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Home » Sport and Leisure » Football » Players (individuals)

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  • Billy Meredith, 'The Welsh Wizard', (1874-1958), was born at Chirk, Denbighshire, on 24 July 1874. The son of a mining family, Meredith began working at the Black Park Colliery as a pony driver and 'hutcher' when he was twelve years of age. By the 1890s his footballing skills had become apparent and he joined the ranks of Chirk's successful first-team, winning his first Welsh Cup medal in 1894. Following a brief period as a semi-professional at Wrexham, and as a professional with Northwich Victoria in the English 2nd Division, Meredith joined Manchester City in late 1894. However, he continued working underground during the week until 1896, when his club finally insisted that he give up his colliery job. From 1896 until his retirement in 1924, he remained a full-time professional, playing for both Manchester City and Manchester United. During this period, he made over 650 league appearances, played 53 FA Cup ties, appeared for Wales on 50 occasions and scored almost 200 goals. Meredith's achievements on the field made him an extremely popular footballer: in 1904 he was voted footballer of the year by the readers of one newspaper. However, his actions off the field also attracted attention. In March 1904 he was accused of attempting to bribe an opposing player to deliberately lose a vital league match. He was banned from the game for a period but re-emerged in 1907 when he also played a prominent role in the efforts to re-establish a football players' union. Meredith's come-back with Manchester United proved extremely successful; moreover, in March 1907 he led his country's first-ever Home International Championship victory.
The footballer Billy Meredith, c. 1909
  • John Charles (1931-2004) was one of the greatest all round footballers. He was comfortable playing centre-half or centre-forward and could also play full-back or midfield, if required. Such was his versatility that he managed to break the Leeds United club scoring record with 42 goals in a season at a time when he was appearing at centre-half in internationals for Wales. He made his debut for Leeds in 1949 and within a year he had become the youngest player to appear for Wales when, in March 1950 at the age of 18 years and 71 days, he was capped against Northern Ireland. In August 1957, Charles signed for Juventus for £65,000 - a record transfer fee for a British player. He was the first Briton to make the grade in Italian football and is probably the most successful export from League football to Serie A where his name is still revered. During Charles's five years with Juventus, they won three Serie A Championships and lifted the Italian Cup twice. He came back to Wales in 1963, joining Cardiff City where he played until his retirement in 1966. During his career, Charles earned 38 caps for Wales and will be rememberd as one of our greatest sportsmen. [Source: International Football Hall of Fame website (www.ifhof.com, 20/11/2002)]
The footballer John Charles by Dorrien
  • Ian Rush was born in St. Asaph and made his professional debut for Ipswich town in 1980. During his two stints with Liverpool he scored 346 goals in 660 senior outings. He earned 73 caps for Wales and perhaps his most famous goal was the one which led to the Welsh victory against Germany at Cardiff Arms Park in the 1991 European Championship qualifying tournament.
Ian Rush by Dorrien
  • Mark Hughes was born in Wrexham and made his debut for Manchester United in November 1983. He won an FA Cup medal with the club in 1985 and was the PFA Young Player of the Year in the same season. Hughes soon established himself as an International for Wales and earned 72 caps for his country. After a year as their team captain, in 1999 he took over from Bobby Gould as Welsh Manager.
Mark Hughes by Dorrien
  • Ryan Giggs is one of Wales's most talented football players. He turned professional at the age of 17 when he signed for Manchester United and made his league debut at Old Trafford in March 1991. Since then, he has enjoyed a very successful club career. Ryan Giggs became the youngest international to play for Wales when he came on as substitute against West Germany in 1991, aged 17. At the time of writing (2004), he had earned 47 caps and had scored 8 goals for Wales.
Ryan Giggs by Dorrien
  • This football medal was presented to the full-back Moses Russell, Welsh International Cup winner, in 1912. Moses Richard Russell was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, on 20 May 1888. After a period working underground in the coal mines, Russell played football for Tonpentre and Merthyr Town before joining Southport in 1912. He returned to Merthyr in 1913 on a free transfer when Southport were faced with financial problems. In 1914 he signed for Plymouth for a club record fee of £400. During the First World War, he served with the Royal Army Service Corps but returned to Plymouth at the end of the war. He won over twenty international caps and toured Canada with the Welsh side in 1929. During this trip he was involved in a disturbing incident at Hamilton, Ontario, when a member of the crowd pointed a pistol towards him following a pitch invasion. Russell returned to south Wales before the Second World War and joined the Territorial Army during the war. He died at Chepstow on 18 December 1946. Source: Gareth M. Davies and Ian Garland (eds.), 'Who's Who of International Soccer Players' (Wrexham, 1991).
Football medal of Moses Russell, 1912 [image 1 of 2]