'Hardest footballer' branded 'evil' threw best punch Vinnie Jones ever saw in pub fight

dailystar.co.uk:

READ MORE: Gazza's pal drove 7 hours to get mug as he couldn't sleep knowing it 'lost its mates'However, there was one battering ram centre forward who, according to opponents, made his fellow tough guys look like pussycats with his violent, menacing and bloody antics.

Billy Whitehurst was football's hard man amongst hard men.The 'specialist' role of the tough-tackling, elbow-throwing, even eye-gouging nutcase has given way to technically-polished, luxury ball players across the park in the modern game.You could even argue the genuine football hard man is in danger of becoming a relic, confined to history.But Whitehurst still haunts the minds of those he tortured, both on and off the pitch.Here, Daily Star Sport has taken an in-depth look at his career.Jones, now a Hollywood movie star, was once asked what it was like being the hardest man in football, but the one-time leader of Wimbledon's notorious Crazy Gang pointed to Whitehurst, saying: "You better ask him!"Arsenal legend Martin Keown also recalled: "Playing against Whitehurst was as tough as it gets, and it stood me in good stead for the future - facing forwards like John Fashanu was easy by comparison."However, Whitehurst isn't fondly remembered by everyone he came up against.

Alan Shearer, on Match of the Day, asked Gary Lineker: "Remember Billy Whitehurst?" And the presenter quickly responded: "Crikey, Billy Whitehurst was evil!

But that was way back."Do you remember Billy Whitehurst? Let us know in the comments sectionBorn in Thurnscoe, a village just south of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, Whitehurst's introduction to football didn't involve any academy.