I never saw Mr Whiteley play (but he is legend )so on that basis it must be Norton. What an attacker. What a defender. I always think that really class players look like they have all the time in the world in the ball. Sometimes the game seemed to stop when knocker took a pass and when it started again he'd gone through the gap and was off down the field.
And on a Sunday evening after the games boy he could party with the fans. The man was magic. No contest for me.

The truth is we've been blessed with some great 13's, many could command a place in any team and tbh I'd play many of them out of position just to accomodate their talent. I would choose Knocker as mine.

Steve 'Knocker' Norton
Johnny Whitely
Mick Crane
Jason Smith
Gary Divorty
Craig Fitzgibbon
John Sharp
Tony Grimaldi

all top class players.

Best I have seen by a light year is Johnny Whiteley from my post WW2 watching. Putting aside his enormous achievements at Hull he was a team member of the last Gt Britain team to win an' Ashes' series in England and was the coach of the last Gt Britain team to win a series in Aus.

I will be truly amazed if John is not the No.13.

Johnny Whiteley.

J,Whiteley for me then Mick Crane the true entertainer.
Only 2 players from Hull have had the rules changed because of there use of them B.Batten vaulting people .
Mick Crane with his winning the ball at the play the ball if he hooked it back or near the line kick through and score.
Clarke would have a field day with body language for him [lost by 50 before you start]

Knocker and j Whiteley

Jason smith..end of discussion for me.... arguably my greatest fc player of all time... simply genius ballplayer, and hard as nails...... took us from average to good singlehandedly imo

Agreed, whilst knocker is an obvious contender and with all due respect to those saying it's obvious, there's only one winner etc I think Whiteley just outperforms him by a smidge in pretty much every department.
In many respects Mich Crane was the most talented, just not the most professional, we saw some great stuff by Smithy but not quite enough for him to get the nod.
So for me Johnny Whiteley MBE gets my vote.

Other Hull players from the past that should get a mention are;
Steve Darmody, the Australian international signed at the end of the 1911/12 tour effectively sealing his fate of more rep honours. Sadly only two seasons with us but part of the 1914 cup winning team & WWI put paid to the rest of his career, was wounded & lost a foot whilst with the Transport Corps but later joined the RFC and flew with an artificial leg!

Also Harold Ellerington, 'Elmo' as he was known started out on the wing and played in every back position during his first 3 seasons before settling at Loose man. Became Hull captain and during his 11 seasons played 267 games with 51 tries and 2 goals. Whilst only a championship medal for the 35/36 season (though away with the GB squad he got a medal for his 31 appearances that season) & one losers medal from a Yorkshire cup defeat in which he was MoM for his gutsy display Harold was selected for the GB squad on numerous occasions but never got his test 'cap'. Played 11 tour games in total as well as 2 England and 1 Yorkshire appearance before the outbreak of WWII ended his career. Latterly became a director during the successful 1950s era.

So to Sir Johnny Whiteley 15 Test/World Cup appearances for Great Britain which is MORE than Vinty Karalious, if weren't for VK and Derek 'Rocky' Turner two outstanding loose/locks Whiteley would be the most capped GB player. Selected for the 1954 GB world cup squad but didn't play(Dave Nightingale played all four)
Selected and played in the 1958 tour squad that retained the Ashes in Australia scoring a try in the third test.
He was a member of the last G.B. squad to beat Australia on home soil in the 1959 test series scoring the try that beat the Aussies
He repeated the feat again scoring the vital winning try in the last few minutes in the 1960 ashes triumph.
Member of the 1962 G.B. team (regarded by many as the greatest ever touring team) which won the ashes in Australia.
417 appearances over 15 years, 156 tries & 2 goals, MBE though a knighthood would be far more appropriate for all he has done.

The word legend is bandied about far too easily these days, there was never a more appropriate moment to accurately describe someone, the man is black & white to the core, a gentleman and as great a rugby player as you would want in the 13 jersey a god amongst equals.

sorry knocker but thems the breaks.

I would have to nominate Jason Smith, one of the best players I have ever seen.

Although I probably saw Johnny Whiteley play I am too young (do not say that often these days) to really remember him and appreciate his talent.

Steve Norton was a brilliant player but I think this was demonstrated more by what he did as an individual rather than what he did for the team as a whole. I am not saying he was selfish or not a team player.

Mick Crane was a similar, extremely talented player.

However two things made Jason Smith stand out. He was one of the few players who could grab a game by the scruff of the neck and change the pattern of how the team was playing and the course of the game. Secondly whenever he got the ball, to me, it looked like the game had gone in to slow motion; he just seemed to have so much time to pick out the right pass and the right player to make the difference. In addition as someone else has said he was as hard as nails and that was another way he often had an impact on the match.

I'm a big admirer of what Jason Smith brought to Hull FC but he came second best to Stuart Fielden in a bit of biff at the KC once which doesn't say much for the hard as nails claim. Never saw Whiteley play but Knocker's my all time Hull FC hero so he get's my vote.