Jamie Redknapp Was Terrified of 'Lunatic' Who Has Been Dubbed 'Hardest Man in Football'

"I’d heard so much about him," says Jamie Redknapp, three decades on. "They were losing and he was like a kettle, boiling, boiling, lid rocking on the top. I was thinking, ‘This guy’s mad,’ but I was also fascinated."

Redknapp is recalling the afternoon of January 13, 1990, when he was handed his Bournemouth debut by dad, Harry, in a second division game against Hull City.

Looking back, it was a momentous day for the Redknapp family but at the time, a 16-year-old Jamie was genuinely terrified by the prospect of coming up against one of football's most notorious hardmen.

Billy Whitehurst, who scored 99 goals in 454 games across a career featuring spells at Hull, Newcastle and Sheffield United, was renowned for his no-nonsense, tough-tackling nature.

"He was a proper animal," Redknapp tells The Times. "Then Dad throws me on. My first touch of the ball, I can hear him, he’s making these growling noises like he’s coming after me. So, quick, I pass it out to our left back, Paul Morrell, but I’ve left it a bit short and Billy’s carried on and caught him with an absolute beauty."

Whitehurst was Newcastle's record signing in 1985. He joined the club from Hull City for £232,000. Image credit: Getty

"Paul’s eventually come down, he’s angry, he wants to have a fight, then sees it’s Billy and s*** himself. We all did," Redknapp added. "My first game, and the first thing I did was start a 20-man brawl."

At the time, Whitehurst was one of the most feared footballers in England.

In fact, such was his reputation, former Liverpool centre-back Alan Hansen says he was scared by the prospect of facing the Rotherham-born forward. "He frightened every centre-half, and I do mean frightened," he added.

Harry Redknapp went on to recall another story about Whitehurst, when he left three players on the floor.

"Whitehurst was something else," he told The Times. "We went to Hull one night, played them in the final of the Associate Members’ Cup [in 1984]. It should have been at Wembley but the Horse of the Year Show had torn the pitch up, so we lost the toss and had to go to their place.

"In five minutes, Whitehurst had three players on the floor, all lying there at different angles like skittles. He’s come in and just smashed them, elbowed one, nutted the next one. There weren’t enough physios to treat them all."

Whitehurst was as tough as they come. Image credit: Getty

A host of former footballers have described Whitehurst as football's hardest player, including former Newcastle defender John Anderson, who played with the striker during the 1985-86 campaign.

"He would fight anybody and run through anybody," Anderson told the BBC. "He is top of my list and I don't think anybody comes close. I had the misfortune of playing against him and I just kept standing off him."