[3] He had the honour of scoring Wigan's final goal as a non–league club against Matlock Town and helped them win the Lancashire Junior Cup against Chorley.
He managed to score double figures in four of his five full seasons with Wigan, including 1981–82 when the club won promotion from Division Four.
In October 1983 he joined Preston North End, where he spent two years (including a loan spell with Wrexham) before switching to Chester City ahead of 1985–86.
His first season at Chester saw him score 10 times in 37 league appearances to help the Blues to promotion.
[6] After leaving Chester, Houghton dropped into non–league football with Runcorn in the GM Vauxhall Conference and also later played for Warrington Town.