Hodgetts was described as powerful and alert and good with both feet. He could shoot and pass expertly. He was outstanding at crossing the ball on the run. He played in Aston Villa' opening League game, as a winger, at
Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, then home of
Wolverhampton Wanderers. The match ended 1–1. Denny Hodgetts played 17 of the 22 League games Aston Villa played in the 1888–89 season scoring seven League goals, including two in a match against
Everton at Dudley Road on 22 September 1888 – His debut League goals and three FA Cup goals finishing as Joint 3rd top scorer with
Archie Hunter. As a winger he played in a midfield that achieved a big (three-League-goals-or-more-in-a-match) win on four occasions. He assisted Aston Villa to finish League runners-up. On the eve of Villa's
Double-winning success in
1897 (in what would have been his third FA Cup final with Villa) Hodgetts transferred to local rivals
Small Heath, and retired after one season there. He made six appearances for
England between 1888 and 1894, scoring once. He went on to become a publican, and in 1930 was elected Aston Villa's vice-president, a position he held until his death, aged 81, in March 1945. The Villa News and Record 1 Sept. 1906 ==Statistics==