Ian Buxton facts for kids

Ian Ray Buxton (born April 17, 1938 – died October 1, 2010) was a talented English sportsman. He was famous for playing both football and cricket at a high level.

In football, he played as an inside forward. This position is like an attacking midfielder or a second striker. He played for Derby County for many years. Later, he had shorter times with Luton Town, Notts County, and Port Vale. He also played for a non-league team called Ilkeston Town.

Ian played over 215 league games in the English Football League. He helped Luton Town win the Fourth Division title in 1967–68. He also helped Port Vale get promoted from the Fourth Division in 1969–70.

Besides football, Ian was a great cricketer. He played for Derbyshire from 1959 to 1973. He even led the team as captain between 1970 and 1972.

Football Career Highlights

Ian Buxton started his football journey at Derby County. He joined the team in the Second Division. In his first season, 1959–60, Derby County finished 18th.

Playing for Derby County

Ian made his first appearance for Derby County under manager Harry Storer. He scored two goals in his very first game, helping his team win 3–1 against Ipswich Town. Ian was known for being good at keeping the ball and helping his teammates get involved in the game.

Over the next few years, Derby County's position in the league changed. They finished 12th in 1960–61 and 16th in 1961–62. Under a new manager, Tim Ward, they were 18th in 1962–63. They were just five points away from being relegated (moved down to a lower division).

Derby County improved, finishing 13th in 1963–64. They then had even better seasons, finishing ninth in 1964–65 and eighth in 1965–66. However, in 1966–67, they dropped to 17th place. The famous manager Brian Clough then took over. He preferred players who focused only on football, so Ian moved on.

Success with Luton Town

In September 1967, Ian joined Luton Town. The club paid £11,000 for him, which was a lot of money back then. He played a big part in helping Luton Town win the Fourth Division title in the 1967–68 season. He scored 13 goals in 36 games that year.

The next season, 1968–69, Luton Town finished third in the Third Division. They were very close to getting promoted again, just three points behind Swindon Town.

Later Football Teams

For the 1969–70 season, Ian moved to Notts County, another Fourth Division team. He only played five games for them. In December 1969, he joined Port Vale for three months.

He scored a goal in his first game for Port Vale, helping them win 1–0 against Oldham Athletic. Ian played regularly for Port Vale that season. He helped them get promoted from the Fourth Division. Port Vale paid £500 to sign him permanently. However, Ian decided to stop playing football at the end of that season to focus on his cricket career. He scored six goals in eighteen games for Port Vale.

He did come out of retirement briefly in July 1970 to play for Ilkeston Town.

Cricket Career Highlights

Ian Buxton's cricket career with Derbyshire began in 1959. He first played for the Second XI team. Later that same season, he made his main team debut against Yorkshire. In that match, he took three wickets.

During that season, he also achieved his first "five-wicket haul." This means he took five wickets in a single innings. Derbyshire finished in a good seventh place in the championship that year.

In 1961, Ian really caught the eye of the cricket selectors. He took two "ten-wicket hauls" that year. A ten-wicket haul means taking ten wickets in a whole match. One of these was against Warwickshire, where he took 10 wickets for 104 runs.

Ian became a regular player for Derbyshire for the next four seasons. He took another ten-wicket haul against Worcestershire in June 1968.

Ian was the captain of Derbyshire from 1970 to 1972. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. He was known as an "all-rounder" because he was good at both batting and bowling. His bowling skills helped him secure a spot on the first team. He played in 350 first-class matches for Derbyshire before he retired in 1973.

Later Life and Passing

About 20 years after he stopped playing cricket, Ian Buxton made a comeback. He served on the committee for Derbyshire County Cricket Club for several years in the 1990s.

Ian was married to Doreen. They had two children and five grandchildren. He passed away at his home in Matlock on October 1, 2010, at the age of 72.

Honours and Achievements

Ian Buxton achieved success with two of his football clubs:

Luton Town

• Football League Fourth Division champions: 1967–68

Port Vale

• Football League Fourth Division promotion (fourth place): 1969–70