Brian Godfrey
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Cameron Godfrey | ||
| Date of birth | 1 May 1940 | ||
| Place of birth | Flint, Wales | ||
| Date of death | 11 February 2010 (aged 69) | ||
| Place of death | Cyprus | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1958–1960 | Everton | 1 | (0) |
| 1960–1963 | Scunthorpe United | 77 | (24) |
| 1963–1967 | Preston North End | 127 | (52) |
| 1967–1971 | Aston Villa | 143 | (22) |
| 1971–1973 | Bristol Rovers | 81 | (16) |
| 1973–1975 | Newport County | 118 | (14) |
| 1975 | Portland Timbers | 20 | (3) |
| 1976–1978 | Bath City | 27 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| 1964–1965 | Wales | 3 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1976–1978 | Bath City | ||
| 1979–1983 | Exeter City | ||
| 1983–1987 | Weymouth | ||
| 1987–1991 | Gloucester City | ||
| 1992–1994 | Gloucester City | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Brian Cameron Godfrey (1 May 1940 – 11 February 2010) was a Welsh international footballer.
Brian was an inside forward who started his league career at Everton where he only made one appearance before joining Scunthorpe United in June 1960. He made his League debut for the Iron on the opening day of the season away to Charlton Athletic on 20 August 1960, scoring on his home debut five days later against Ipswich Town.
He partnered ace marksman Barrie Thomas in the Iron's attack and helped them nearly reach the top flight when finishing 4th in the Second Division in 1961–62. This is Scunthorpe's highest ever position and resulted in him being spotted by the Welsh Under-23 selectors, becoming the first United player ever to receive such an honour. His last League game for the Iron was at home to Portsmouth on 21 September 1963.
Preston North End paid £8,000 for him in October 1963. He made his debut for Preston a couple of weeks later away at Northampton Town. He scored ten goals in his first fourteen League games for the club, including a hat trick against Ipswich Town in a 5–1 away win. In the 1965–66 season, Godfrey was Preston's leading goalscorer including a four-minute hat trick in the last game of the season: a 9–0 win against Cardiff City.
His goalscoring exploits did not go unnoticed, as he certainly impressed the Welsh selectors after joining the famous Lilywhites, gaining three full international caps. Two of these were in 1964: against Northern Ireland in April 1964 at Swansea, scoring one goal on his international debut, and against Denmark in Copenhagen in the October. His third and final Welsh appearance came against Italy in Florence in May 1965, Godfrey getting the consolation goal in a 4–1 defeat. Everton apart, his entire career was spent with clubs outside the First Division. His biggest disappointment was on signing for Second Division Preston, and not being in the side that made its way to Wembley, losing in the FA Cup Final to West Ham United, after scoring in the sixth round victory over Oxford United. He did, however, help Preston finish third in the Second Division, just missing out on promotion.
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