Background
Houghton was born in Madras to an Anglo-Indian family who emigrated to England in 1947 when India gained independence from British rule.
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Bud Houghton
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He played as a centre forward. He joined Bradford Park Avenue as an amateur in 1954, and turned professional the following year. In 1957 First Division club Birmingham City paid £5,250 for his services, but he rarely appeared.
A burly man, his bustling style did not answer Birmingham"s need for a more mobile centre forward.
A year later he moved on to Southend United, where he had more playing time. In two-and-a-half years he played 73 games in all competitions and scored 33 goals, and was leading scorer in the 1958-1959 season with 20 goals.
Arthur Turner, who had signed Houghton for Birmingham and was then managing Oxford United, paid £2,000 for his services in March 1961. Houghton was unable to maintain that rate of scoring in the Football League, though he finished leading scorer for the second consecutive season, with 16 league goals, and scored in Oxford"s first ever game in the Football League, on the opening day of the 1962-1963 season against Barrow.
In October 1963, Houghton joined fellow Fourth Division side Lincoln City for a fee of £6,000.
He was made captain, but after a poor start to the 1964-1965 season, Lincoln"s directors took over team selection duties from manager Bill Anderson and relieved Houghton of the captaincy in favour of Brian Jackson. He scored 25 goals in 61 games in all competitions during an 18-month stay, and then returned to the Southern League with successively Chelmsford City, Cambridge United, Wellington Town and Cheltenham Town. He died in 1994. with Oxford United.
