton Albion (then in the Southern League), managed by his ex-Leicester team-mate Richie Norman.

Howard’s next football move was in 1974 when he became player-manager at Ibstock Penistone Rovers for two years.

Every summer, Howard played cricket and, during the 1974 close season, he joined Midland Athletic Football Club, which became Wigston Town after it merged with Wigston Council Old Boys.

After his time at Wigston Town, Howard also played for the Leicester City All-Stars charity team. Howard retired from teaching in 1995 but, in 1999, he became Leicester City’s Academy Education & Welfare Officer until 2005. He then spent two years at South Wigston High School working in the Special Needs Department.

Howard’s last public appearance for the Club was at the Remembrance Fixture against West Bromwich Albion in 2016 when he delivered the ball to the centre spot before kick-off. He was also an attender at King Power Stadium for Leicester City’s home matches.

The thoughts of everyone at Leicester City Football Club are with the family and friends of Howard at this very sad time. He will live long in the memory of all those who had the privilege of playing with him, watching him play or working with him in his long and distinguished career in football and in education.

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