Ivor Allchurch

Ivor Allchurch

Allchurch training with Swansea in 1951
Personal information
Full name	Ivor John Allchurch
Date of birth	(1929-10-16)16 October 1929
Place of birth	Swansea, Wales
Date of death	10 July 1997(1997-07-10) (aged 67)
Place of death	Swansea, Wales
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Inside forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1947–1958	Swansea Town	327	(118)
1958–1962	Newcastle United	143	(46)
1962–1965	Cardiff City	103	(39)
1965–1968	Swansea Town	118	(42)
Total		691	(245)
National team
1950–1966	Wales	68	(23)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Ivor John Allchurch MBE (16 October 1929 – 10 July 1997) was a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international.

Known as 'The Golden Boy' of Welsh football, Allchurch began his career playing for Swansea Town where he spent over 10 years, captaining the side for several seasons and scoring over 100 goals in all competitions. He joined Newcastle United in 1958 and later played for Cardiff City. His record of 68 caps for Wales stood until 1986, when it was exceeded by Joey Jones. He also jointly held the record number of goals scored for Wales, along with Trevor Ford, 23, which was eventually broken by Ian Rush. His talents were more widely recognised after his performance for Wales during the 1958 World Cup, in which he helped them to reach the quarter finals. His brother Len was also a footballer and the pair played alongside each other for Wales on several occasions.

Ivor John Allchurch was born in Swansea on 16 October 1929. His parents, Charlie and May Allchurch, were originally from Dudley in the West Midlands but had moved to South Wales during the Post-World War I recession in search of work, following May's parents to the area, settling in the Castle area of the town. Allchurch was one of seven children, with two sisters and four brothers, who grew up in a three bedroomed house on Landeg Street in Plasmarl. Including his parents and his siblings, the house was home to eleven people, including his step brother Willie and his niece Christine who was raised by Allchurch's mother. As a child, he attended Plasmarl School, leaving school at the age of 14. After leaving, Allchurch worked in an office at Baldwins Foundry, a company that manufactured bomb casings. He later worked in a local fish market after noticing that the younger boys working there were allowed early finishes during winter time due to a lack of stock during wartime, allowing them to play football on a regular basis. The job also allowed him to supplement his income as each worker was allowed to take any remaining stock to sell of their own accord once a week, a task that Allchurch would undertake with his brother Len.