Jimmy Armfield signed England Under-23 international Hankin from Burnley as one for the future in 1976, when the club had Joe Jordan and Allan Clarke as its senior strikeforce.  The £172,000 outlay looked like a massive gamble in that first season, when injury restricted Hankin to just four games. But Armfield reaped the dividends of his investment the season after when the big striker hit 20 league goals. His partnership with Jordan had the makings of something special before the Scot moved unexpectedly to Man United mid--season.  A New partnership with John Hawley saw Hankin playing the role of target man, but the Geordie never quite harnessed his aggression in the same way, and his overall play suffered from a new reputation as a hardman.

Strange but true: Playing non-league at the end of his career, Hankin worked in a psychiatric hospital near Middlesbrough.