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Date and Place of Birth 17th December 1950 - Warrington
Transfers to and from Burnley youth from September 1967 to Wolverhampton Wanderers - July 1972 (£100,000) from Wolverhampton Wanderers - November 1977 (£80,000) to Huddersfield Town - December 1979
First and Last Burnley Games West Ham United (a) - 26th August 1968
Orient (h) - 3rd November 1979
Other Clubs ---------------------------------------- Wolverhampton Wanderers, Huddersfield Town |
Burnley Career Stats
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Others | Total | |||||
| apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | |
| 1968/69 | 16 | 4 | 0(1) | - | 5 | 1 | - | - | 21(1) | 5 |
| 1969/70 | 42 | 17 | 3 | - | 5 | 1 | - | - | 50 | 18 |
| 1970/71 | 29 | 3 | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 31 | 4 |
| 1971/72 | 15(7) | 4 | 1 | - | 0(1) | - | - | - | 16(8) | 4 |
| 1977/78 | 27 | 12 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 29 | 13 |
| 1978/79 | 37(1) | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | 9 | 6 | 52(1) | 10 |
| 1979/80 | 9(2) | 3 | - | - | 1(1) | - | 3 | 1 | 13(3) | 4 |
| Total | 175(10) | 46 | 10(1) | 2 | 14(2) | 2 | 13 | 8 | 212(13) | 58 |
Profile by Tony Scholes
The first time I saw Steve Kindon play was during the FA Youth Cup winning season of 1967/68. He wasn't in the side that beat Yorkshire Amateurs at the start of the run but came in during one of the next two rounds when we defeated the two Manchester clubs.
The 16-year-old Warrington born Kindon had joined the club as an apprentice but had not long been playing football. He was a rugby wing three-quarter, was a big lad and was blessed with incredible pace.
Such was his impact that when he reached his 17th in December 1967 he was rewarded with his first professional contract. Along with Dave Thomas he was one of the stars of that youth cup win and he was soon to follow Thomas into the first team.
That debut came on an inglorious Monday night for Burnley early in the next season. We took a 5-0 hammering at West Ham and for Kindon it was back to reserve team football, although not for long.
That game had been played in August and on the first Saturday in October we suffered a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Turf Moor. Poor form and injuries forced manager Harry Potts into changes for the next game three days later, again against West Ham but this time at home.
Kindon was one of the players who came in and he scored our second goal in a 3-1 win that started an amazing run of eight consecutive wins, five in the League and three in the League Cup. He scored one more goal during that run and it came in the sensational 5-1 win over Champions elect Leeds United.
He played around a third of the games that season but in 1969/70 he was an ever present and despite playing all his games on the wing was the leading goalscorer with seventeen league goals.
He'd previously played for England at youth level and there were strong suggestions he was close to an under-23 call up. Unfortunately that never came despite his excellent form.
He was mainly first choice during the next season that saw the Clarets relegated and down in the second division he eventually lost his place to the emerging Leighton James. That prompted a move and in the summer of 1972 he signed for Wolves in a £100,000 transfer.
Kindon took a while to settle at Molineux where he eventually established himself and played more as a central striker than as a winger. He certainly turned in a top performance against us at the Turf in the 1975/76 season. Wolves won the game 5-1 but at the end of that season both clubs were relegated.
Wolves went straight back up with Kindon playing a big part but in November of the following (1977/78 season) he made a surprise return to Turf Moor when Harry Potts, now back as manager, paid £80,000 for him.
We were in a real mess at the bottom of the second division. We were not just bottom but already points adrift of every other club with our only win having come against Bristol Rovers at home in October.
Potts made two signings ahead of a home game against Notts County. Alongside Kindon came former Liverpool midfielder Brian Hall from Plymouth and both made their debuts as our fortunes started to change.
Kindon scored in a 3-1 win. In December he scored the winning goals in successive games against Luton (away) and Charlton (home) then repeated the feat in a 1-0 home win against Stoke in January.
Even so, into March and we were still in trouble until he and Terry Cochrane inspired as superb run of form that saw us win five successive games and eventually pull well clear of the bottom.
In the next season, his last full season at Burnley, he turned in more top performances, particularly in the Anglo-Scottish Cup. He still takes credit for starting the crowd problems at the Celtic game, simply by scoring, and he netted in the second leg too.
It was Kindon, in devastating form on the ice at Boundary Park, that saw us through to a big 4-1 first leg lead in the final, enough to win us the trophy.
The 1979/80 season another downturn in Burnley's fortunes and those of Steve Kindon. He played in nine of the first fourteen games, none of which were won, and there we were bottom of the league again.
This time he wasn't the player to rescue things. A home defeat at the beginning of November proved to be his last game in Burnley colours and in the last month of 1979 he signed for Huddersfield Town, then in the fourth division.
Just as I saw his first Burnley game, I also saw his last which was in a reserve game at home. We knew he was leaving and that it would be his last game. There was huge disappointment seeing him go again. His second spell had been just as good as his first.
He helped Huddersfield win one promotion and then come close to a second the year after, but his career was soon to end prematurely because of a knee injury. He remained at Huddersfield for a few years on the commercial side before leaving the game.
Since, he's enjoyed life as an after dinner speaker, and an excellent one at that. He makes fun of himself, and tells some fantastic stories of his time at Burnley Football Club.
Steve Kindon wasn't the most skilful player ever to pull on a claret and blue shirt, but without any doubt he was effective and a very exciting player to watch.
He was nicknamed Skippy by the Burnley fans, named after the Australian television kangaroo. It was also once said of him that he had the strength of a work horse, the speed of a race horse and the brains of a rocking horse.
Make no mistake he certainly had the first two, but Steve Kindon was also a good football who spent virtually the whole of his career in the top two divisions of English football. He frightened defenders to death with his pace coupled with his power.
How quick was he? I recall one game against Manchester United when he'd come back into the left back position to help the defence. He got the ball and got rid of it by playing it down the left wing, at least fifty yards. He was the first player to get to it.
Without doubt the quickest player I've seen at Burnley.