Gordon Hobson, chiefly remembered in football for his time at Lincoln City, arrived at Exeter City in 1990 from his second spell with Lincoln having also represented Grimsby and Southampton. Playing around forty league matches for the Grecians towards the end of his 450-match Football League career, Gordon later appeared in a handful of games for Walsall before settling in the Southampton area.  

Having only played grassroots football in Sheffield, Gordon was twenty when he joined Lincoln City in December 1977. Scoring on his debut against Cambridge United, Gordon made an immediate impact at Sincil Bank where, in two spells, he was to feature in 333 league games and score 96 goals as well as finishing as top scorer on five occasions. 

Gordon’s first spell with the club was the longer and consisted of 272 league games (73 goals) before his £35,000 move to Grimsby Town in June 1985. Netting 18 goals in 52 league outings for the Mariners he then moved to Southampton in November 1986 where he added a further 8 goals in 33 league starts ahead of his return to Lincoln in September 1988.

After notching a further 23 goals from 61 league appearances Gordon, then aged thirty-two, signed for Exeter City in August 1990 as a key capture following the club’s promotion. With a tribunal fixing the transfer fee at £20,000, and Gordon being allowed to commute twice a week from his Southampton home, he made a goalscoring debut against Reading in the opening fixture on 25 August 1990. 

Scoring seven times in 1990/91, Gordon accumulated a total of 38 league appearances for the Grecians before publicly expressing his disappointment that Steve Neville did not get the manager’s job at Exeter City after Terry Cooper had left. With Alan Ball now on the scene, Gordon’s contract was cancelled in September 1991 and he joined Salisbury City before playing three final games in the Football League for Walsall and later appearing for Farnborough Town. 

Settling in the Southampton area, Gordon became a director of a yacht charter business as well as later having an interest in a storage company.