He was coached by Billy Horner to become a strong centre-forward, using his natural strength and power to retain possession in attacking positions.
[4] A promising athlete and gifted footballer, as a youngster, he travelled to London for a trial with Crystal Palace along with John and Terry Fenwick, but was told he was too lightweight at the time.
[5] He was not offered a professional contract at Chesterfield by manager Arthur Cox and so left the club without making a senior appearance at Saltergate.
[6] Houchen joined the "Monkey Hangers" on non-contract terms before turning professional in February 1978, signing a one-year contract on £30 a week.
[12] He scored 17 goals in 48 appearances in 1980–81, yet again becoming the club's top scorer, as Hartlepool were in the promotion hunt until a late spell of bad form sent them down the table to ninth.
[15] This crisis at the club allowed Leyton Orient manager Ken Knighton to take Houchen to Brisbane Road for a bargain price of £25,000.
[18] He missed the start of the 1982–83 campaign due to injury, but managed to hit ten goals in 38 games by the end of the season.
[22] On 22 March 1984, York City manager Denis Smith signed Houchen for a £15,000 fee,[23] later saying that "anybody who could score sixty-five goals playing for Hartlepool must have something".
[25] He scored on his debut against Aldershot at the Recreation Ground, despite missing a penalty; he replaced Steve Senior in the second half, who had broken his leg.
[26] With John Byrne and Keith Walwyn forming an effective striking partnership, Houchen played as an attacking midfielder.
[26] He hit a hat-trick in a 7–1 thrashing of Gillingham at Bootham Crescent,[27] and also converted a penalty that he had won to knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup at the Fourth Round.
[32] The management team of George Curtis and John Sillett offered Houchen £350 a week, £50 an appearance, a £10,000 signing-on fee, as well the chance to play First Division football.
However, Houchen almost missed the match after catching food poisoning from a trout caught by reserve goalkeeper Jake Findlay.
"Ironically, manager John Sillett spent much of the money from Coventry's FA Cup run (£750,000) on Chelsea striker David Speedie, who would replace Houchen in front of goal.
[40] The 1987–88 season was poor for both club and player, as illness, injury and competition from Speedie, Gary Bannister and Cyrille Regis restricted Houchen to just three goals and 24 appearances.
[41] On 14 August 1988, he was selected by Graham Taylor to represent the Football League in a game against Scunthorpe United to celebrate the opening of Glanford Park; Houchen scored once in a 6–1 victory.
[42] He scored just twice in sixteen appearances in 1988–89, though one of these goals was the winner against Midlands rivals Aston Villa in a 2–1 Boxing day victory at Highfield Road.
[47] He hit 12 goals in 39 games to become the club's top scorer in 1989–90, including two in wins over Rangers at Easter Road and Ibrox, and one in Europe against Hungarian side Videoton.
[49] Already riled by a telling-off from manager Alex Miller, Houchen had a run-in with his own supporters following a defeat to Raith Rovers at Stark's Park.
[52] In August 1991 he returned to England with a £100,000 move to Port Vale; he was one of three new arrivals, along with Peter Swan (who took him in as a lodger) and Martin Foyle.
[56] Injury meant he did not play for the man who signed him, Viv Busby, and instead he made his second debut for the club under John MacPhail.
[60] McCreery resigned on 20 April 1995, and chairman Harold Hornsey appointed Houchen as his replacement; he became the 23rd manager at the club in 38 years.
[61] He appointed his former boss Billy Horner as youth team coach and also employed Brian Honour and Mick Tait.
[62] His first game in charge was a 4–0 home win over Hereford United, and a 3–0 defeat at Preston North End and a final day 3–2 victory over Mansfield Town ensured Hartlepool an 18th-place finish.
[68] Hartlepool started the 1996–97 campaign with wins over Colchester United and Fulham, but his playing career came to an end after the fifth game of the season, against Wigan Athletic, when he retired due to a persistent knee injury.
[72] His assistant Mick Tait led the club to a 20th-place finish, and organised a benefit match for Houchen against Middlesbrough, which raised £23,000.
Early in his career, he broke his ribs and backbone, but learned the tricks of the trade, such as interlinking arms with opposition players to prevent them from jumping.
[75] Horner and his coaching team of George Smith and Willie Maddren taught Houchen how to protect himself from the highly physical centre-halves that dominated the division, and the youngster learned how to hold the ball up and bring other players into the attack.
[79] After retiring as a player, Houchen spent his time coaching at schools and the Middlesbrough Academy, collecting football statistics for the Press Association, and renting out properties.
[38] A 256-page biography of his footballing career entitled A Tenner and a Box of Kippers, written by Jonathan Strange, was published in 2006.