Probably my favourite choice of a fans player. He scored magnificent goals from 30 yards regularly, with a difficult hard football in the sixties. Broke my pal's nose with a misguided shot that thundered into the crowd. I can still hear the crowd chanting Hooper...Hooper. Great days! Only stayed one season though, apparantly homesick for Bristol. How times have changed eh? Full name: Peter Hooper Date of birth: 2 February 1933 Place of birth: Teignmouth, England Date of death: 13 August 2011 (aged 78) Place of death: Barnstaple, England Playing position: Outside left Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† ????–1953 Dawlish Town 1953–1962 Bristol Rovers 297 (101) 1962–1963 Cardiff City 40 (22) 1963–1966 Bristol City 54 (14) 1966–???? Worcester City National team 1951 Kenya 1 (3) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). Peter Hooper (2 February 1933 – 13 August 2011) was a professional footballer, who played for Bristol Rovers, Cardiff City and Bristol City in The Football League. Born in Teignmouth, he was an outside left with a thunderous shot, especially from free kicks. Although a proud Devonian, Hooper made one appearance for the Kenyan national team against Uganda in 1951 while on national service in the country. Ho first caught the eye of Bristol Rovers scouts in 1953 while playing for Dawlish Town and made his Football League debut in March 1954. Between October 1957 and August 1961 he appeared in 163 consecutive matches. By the time he left to join Cardiff City, he had played 297 games for Rovers in the old Second Division – the equivalent of today's Championship – scoring 101 goals, thus becoming one of only six players to score more than 100 goals for the club. After one season with Cardiff, he had a spell with Bristol City. When his career was ended in 1966 by a bout of peritonitis he moved to North Devon where he played non-league football for Barnstaple Town. After retiring from professional football, Mr Hooper was landlord of The Three Pigeons in Bishops Tawton, where he lived, before spending 19 years as a probation assistant in Barnstaple. Wikipedia
Ivor Allchurch Cardiff City AFC Another example of a real player, another firm fans favourite. A prolific goalscorer, and a very nice bloke, I met him a few times. Born: Wednesday 16 October 1929, Swansea, Wales Died: Wednesday 9 July 1997, Swansea, Wales (aged 67) Position: Inside Forward One of Wales' finest ever players and a member of what remains the only Welsh team to reach a major international tournament, inside-left Ivor Allchurch set national appearance and goalscoring records which stood for many years after his retirement. He is also one of a relatively small number of players to have had significant spells with both his hometown club Swansea City (at the time known as Swansea Town) and fierce rivals Cardiff City. Allchurch was born in Swansea on 16 October 1929, to English parents who had moved to south Wales some years earlier. Both he and younger brother Len were keen footballers and both would go on to turn professional. Having left school at the age of fourteen, Ivor worked in a variety of jobs before being spotted by a scout from local team Swansea Town, who played in the English Second Division. He was playing in an under-18 match after already having played an under-16 game earlier in the same day, and was still the best player on the pitch. Allchurch quickly signed on as an apprentice, working on the club's ground staff before turning professional in 1947. His entry into league football was delayed when he was called up for national service, although during that time he did appear in 11 league for then-Midland League side Shrewsbury Town in 1948-49. His Football League debut finally came on Boxing Day 1949, in a disappointing 3-0 Second Division loss at West Ham, and he went on to appear in most of Swansea's remaining matches that season. Allchurch's reputation quickly grew and he was soon regarded as one of the finest inside forwards in British football. His close control and turn of speed enabled him to beat defenders with ease, while his height gave him great ability in the air. Also renowned for having an incredibly powerful left-foot shot, he regularly scored spectacular long range goals. First Division clubs soon showed an interest in him, but with the maximum wage still in force there was no incentive to move away from home. He was called into the Welsh national team for the first time in November 1950, making his debut in a 4-2 British Home Championship defeat to England. Despite playing for an often struggling Second Division side, Allchurch was always one of the stars of the national team. His winning goal against Scotland in the 1951-52 Home Championship helped Wales to claim a share of the title with England. The highlight of his international career came in 1958. Wales had originally failed to reach the World Cup having finished second in their group but when Israel would have qualified without playing a game, they were required to play-off against the runner-up of one of the European qualifying groups. Wales were drawn to face them and won the play-off, reaching the World Cup in Sweden. In the finals Wales drew all three group games, coming closest to a win when Allchurch gave them a half-time lead against Mexico. They were pegged back to 1-1 but finished the group level on points with Hungary, meaning there would be a play-off for a place in the last eight. Hungary led at half-time but Allchurch scored his second goal of the finals to pull his country level. They went on to win 2-1 before losing 1-0 to eventual champions Brazil in the quarter-final, having made a real impact on their first World Cup. On the back of his World Cup performances, an offer from First Division side Newcastle United finally lured Allchurch away from Swansea in the autumn of 1958. He left the club having scored 124 league goals and helping them to reach back-to-back Welsh Cup finals. For the first time in his career he would no longer be a team-mate of brother Len, who had become a regular on the right wing for Swansea. Allchurch scored twice on his First Division debut as Newcastle beat Leicester City 3-1, going on to amass 16 goals in 26 league games that season. Having been almost 29 when he made his top-flight debut, his loyalty to Swansea may have meant that he missed out on fully realising his potential at the highest level. However, leading defenders of the time, including future World Cup winner Bobby Moore, considered him one of the finest inside forwards they had faced. Allchurch stayed with Newcastle until the summer of 1962, a spell which ended back in the Second Division after relegation in 1961. He was the club's top scorer in their first season at the lower level with 11 goals, but then returned home to south Wales to join Swansea's rivals Cardiff City who had also just been relegated to the Second Division. In three years at Cardiff he scored 39 goals in 103 league games and crowned his spell at the club with a Welsh Cup final win over Wrexham in 1965, where he scored twice in a 3-0 play-off victory. On leaving Cardiff, Allchurch moved back to Swansea for a second spell with his hometown club, who by then had just been relegated themselves into the Third Division. Their on field struggles continued, finishing only 17th in the table in 1965-66, but there was more success in the Welsh Cup. Again the final went to a replay, this time against Chester, and Allchurch scored the winner in a 2-1 win. Three weeks later he played in his last ever international match, a 2-0 defeat to Chile. His 68 caps remained a record until beaten by Joey Jones 20 years later, while his total of 23 goals was unsurpassed until Ian Rush scored his 24th goal for Wales in 1993. Unfortunately for Swansea, the 1966-67 season brought another relegation and Allchurch ended his Football League career playing in the Fourth Division. In his final season of 1967-68 he was the club's top scorer, while over his two spells at the club he amassed a total of 146 league goals, a record which remains unbroken. He continued to play in non-league football, appearing for Worcester City and Pontardawe Athletic as well as having a short spell as player-manager of Haverfordwest County. In his retirement, Allchurch worked as a storeman. He was remembered as one of football's gentlemen who got on with his job in a quiet, unassuming manner but was nevertheless incredibly popular wherever he played. When he died in July 1997, aged 67, hundreds of people attended his funeral in Swansea and when the club opened their new Liberty Stadium in 2005, a life-size statue of Allchurch was placed outside.
Big Mel. Scored one of the best goals ever seen at Ninian Park, in a 5-2 win against our old buddies Swansea Town in the sixties. You had to be there to see the big fella run the length of the pitch beating everyone in his path to net an absolute beauty.
Ronnie Bird Another crowd pleaser with a rocket in his pocket. Scored some fabulous goals for the Bluebirds. Used to run The Romilly in Canton, Cardiff. Born in Birmingham, Bird began his career as an apprentice at his hometown club Birmingham City but found first team chances hard to come by and left to join Bradford Park Avenue, being signed by manager Jimmy Scoular. He quickly established himself in the side and helped the club to retain their division three status after being promoted the previous year. He eventually left the club in 1965 to join Bury but only spent seven months at Gigg Lane before being signed again by Jimmy Scoular, this time at his new club Cardiff City for £5,000. He helped the club to win the Welsh Cup in his first season, one of three times he won the competition at Cardiff, and gained a reputation for scoring spectacular goals. He left Cardiff after five seasons at the club and joined Crewe Alexandra where he spent one year before dropping into non-league football with Gloucester City. After retiring from football he took over as manager at Ebbw Vale and Bridgend Townbefore later returning to work with Jimmy Scoular as his assistant manager at Newport County. He left his post at the club during the 1978/79 season and later took over as landlord of the Canton Cross and Romilly Arms pubs in Cardiff. His experience in the trade prompted Cardiff City to hire him to take charge of the several bars in the clubs ground and he later took up a number of positions at the club including match day hospitality manager, manager of the players restaurant and a commentator for the clubs website. He was taken ill in 2003 and subsequently stepped down from his various roles at the club, although after recovering somewhat he later returned to commentate on matches again before he died in 2005.[1]
Simbo, good to hear from you pal. The city had beaten Grimsby 5-3 in the midweek and faced the mighty swans on the Saturday. I can remember a Cardiff City video showing this "best goal ever scored ar NP", but I cannot trace it now, and nobody ever talks about it even though there was a full house.
Masky! My all time favourite City player at the recent Bluebirds Down Under Xmas gathering m8. Aged a bit like us all. please log in to view this image And no, I wasn't referring to Gavin Rae. Adrian in the middle. The book might be of interest too mind.
Cheers Masky. I saw both games. What I remember about the Mel goal was he nodded it forward twice in his run on goal. Happy days eh?
Sink. A bit cheeky that pal suggesting "us all" have aged hmmmm....I remain a bit confused! I can see Gavin Rae in the picture, are you saying that is Adrian Alston in the middle pal? Who is on the left then....you?
Tony Evans Tony will be best remembered for scoring all four goals in a 4-4 draw v Bristol Rovers in a cup match. He was a real trier who made chances out of nothing and was a firm crowd favourite. An old time version of ALF but with goals and assists...erm... Evans was born in Liverpool. He played as a forward for clubs including Cardiff City, for whom he made well over 100 appearances,[1] and Birmingham City, for whom he was leading scorer in the 1981–82 season.[2
For me, my all time favourite who gave his all for the cause and also a really nice man; Brian Donald Clark (13 January 1943 – 10 August 2010) was an English professional footballer. He is probably most famous for scoring the only goal in a 1–0 victory for Cardiff City against Real Madrid in the first leg of the European Cup Winners Cup quarter-final in 1971. The son of former Bristol City player Don Clark, Brian Clark signed professional terms at the club in March 1960 before making his debut for the club in 1961 during a 3–0 victory over Brentford on the final day of the season. It was during the 1962–63 season that he established himself in the side, finishing as the club's top scorer with 23 goals. He continued to score regularly for the side and helped the side gain promotion to Division Two during the 1964–65 season, again finishing as the club's top scorer with 24 goals. In October 1966 he left Bristol City to sign for Huddersfield Town in exchange for John Quigley. Clark failed to settle at the Yorkshire club and, after two years, was snapped up by Cardiff City manager Jimmy Scoular for £8,000. Scoring twice on his debut during a 4–3 win over Derby County, he went on to form a lethal partnership with John Toshack, ending the season with 17 goals and his first Welsh Cup winners medal. Clark finished as the club's top scorer for the next two seasons, as well as scoring 5 times in a single match against Barmouth & Dyffryn, falling short of Derek Tapscott's club record of goals in a game by just one. It was during the 1970–71 season that he achieved probably the high point of his career when he headed in the only goal of the first leg against Real Madrid in a 1–0 win during the European Cup Winners Cup quarter-final.[3] The following year he again finished as Cardiff's top scorer, the third successive year he had done so, before he and Ian Gibson were surprisingly sold to Bournemouth for a combined fee of £100,000. Clark spent one year at Bournemouth, followed by a spell at Millwall. On 20 January 1974 at The Den Millwall hosted Fulham, in what was the first Football League game ever held on a Sunday. Clark scored the only goal of the game, thereby becoming the first player to score a Football League goal on a Sunday. He soon returned to Ninian Park to play for Cardiff again. His second spell at the club lasted just a single season but he still managed to help the club win promotion to Division Two. He left the club to sign for Newport County before finishing his career with a number of player-manager roles at several Welsh Football League sides. Brian Clark died on 10 August 2010 at the age of 67 from Lewy body dementia at Whitchurch Hospital in Cardiff. Honours Cardiff City Welsh Cup Winner: 4 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76 Welsh Cup Runner-up: 1 1971–72 Football League Third Division Runner-up: 1 1975–76
Bobby Brown Broke his leg on Boxing Day in the sixties, they say you could hear the crack all around Ninian Park. Poor sod, ended his career...a fine player! He started as an amateur with Barnet and moved into the Football League with Fulham in September 1960.[2] He then moved to Watford and made 28 League appearances for them before transferring to Northampton Town.[3] He moved to Cardiff City in October 1966[2] for a fee of £15,000 and played for them in their 1967–68 European Cup Winners' Cup campaign.[4] On 26 December 1967, Brown injured his knee during a 3–0 win over Aston Villa and was forced into retirement.[1]
Help....Help!, I go to Wikipedia....they keep asking me for £10 donation....I come on here, they want me to buy them a drink....Salvation Army want £19.....the wife is clawing at me, she has needs too!
Thanks Barry Tiger for a massive city favourite Brian Clark. I remember him scoring for Milwall against City after he left us. Another king amongst fans favourites must be Peter King, seemed to be with us forever, still looks as young today...like me! King began his career at his hometown team Worcester City before being spotted by Cardiff City and signing for the club in 1960. He made his league debut in October 1961 against Burnley as a right winger. During the early part of his career, King suffered from a chest illness that nearly forced him out of football before he managed to overcome it during the 1963–64 season. He scored his only career league hattrick the following season during a 6-1 defeat of Middlesbrough and became the first player to score for the club in European competition when he found the net during the home leg of a tie against Danish side Esbjerg fB in the European Cup Winners' Cup.[1] He was a vital member of the side for the following few seasons, including finishing as top scorer during the 1967–68 season with eighteen goals in all competitions as they reached the semi-final of the European Cup Winners' Cup before suffering defeat to Hamburg.[2] After spending thirteen seasons at Cardiff he was forced to quit the game at the age of thirty-one after suffering an achilles tendon injury.
Don Murray "The Don" As a young kid kicking the ball about in Victoria Park Cardiff, Don joined in with us for a minute or two. A was a big player and that moment thrilled us. Walked into a Cardiff City themed pub in Tenerife a few years back to see a poster of "The Don" staring back at you with that threatening look. Great man, still is apparantly! Murray began his career at Cardiff City, making his debut at the age of 17 years and 113 days old, against Middlesbrough in May 1963. Fully establishing himself in the 1964–65 season he went on to hold a first team spot with the Bluebirds for a decade, including being an ever present for three of the seasons, and currently holds the club record for consecutive league appearances with 146 games between May 1968 to November 1971.[2] Murray was also a member of the Cardiff squad that reached the European Cup Winners Cup semi-final in the 1967–68 season.[3] Cardiff often received offers from higher clubs for Murray but he decided to remain with Cardiff for the majority of his career. He had a short loan spell at Swansea City in his last year with the club before returning to Scotland for a year with Heart of Midlothian for a fee of £15,000.[4] He joined Newport County the following year, linking up with former Cardiff manager Jimmy Scoular.
Here you go Masky - just for you; I am thinking this was Peter King's goal v Middlesbro in a 3-4 defeat for City at Ninian Park in October 1970. ( I am sure BfB will correct me if I am wrong - LOL)
By Jingo, some old buggers on here..... BTW, I think Sir Scoular brought Clarkie in to replace Bobby Brown when he broke his leg. OK, let's stick with the Jurassic era being as it looks like this thread's occupants have donated their DNA to science. If you're going to go for the Don at the back, you'd have to match his brawn with the brain of Brian Harris. Gary Bell would do nicely on the left of them, and my very earliest memories of City tells me that Peter Rodrigues would be just fine on the right. Midfield is crying out for a Mel Sutton and a Bobby Woodruff in there. Mel would never give up and in "Max Wall on steroids", we'd have someone who could throw a ball further than Gunnar. Up front look no futher than the already mentioned Clarkie and why not Tosh alongside. As for the craft, let's go with Robin Friday with Fingers Farrell out wide (Slade would never pick either of them - they wouldn't fit his "system" ).
