John Charles
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | William John Charles | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 27 December 1931||
Place of birth | Swansea, Wales | ||
Date of death | 21 February 2004 | (aged 72)||
Place of death | Wakefield, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
Position(s) |
centre-back | ||
Youth career | |||
1946–1948 | Swansea Town | ||
1948–1949 | Leeds United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1949–1957 | Leeds United | 297 | (157) |
1957–1962 |
Juventus | 155 | (108) |
1962 | Leeds United | 11 | (3) |
1962–1963 |
Roma | 10 | (4) |
1963–1966 | Cardiff City | 69 | (18) |
1966–1971 | Hereford United | 173 | (80) |
1972–1974 | Merthyr Tydfil | ||
Total | 715 | (370) | |
International career | |||
1950–1965 | Wales | 38 | (15) |
Managerial career | |||
1967–1971 |
player-manager ) | ||
1972–1974 |
player-manager ) | ||
1987 |
Hamilton Steelers | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
William John Charles
John Charles began his career at Leeds United, having moved there in 1949 from his hometown club,
He played for the Welsh national team over fifteen years, from 1950 to 1965. Alongside his brother, Mel Charles, he was a member of the Welsh squad at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. At the tournament, he scored in a 1–1 draw with Hungary, but he got injured in a play-off match against the same opposition. Ruled out of the quarter-final against Brazil, Wales lost the match 1–0, with Pelé scoring the winner. Wales manager Jimmy Murphy opined that had Charles been fit, Wales might have won the match.
For its 50th anniversary in 2004, UEFA asked each of its then 52 member associations to nominate one player as the single most outstanding player of the period 1954–2003, and Charles was chosen as the Golden Player of Wales by its national association in November 2003.
Early career
Charles was born in the Cwmbwrla district of Swansea during late 1931. Charles would play football as a child, with younger brother Mel Charles who also went on to become a professional, later playing alongside each other for the Welsh national team.[7] The brothers grew up on Alice Street in Swansea, being neighbours of fellow future Welsh internationals Ernie Jones, Mel Nurse, and Jackie Roberts.[8]
While still at school, Charles joined the boys section of the local team Swansea Town, who later became Swansea City. When he left school at age 14 he was taken onto the groundstaff at Vetch Field, yet because of his young age Third Division Swansea never gave him a first-team call up. His only senior appearances came for the reserve side in the Welsh Football League.
Club career
Leeds United
While playing for Gendros, a local youth club, he was scouted by Leeds United and given a trial in September 1948. At his trial he impressed and duly signed for them at the age of 17, relocating to Yorkshire.
Then manager of Leeds United, Major Buckley, selected Charles in a variety of positions including right-back, centre-half and left-half for Leeds Reserves. Charles made his first team debut as a centre back for Leeds in a friendly versus Dumfries club Queen of the South on 19 April 1949. Charles was tasked with marking the incumbent Scotland centre forward Billy Houliston, who ten days previously at Wembley, had run the England defence ragged as the Scots won 3–1. The score at Elland Road was 0–0. After the game, Houliston said 17-year-old Charles was "the best centre half I've ever played against".[9] Charles made his league debut against Blackburn Rovers also in April 1949, playing at centre-half. From 1950 until 1952, Charles was away on National Service with the 12th Royal Lancers at Carlisle. The army allowed him to turn out for Leeds, but also saw to it that he played for them, and in 1952, Charles skippered his side to the Army Cup. It was during this period that he had operations to repair cartilages in both knees.[10]
After his return to the Leeds side in November 1951, Charles played at centre-forward and centre half. This prompted a debate as to where Charles should play in the team, but he remained at centre-half until the 1952–53 season. In October 1952, he was switched to centre forward and immediately started to score, with 11 goals in 6 games. In 1955, he was appointed club captain and during the 1955–56 season, Leeds won promotion to the First Division. Charles was in sparkling form, scoring 29 goals in 42 appearances. In the following season, Charles scored a new club top flight record tally of 38 goals in 40 league appearances as Leeds secured an 8th-place finish in the first division, before finally moving away from the club. His influence on Leeds' success during his final season was so strong, reporters nicknamed the club "John Charles United".[11] In total, he scored 150 league goals in eight years for Leeds, including a club record 42 goals in 39 appearances during the 1953–54 season. He remains the second highest all time goal scorer for Leeds after Peter Lorimer.
Juventus
In August 1957, he joined the Italian club
His debut came on 8 September 1957 against
In his first season in Italy, Charles was Serie A's top scorer with 28 goals, and was voted player of the season as Juventus won the scudetto. He played in Turin for five years, scoring 108 goals in 155 matches, winning the scudetto (Italian league championship) three times, and the Coppa Italia twice. He placed third in the Ballon d'Or in 1959, the highest position for a Welsh footballer. His prolific partnership with Sívori and Boniperti in Juventus's front-line earned the trio the nicknames The Holy Trident and The Magical Trio; Charles was also dubbed Il Gigante Buono (The Gentle Giant) during his five seasons with the club, due to his size and fair play.[5] The respect Charles earned from Juventus fans was shown when, on the occasion of the club's centenary in 1997, they voted him the club's best-ever foreign player.[12]
Return to Leeds United
Following his time at Juventus, Don Revie paid a club record £53,000 to secure the return of Charles to Yorkshire. As a result of the excitement this created, Leeds United raised admission prices for the start of the 1962–63 season. Charles second spell at Elland Road was less successful. After five years in Italy, he found it difficult to adjust to life and football back in Britain.
Roma
After 11 games and three goals – a shadow of his former strike rate – Charles was sold for £70,000 to
Later career
He left to join
International career
Charles first played for the Welsh national team shortly after his 18th birthday.
He played for Wales at the
In total for Wales, Charles made 38 appearances and scored 15 goals.
Charles played for the Great Britain team against Ireland in 1955.
Player profile
Style of play
Regarded as one of the greatest British footballers of all-time,
Legacy
In the foreword for Charles' autobiography,
In 1998, the
The John Charles Lounge in
Personal life and death
Charles was married twice during his life. In 1953, he married Margaret "Peggy" White; the couple had four sons together. They divorced in 1982. In 1988, Charles married Glenda Vero, whom he remained married to until his death in 2004.[13] The Charles name continued in football through nephew Jeremy Charles, who also represented Wales, and grandson Jake Charles, who has represented Wales at youth level.
Following his retirement from football, Charles became the landlord of the New Inn public house on Elland Road,
In January 2004, he suffered a heart attack shortly before an interview for Italian television, and required the partial amputation of one foot for circulation reasons before he was returned to Britain. He died in Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, early on 21 February 2004. His widow, Glenda, bequeathed his ashes to the city of Swansea.[29]
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | European Cup | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Leeds United | 1948-49 | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
1949–50 | 42 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 47 | 1 | |||
1950–51 | 34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 3 | |||
1951–52 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
1952–53 | 40 | 26 | 1 | 1 | — | 41 | 27 | |||
1953–54 | 39 | 42 | 2 | 1 | — | 41 | 43 | |||
1954–55 | 40 | 11 | 2 | 1 | — | 42 | 12 | |||
1955–56 | 42 | 29 | 1 | 0 | — | 43 | 29 | |||
1956–57 | First Division | 40 | 38 | 1 | 1 | — | 41 | 39 | ||
Total | 298 | 150 | 19 | 4 | — | 317 | 154 | |||
Juventus
|
1957–58
|
Serie A | 34 | 28 | 4 | 1 | — | 38 | 29 | |
1958–59 | 30 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 24 | ||
1959–60
|
34 | 23 | 3 | 3 | — | 37 | 26 | |||
1960–61
|
32 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 16 | ||
1961–62 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 31 | 10 | ||
Total | 151 | 93 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 179 | 105 | ||
Leeds United | 1962–63 | Second Division | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 3 | |
Roma
|
1962–63 | Serie A | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 13 | 4 | |
Cardiff City | 1963–64 | Second Division | 33 | 11 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 11 | |
1964–65 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 3 | |||
1965–66 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 9 | 4 | |||
Total | 68 | 18 | 4 | 0 | — | 72 | 18 | |||
Career total | 538 | 268 | 44 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 592 | 284 |
- a. ^ Includes FA Cup and Coppa Italia
Honours
Leeds United
- Second Division runners-up: 1955–56
Juventus
Cardiff City
Wales
- British Home Championship: 1959–60; runners-up: 1960–61, 1961–62
- FIFA World Cup quarter-finalist: 1958
Individual
- English First Division Top Scorer: 1956–57
- Serie A Top Goal-scorer: 1957–58[33]
- Ballon d'Or – Third place: 1959
- UEFA Golden Player: Wales
References
- ^ Charles 2009, p. 26
- ^ a b "JOHN CHARLES – International Football Hall of Fame".
- ^ "The 50 greatest footballers of all time". 90min. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ a b "John William CHARLES" (in Italian). Il Pallone Racconta. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Bedeschi, Stefano (24 December 2015). "Gli eroi in bianconero: John CHARLES" (in Italian). TuttoJuve.com. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "Footballer John Charles' Italian medal auctioned". BBC News Online. 16 June 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- ^ RoyoftheRovers.com Archived 6 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Football: How Alice Street in Swansea gave Wales five internationals". 18 November 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ McLean, Kirk. "Billy Houliston profile". Queen of the South F.C. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ISBN 0-7553-1209-0.
- ^ "Archie Gibson: Tenacious midfielder for Leeds United". The Independent. London. 24 August 2012.
- ^ Oxford Times, 24 February 2004 Archived 28 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "CHARLES, WILLIAM JOHN (1931 - 2004), footballer". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ Charles 2009, p. 14
- ^ Charles 2009, p. 18
- ^ Zara, Furio (15 May 2018). "Pavoletti e i grandi specialisti di testa dell'Italia e del mondo" (in Italian). www.calciomercato.com. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ Charles 2009, p. 11
- ^ "Remembering 'Il Gigante Buono' John Charles as Aaron Ramsey Follows Welsh Legend's Path to Juventus". Sports Illustrated. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Wales and Juve's gentle giant". FIFA.com. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Fond farewell for legend Charles". BBC News. 19 April 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Golden Players take centre stage". Europe's Football Website (UEFA.com). 2003. Archived from the original on 12 March 2004. Retrieved 13 August 2006.
- Trinity Mirror. 2 March 2004. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ "John Charles honoured by Great Western Railway". Juventus.com. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ "John Charles honoured". Leeds United Football Club (official website). 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
- ^ "John Charles Way, Leeds LS12, United Kingdom". Google Maps. 53°.78093 N, 1°.58116 W.
- ^ Keating, Frank (24 December 2001). "Frank Keating interviews Leeds legend John Charles". The Guardian. London, UK. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
- ^ "No. 56237". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2001. pp. 7–8.
- ^ "Campaign to knight John Charles". BBC News. 15 November 2000.
- ^ Charles 2009, p. 12
- ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "John Charles". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ "Leeds United F.C. History". www.ozwhitelufc.net.au. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ "William John Charles – "The Gentle Giant"". soccermond.com. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ Roberto Di Maggio; Igor Kramarsic; Alberto Novello (11 June 2015). "Italy – Serie A Top Scorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
Further reading
- Risoli, Mario (2003). John Charles, Gentle Giant. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84018-802-8.
- Coomber, Richard (2000). King John, the true story of John Charles, Leeds United Legend. Leeds United Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903415-00-9.
- Charles, Mel; Leslie, Colin (2009). In the Shadow of a Giant. ISBN 978-1-84454-776-0.