Leslie Hofton
English footballer (1888-1971)
Leslie Brown Hofton (3 March 1888 – January 1971) was an English footballer who played as a full-back for Manchester United in two spells in the 1910s. Born in Sheffield, Hofton began his career at Kiveton Park, before moving to Glossop via Worksop Town and Denaby United in April 1908.
In July 1910, Hofton became Manchester United's first £1,000 signing, beating the previous club record of £700, which was spent on Alex Bell in 1903. However, despite his record price tag, it took Hofton seven months to make his United debut, appearing for the first time away to Newcastle United on 18 February 1911. He then left the club on a free transfer in May 1913. The First World War broke out just over a year later, but one year after its conclusion, in September 1919, Hofton re-signed for Manchester United. He continued to play for the club for two-and-a-half more years, amassing a total of 18 appearances for the club, before being sold to Denaby United in February 1922.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Leslie Hofton” as english footballer (1888-1971). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as english footballer (1888-1971). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q6530891. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1888, 1971, 1908 and 1910.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Leslie Hofton” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.