Northampton-born Longhurst was a pacy striker who began his career in
Nottingham Forest's youth team under the management of
Brian Clough in the early 1980s, and received a permanent contract in 1983. However, he never played a first team game for Forest, and joined
Halifax Town in the
Fourth Division on a free transfer in 1985. He was a regular goalscorer at the club, scoring 24 goals in 85 league appearances, although it wasn't enough to turn the
West Yorkshire club into promotion contenders. After two seasons at Halifax, he joined his hometown club
Northampton Town in 1987. After one season at Northampton, Longhurst was signed by
Peterborough United in 1988, scoring a hat-trick in a 3–3 draw with
Gillingham in the
FA Cup first round at
Priestfield Stadium on 19 November that year. Peterborough won the replay 1–0. He joined
York City in March 1990. In the third match of the
1990–91 season against
Lincoln City, Longhurst suffered a heart attack on the pitch, and was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital. He was the first player to die in a
Football League match in 63 years; the previous on-pitch death in a Football League match was
Bury defender
Sam Wynne in 1927. The subsequent inquest into Longhurst's death revealed that he suffered from a rare heart condition. York City later named one of the refurbished stands at the
Bootham Crescent stadium after him. ==References==