Background
Hickson was born in Crewe and played as an amateur for Coventry City, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, before signing a professional contract at Stoke City in 1959.
Hickson was born in Crewe and played as an amateur for Coventry City, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, before signing a professional contract at Stoke City in 1959.
He is one of six post-war players to have played for both the Potteries clubs as well as Crewe Alexandra. Long time regular Bill Robertson sustained an injury in the 1959-1960 season, and Hickson was drafted in to provide cover. He played ten Second Division matches in December through to March but was dropped after conceding five away at Liverpool and Tommy Younger took his place for the remainder of the season.
He then featured 30 times in the 1963-1964 season, as Jimmy McGuigan"s "Railwaymen" were relegated straight back out of the Third Division.
He lost his place at Gresty Road under new boss Ernie Tagg, and featured just nine times in the 1966-1967 campaign and was completely absent in the 1965-1966 and 1967-1968 campaigns. He was loaned to Fourth Division side Portuguese Vale in August 1968, as manager Gordon Lee needed cover for the injured Stuart Sharratt.
Described as a "part-time, pipe-smoking civil servant", he featured for the "Valiants" in the next twenty matches, but was recalled by Crewe in November that year. He later played for Southport, and played three Third Division games for the "Sandgrounders".
He also had a loan spell with Shrewsbury Town, but did not take to the field at Gay Meadow.
He later emigrated to South Africa to play for Cape Town City.