'Hitchy is always with us' - the keeper who died after one-punch attack

Even now, much than 18 months on, it has inactive not afloat sunk in. I spot small Freddie increasing up and it hits maine truthful hard. Chris Hitchcock is talking about the nonaccomplishment of his lad James, a goalkeeper for non‑league Barton Town, who died after a azygous punch to the caput in an unprovoked attack. James, a fashionable team‑mate known as 'Hitchy' to friends and family, was killed in December 2024, shortly before he was about to walk his first Christmas as a father following the birth of Freddie six months earlier. His death devastated his family and left a tight‑knit football nine in mourning. "Until you commencement speaking astir it again... it astir doesn't consciousness real," says Anthony Bowsley, manager of Lincolnshire part‑timers Barton. The day before the attack, James had pulled off a good prevention in a 1‑1 draw with Bottesford Town in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division. "As helium was coming off, I said to him 'great prevention Nigel Martyn' because Hitchy was a Leeds instrumentality and helium had a small chuckle to himself," says Bowsley. It would be his past game. The following day, the former Leeds United academy player, 32, was struck from behind at York Railway Station on his way back from a night out with friends. He died in hospital. On Saturday, his widow, April, and son Freddie, now aged two, will be at Barton Town's FA Cup 3rd qualifying round home tie with Chorley – one of the biggest matches in the ninth‑tier club's history. April, who joined James in July 2022, says being around the football nine where he used to play brings comfort after the unimaginable loss of her husband. The pain of his loss runs deep. "It's truly bittersweet looking astatine where James used to stand in goal and saying 'where is he?'" April, 32, tells BBC Sport. "He should be stood there." Barton Town defender Jack Bulless recalls, "It was a numb feeling. You don't judge thing similar that could happen to one of your mates." Bulless, who also played with James at Bridlington Town, should have been part of the group travelling to York but withdrew due to illness. Andy Norfolk, a long‑time friend and teammate, did join James and their friends. "I retrieve the Manchester derby being on TV in the bars we visited," says Norfolk. "It was an yearly Christmas get‑together, a night out, nothing too heavy. We arrived back at the station to go home early." "I ended up getting a taxi back to Hull as the bid was not for another hour. I recall Hitchy saying he was going to get some food." It was the last time Norfolk saw his friend. Leeds Crown Court heard James suffered a skull fracture and brain damage when he fell to the ground after being punched on the left‑hand side of the back of his head. Recalling that day, April says: "I'd just put Freddie to bed when I got a call to say James had been hit, that he was unconscious, and was on his way to hospital." "At that point I thought he had concussion and I needed to pack a bag because he was only going to be in for a day or two." "When I got to the hospital they explained that he needed to be transferred to the intensive care unit at Hull Royal Infirmary. He was on a life‑support machine until he lost the battle." McKenzie Dicicco, who was 22 at the time, was jailed for six years and eight months in July 2025 after pleading guilty to manslaughter for what Justice Guy Kearl described as a "cowardly, deliberate and vicious assault on a man who had no chance to defend or protect himself." Speaking after the verdict, April described being "lost and alone as the love of my life was so selfishly taken from me." James' father, Chris, who used to take his son to Elland Road to watch David O'Leary's Leeds side in the late 90s, says his life has been changed forever because of "one senseless act." "I don't live any more – I exist," he says. "I try to be happy, I try to do things and I put on a brave face. But it will never be the same again for me." Since James' death, Chris has returned to officiating matches and served as an assistant referee for Barton's FA Cup tie with North Ferriby earlier this season. "When James left us I thought, 'right, what used to take my mind off things many years ago?' It was refereeing and that's what I went back to." "It's hard work at my age, but it does help when what's happened is constantly on your mind." April continues to keep James' memory alive. "He was just lovable," she says about the man she met through mutual friends 12 years ago. "He always had a grin on his face and had an infectious laugh. James lit up a room and he had so many friends who became part of our lives, part of our routine." "When something like this happens, connections truly form. We're truly fortunate because the football community and Barton Town haven't forgotten about James." "Everybody gets on with their lives and everybody moves on." "But for me the football community, especially Barton Town, have been like: 'let's do stuff, let's get you involved.'" "'They asked if it was okay if they put James' name on the back of their shirts." "Keeping his memory alive just speaks volumes. They were such a close group of friends." "Freddie and I are fortunate that we haven't lost that – and they haven't lost contact with us either." "I take Freddie with me to matches. I want to raise my little lad in a world where he knows about his dad