Both his sporting career and his professional life were interrupted by the imminent outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, and in his official capacity as Lord Mayor's secretary he was asked to help start the Humber Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in readiness for hostilities.
However, after the war began, he was transferred to HMS Newcastle,[4] based at Scapa Flow and saw service on the "Northern Patrol", which protected convoys of Allied ships from German vessels sent to attack.
[1] Whilst in Australia, he resumed his sporting career, captaining the Royal Navy football side in organised matches for a single season.
Following his return to Britain, Hardaker fulfilled the temporary position of clerk to the Education Committee back at Hull Guildhall, due to his previous job being already occupied.
When he was refused permission to resume his post as Lord Mayor's secretary in Hull, he applied for an identical appointment in Portsmouth and was successful at interview.
[1] In 1951, Portsmouth manager Bob Jackson got in touch with Hardaker to say that Fred Howarth, the Football League secretary, was considering retiring from the job, and recommended that he apply.
The Starkie Street premises were little more than a converted town house, and the incoming League President at that time, Joe Richards, decided to ask Hardaker to look for more appropriate offices outside Preston.
The unanimous choice, after consideration of Blackpool and Leamington Spa as possibilities, was the former Sandown Hotel in Clifton Drive, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, and this was purchased for £11,000.
When an application to the High Court was made in June 1963, submitted by the out-of-contract Newcastle United player George Eastham, Hardaker was called to give evidence.
[7] Although it is widely reported that the League Cup was Hardaker's idea, in his autobiography he credits Stanley Rous, who was at that time secretary of the Football Association.
He relates the tale of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, which was a joint exercise by the FA and League to help regenerate football in England at the end of the Second World War.
Rous apparently designed a separate knockout competition, to be entered by those clubs beaten in the early rounds of the FA Cup proper, but the plan was never approved.
[8] Hardaker was asked to give advice to the League clubs when they were ordered by the FA in 1965 to sign statutory declarations regarding payments to amateur players and guarantee that no illegal dealings were being entered into, and thus leaving themselves legally vulnerable.
His advice consisted of a recommendation that they (the League clubs) resign from the Football Association "as a matter of extreme urgency", in order to force the FA to back down on the issue.
In 1970, when a group of Midlands club chairmen proposed that the Football League handle its own disciplinary affairs, Hardaker was asked by them if this would be possible under FA regulations.
Although the rule was never implemented, when the League Management Committee raised the matter with the FA, they were able to negotiate many concessions, both financial and in terms of the disciplinary system, which changed as a result.
At the start of the 1971–72 season, the League Management Committee issued a directive reminding referees of their obligations regarding maintaining discipline on the field of play.
However, the Committee neglected to circulate the information to the press or the League clubs and there was widespread confusion when referees vastly increased the number of cautions and dismissals during matches.
[9] The threat of withdrawal of League clubs from the FA Cup in 1973, following an argument over the fee for televising the 1972 European Championship (qualifying) quarter-final first leg between England and West Germany, was eventually averted.
[citation needed] During the 1960s and 1970s Hardaker had a bitter relationship with Leeds United manager Don Revie, during the club's ten-year pursuit of domestic and European honours.
[13] Revie and his team frequently ran afoul of Hardaker's demanding fixture schedules and autocratic rule as secretary of the Football League.