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Hopkinson was undoubtedly one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation and his service for Wanderers as a player, coach and matchday host spans over four decades. He joined the club in November 1952 having been an amateur with Lancashire rivals Oldham Athletic and although born in Durham he spent the majority of his life in the Lancashire area. He made a total of 578 appearances for the club between 1956 and 1969 which is a record to this day, and but for injury could have carried on playing for much longer. He was part of the Bolton side to acheive FA Cup success against Manchester United in 1958 when two goals from Nat Lofthouse gave Wanderers their last FA Cup win and also won a total of 14 caps for England in the late 1950's and played cricket at local levels.
He later coached at the club in the early 1970's before joining Stockport County as an assistant to former Wanderers boss Jimmy Meadows and from the 1990's had been a regular at the Reebok Stadium in his role as matchday host for the guests of the club.
"Hoppy" as he was known by all around Bolton will be sadly missed, he is rated as one of, if not the best goalkeeper ever to wear Bolton colours and his passing has come as a complete shock for anyone associated with the Trotters.
Tommy Banks, a teammate of Hopkinson during the great teams of the 1950's and 1960's expressed his sadness at the news and paid tribute to a man who must rank alongside Nat Lofthouse for his services to the club.
"He was the greatest goalkeeper in one-to-one situations I ever played with or against or have seen." Banks said
May we at BoltonMAD express our deepest sympathies to the family of Eddie at this sad time.
PROFILE OF GENTLEMAN EDDIE
NAME: Edward Hopkinson
BORN: County Durham, 29th October 1935
HONOURS: England 14 caps, England U23 caps, FA Cup 1958
FORMER CLUBS:
Oldham Athletic (Amateur), 3 apps, 0 goals
Bolton Wanderers, 519 apps, 0 goals