Planet Swans ArchivesThe name of Ivor Allchurch will pass the lips of many Swansea supporters every home game thanks to the statue of him that stands outside of the Liberty Stadium and there is little doubt that he deserved that tribute to him when you consider his career statistics.
He was discovered by the Swans and made his debut in 1949 after completing his national service with the army. In 1951 he was awarded the first of 68 caps for Wales which remained a record for caps won for his country until it was beaten in 1986 by Joey Jones.
He made 330 appearances for the Swans and scored 124 goals before he eventually made the move to the first division as it was then with Newcastle. That was not though before he played for Wales in the 1958 World Cup Finals in Sweden and it was those finals that bought him to the fore of other clubs with Wales captain Dave Bowen saying “I’m sure we surprised a lot of people that they looked at Ivor and wondered where he has been hiding.”
Wales were knocked out in the quarter finals but it was enough to get the offer from Newcastle for £28,000 in October of that year. He eventually played 143 games for the North East side and scored 46 goals but never won any of the major trophies that football had to offer.
He eventually returned to Swansea via a three year spell at Cardiff City before finishing his career in non league football.
Former team mate and Wales international Cliff Jones once said of Ivor “He had the lot, including a marvellous temperament and would have been a sensation in the game today. It was late by the time he joined Newcastle but I am sure that if he’s gone to a big English club earlier then we ‘d be speaking about one of the all time greats”
But of course in Swansea he will always be classed as one of the all-time greats and rightly so.
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