Mel Charles
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Melvyn Charles[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 14 May 1935||
Place of birth | Swansea, Wales | ||
Date of death | 24 September 2016 | (aged 81)||
Position(s) |
Right-half / Centre-forward | ||
Youth career | |||
Leeds United | |||
Swansea Town | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1952–1959 | Swansea Town | 233 | (69) |
1959–1962 | Arsenal | 60 | (26) |
1962–1965 | Cardiff City | 79 | (25) |
1965–1966 | Porthmadog | ||
1966–1967 | Port Vale | 7 | (0) |
1967 | Oswestry Town | ||
1967–1972 | Haverfordwest | ||
Total | 379 | (117) | |
International career | |||
1958 | Wales U23 | 1 | (0) |
1955–1962 | Wales[3] | 31 | (6) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Melvyn Charles (14 May 1935 – 24 September 2016) was a Welsh
After a short stint on the Leeds United ground staff, he turned professional with his local club, Swansea Town, in 1952. He spent seven years in the Second Division with the club, before he won a £42,750 move to First Division Arsenal in March 1959. His three seasons at the club were plagued by injury, and in February 1962 he was sold on to Cardiff City for a £28,500 fee. He spent three years with Cardiff, winning the Welsh Cup in 1964, his only domestic honour, before he joined Porthmadog in the Welsh League in 1965. He spent a brief period in the Fourth Division with Port Vale in the 1966–67 season, before he returned to Welsh football with Oswestry Town. He joined Haverfordwest in 1967, where he spent five years before he retired from the game. He scored a total of 122 goals in 401 league and cup games in the Football League.
He captained Wales at international level whom he represented at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Charles also went his whole career without being booked or sent off.[5] He also competed in eight British Home Championships, and became only the third Welshman to score four goals in a game when he scored all the goals in a 4–0 win over Northern Ireland. In total he earned 31 senior caps, in addition to one under-23 cap, and he scored six full international goals.
Club career
Swansea City
Growing up in a poor family in the Cwmbwrla district of Swansea alongside elder brother John and three other siblings,[2] the brothers grew up on Alice Street in Swansea, being neighbours of fellow future Welsh internationals Ernie Jones, Mel Nurse, and Jackie Roberts.[6]
John and Mel Charles seemed destined to begin their careers at local club Swansea Town. However, manager Billy McCandless was unwilling to test youngsters in the unforgiving waters of the Third Division South, so the boys were not signed up to the club.[7] This proved costly to Swansea, and the result was that John signed with Leeds United, and fourteen-year-old Mel also followed him to Elland Road to become one of the ground staff.[8] Despite fitting in well at the club, he was unable to settle in Leeds; due to his poor background he was unable to afford trips back to Wales to visit his family and he was also illiterate so could not write home.[9] After a young apprentice, also from Swansea, failed to impress at Leeds, manager Major Frank Buckley asked Charles to accompany him on the trip back to his hometown.[9] However, due to his homesickness, Charles never returned to Yorkshire once he made it back to Swansea.[9] Instead Swansea Town scout Joe Sykes persuaded Charles to join the club's ground staff.[10][11]
He was offered a professional
He spent seven seasons with the "Swans" from 1952 to 1959, all of which ended with Swansea finishing between tenth and twentieth. They consistently picked up results at Vetch Field, but failed to perform away from home.[17] During this time they also reached the final of the Welsh Cup in 1956 and 1957, though lost out to Cardiff City and then Wrexham. A cash-strapped club, their cause was not helped by the fact that the directors refused to pay for overnight stays, and so many times the team's coach would appear outside the opposition's ground just minutes before the match.[18] Swansea were a selling a club, and during his time Ivor and Len Allchurch, Cliff Jones, and Terry Medwin would all be sold to big English clubs.[19] Including Charles, these five players all represented Wales at the World Cup. Jones' brother Bryn also played for Swansea, as did Cyril and Gilbert Beech; this meant three sets of brothers played for the "Swans" during this time, in what was an extremely local squad.[20] Throughout the 1950s Swansea were an attacking team, and during his time at Vetch Field Charles picked up four goals in a match against Blackburn Rovers, as well as hat-tricks against Stoke City, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday.[21] Charles offered to work at a second job to remain at Swansea with their strict wage limit of £14 a week, but this was not permitted, and instead he put in a transfer request.[22] He employed Neil Harris to act as his 'business manager' in his pending transfer move, thereby making him the first ever agent in the English game.[22] In one of his last games for the club, he helped Swansea record their first ever league win over rivals Cardiff City at Ninian Park.[23]
Arsenal
Chased by
He was paid £20 a week, and set up with a house and car by the Arsenal management – a Sunbeam-Talbot with the license plate 'MEL 9'.[28] Not used to the complexities of a rapidly modernising game, he endured a frosty relationship with coach Ron Greenwood after numerous humorous mix-ups over new terms such as 'blind-side run' and 'marking space', and embarrassed himself in front of the TV cameras when he fumbled and said "I'm okay, I've just got clitorises in my eyes", instead of cataracts.[29]
He made his debut against Sheffield Wednesday on 22 August 1959, in what was a difficult 1959–60 season for the "Gunners". Though they ended up in thirteenth place, Charles managed to bag himself a hat-trick at Highbury in a 5–2 win over Blackburn Rovers on 6 February.[30] A fortnight later he missed a chance to make it two Highbury hat-tricks in a row when, already with two goals to his name, he scuffed a penalty into the arms of Everton keeper Jimmy O'Neill.[30]
Always struggling with his knees, during the 1960–61 he started to be afflicted by ligament damage.[31] The physios used whatever methods they could to reduce the swellings in his knees, and as he was a big-money signing, Charles would be forced to take to the field week in and week out, despite his injuries.[32] His team were wildly inconsistent, beating Newcastle United 5–0, only to lose 6–0 to West Ham United a few weeks later; meanwhile supporters were anxious at the rise of their North London rivals.[33] Arsenal finished eleventh, some 25 points behind Double-winning Tottenham Hotspur.[34]
The 1961–62 season was another difficult one for both Charles and Arsenal. However, he did manage to bag another hat-trick for the club, as he scored all three goals in an FA Cup win over Bradford City.[35] His time in London would be dominated by injuries though, and he underwent three operations in three years.[36] Altogether Charles played 64 matches in three seasons for Arsenal, scoring 28 goals.[4]
Cardiff City
In February 1962 he returned to his native Wales to sign with Cardiff City, who paid Arsenal £28,500 for his services.[37] Though he would have preferred a move back to Swansea, they were unwilling to spend money in the transfer market, and so he was happy to sign with Cardiff, despite the Cardiff-Swansea rivalry; in turn the Cardiff fans were welcoming to Charles despite his Swansea connection.[37] The "Bluebirds" were in a relegation dogfight, and there was a lot of pressure on Charles to perform, however, he missed an easy chance for a goal in his debut, in what ended as a 0–0 draw at home to Manchester City.[38] He helped them to earn 1–1 draws against Burnley and former club Arsenal, however, a bad run soon followed and the club lost their First Division status at the end of the season.[38]
Cardiff signed renowned goal-getters Ivor Allchurch and Peter Hooper for the upcoming 1962–63 Second Division campaign, and so Charles was moved to a more central role in the pitch.[39] Though signed by Bill Jones, ironically George Swindin, the manager who had sold him at Arsenal, replaced Jones as manager in October 1962.[40] Despite the disruption, Charles scored in both derby games against Swansea, in what was otherwise a forgettable season for Cardiff fans.[41]
Cardiff signed John Charles for the start of the 1963–64 campaign, allowing the brothers to play alongside each other for the first time at club level.[42] However, Swindin was against the move, as his team were already quite aged without the 32-year-old former superstar; instead it was the club's chairman who pushed for the £22,500 deal.[43] On his league debut for Cardiff, against Norwich City, John scored from a free kick inside his own half.[44] However, Mel picked up an injury, and Cardiff's promotion hopes began to fade after a poor run of form in the Christmas period.[45] The season did end on a high note though, as both brothers played in the Welsh Cup final victory over Bangor City.[46] The two-legged affair had finished as a draw, and so Cardiff only lifted the cup after a 2–0 win at the Racecourse Ground, in a hastily arranged replay.[46]
Swindin was sacked for failing to bring promotion, and new manager Jimmy Scoular did not see eye-to-eye with Charles.[47] Charles scored a hat-trick against Swindon Town, but was dropped by Scoular for the next game after he told his striker that he hadn't worked hard enough for the team.[48] Charles responded by pointing at a horse in a field by Ninian Park and telling Scoular "you could put a number eight shirt on him and he would run all day – but he wouldn't score a fucking hat-trick for you!"[49] Scoular responded to this outburst by telling Charles that he had played his last game for Cardiff and could look for a new club.[49]
Later career
Charles' next club would be Welsh Football League side Porthmadog. Despite being a little known club, the club was bankrolled by a millionaire, and so Charles was paid a higher wage than he had received at Arsenal and Cardiff.[50] They finished the 1965–66 season second in the Welsh League, behind Caernarfon Town.[51] Despite enjoying his time in North Wales, he decided that he could not turn down an offer to return to the Football League by Port Vale, then managed by Stanley Matthews.[52] Port Vale paid Porthmadog a £1,250 fee, and Charles made his Vale debut in a 1–0 defeat at local rivals Crewe Alexandra on 3 February 1967.[53] He played a further six games, including a rough encounter with Walsall, another one of Vale's rivals, before he decided to head back to Wales.
"Coming out of the Welsh League and playing the Fourth Division was bloody rough. There were some hard bastards in that league and they knocked me about a bit... although Port Vale wanted me to stay on I had had enough... getting used as a punchbag in the Fourth Division didn't really appeal to me at that stage on my career.
Charles signed on a free transfer to Oswestry Town in May 1967, before moving on to Haverfordwest County later in the year; both clubs competed in the Welsh Football League. He enjoyed his time in Pembrokeshire and went on to play close to 200 games for County, mostly as a centre-half.[55] He left the club in 1972 to return to the Cwmbwrla district of Swansea, where he set up an amateur side called Cwmfelin.[55] After he retired from competitive football he had kneecap replacements in both his legs.[55]
International career
Charles made his debut for
He helped Wales to qualify for the
The Czechs won the group and Welsh hopes of World Cup football seemed to be over, however, tension in the Middle East came to Wales' rescue. Though before this, the English recorded a thumping 4–0 win at Ninian Park in the
Wales' maiden appearance in the tournament, it was also
After the World Cup, he played in a 3–0 Home Championship defeat to Scotland. On 26 November 1958, he helped the Welsh to record a 2–2 draw with England at
His final game for Wales came on 20 March 1963, in a 1–1 draw with Hungary in a 1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying game.[77] In total he picked up 31 senior caps and scored six goals in a seven-year international career. Charles served as captain for a number of these games.[56] He also captained Wales under-23s in a 2–1 win over England under-23s on 23 April 1958.[78]
Caps
International appearances and goals[79] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition | Goals |
1 | 20 April 1955 | Windsor Park, Belfast | Northern Ireland | 3–2 | 1955 British Home Championship
|
|
2 | 23 November 1955 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | Austria | 1–2 | Friendly | |
3 | 30 October 1956 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | Scotland | 2–2 | 1957 British Home Championship
|
|
4 | 14 November 1956 | Wembley Stadium, London | Yugoslavia | 1–3 | 1957 British Home Championship
|
|
5 | 10 April 1957 | Windsor Park, Belfast | Northern Ireland | 0–0 | 1957 British Home Championship
|
|
6 | 1 May 1957 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | Czechoslovakia | 1–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier
|
|
7 | 19 May 1957 | Zentralstadion, Leipzig | East Germany | 1–2 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier
|
1 |
8 | 26 May 1957 | Stadion Juliska, Prague | Czechoslovakia | 0–2 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier
|
|
9 | 25 September 1957 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | East Germany | 4–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier
|
|
10 | 19 October 1957 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | England | 0–4 | 1958 British Home Championship
|
|
11 | 15 January 1958 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv | Israel | 2–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier | |
12 | 5 February 1958 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | Israel | 2–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier | |
13 | 8 June 1958 | Jernvallen, Sandviken | Hungary | 1–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | |
14 | 11 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm | Mexico | 1–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | |
15 | 15 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm | Sweden | 0–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | |
16 | 17 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm | Hungary | 2–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | |
17 | 19 June 1958 | Ullevi, Gothenburg | Brazil | 0–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | |
18 | 18 October 1958 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | Scotland | 0–3 | 1959 British Home Championship
|
|
19 | 26 November 1958 | Villa Park, Birmingham | England | 2–2 | 1959 British Home Championship
|
|
20 | 4 November 1959 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | Scotland | 1–1 | 1960 British Home Championship
|
|
21 | 12 April 1961 | Windsor Park, Belfast | Northern Ireland | 5–1 | 1961 British Home Championship
|
1 |
22 | 19 April 1961 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | Spain | 1–2 | 1962 World Cup qualifier | |
23 | 18 May 1961 | Madrid | Spain | 1–1 | 1962 World Cup qualifier | |
24 | 28 May 1961 | Budapest | Hungary | 2–3 | Friendly | |
25 | 8 November 1961 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | Scotland | 0–2 | 1962 British Home Championship
|
|
26 | 11 April 1962 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | Northern Ireland | 4–0 | 1962 British Home Championship
|
4 |
27 | 12 May 1962 | Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | 1–3 | Friendly | |
28 | 16 May 1962 | São Paulo | Brazil | 1–3 | Friendly | |
29 | 22 May 1962 | Mexico City | Mexico | 1–2 | Friendly | |
30 | 20 October 1962 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | Scotland | 2–3 | 1963 British Home Championship
|
|
31 | 20 March 1963 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | Hungary | 1–1 | 1964 European Nations' Cup qualifier |
Personal life and post-retirement activities
He was the brother of all-round player John Charles and father of former Wales international Jeremy Charles.[4]
In March 1958, Charles married Vera (surname Frame). His brother John Charles was unable to attend the wedding as he was in Italy at the time.[80] It was a triple wedding, as Swansea teammates Don Pearson and Jeff Rees also married their partners in the same ceremony.[80] In September 1959 Vera gave birth to a son, Jeremy, who went on to play for Swansea and Wales himself.[80] They also had a daughter, Catherine.[81] The couple divorced in 1972, though remained good friends.[80]
After he left the professional game he found himself 'virtually penniless'.[82] He tried jobs as a door-to-door shoe salesman, as a scrap metal dealer (along with brother John), as a butcher, and as a potato merchant, often failing in a spectacular and humorous fashion.[83]
Charles' autobiography, entitled In the Shadow of a Giant, was released by
After a period of ill health, Charles died on 24 September 2016, at the age of 81.[85]
Career statistics
Club
Source:[86]
Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Swansea Town | 1952–53 | Second Division | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
1953–54 | Second Division | 31 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 10 | |
1954–55 | Second Division | 38 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 11 | |
1955–56 | Second Division | 34 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 8 | |
1956–57 | Second Division | 39 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 13 | |
1957–58 | Second Division | 40 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 11 | |
1958–59 | Second Division | 31 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 15 | |
Total | 233 | 66 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 245 | 68 | ||
Arsenal | 1959–60 | First Division | 20 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 8 |
1960–61 | First Division | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 | |
1961–62 | First Division | 21 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 17 | |
Total | 60 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 28 | ||
Cardiff City | 1961–62 | First Division | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
1962–63 | Second Division | 33 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 12 | |
1963–64 | Second Division | 26 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 9 | |
1964–65 | Second Division | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | |
Total | 79 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 85 | 26 | ||
Port Vale | 1966–67 | Fourth Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
Career total | 379 | 117 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 401 | 122 |
International
Wales national team[87] | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
1955 | 4 | 0 |
1956 | 1 | 0 |
1957 | 7 | 1 |
1958 | 9 | 0 |
1961 | 6 | 1 |
1962 | 4 | 4 |
Total | 31 | 6 |
Honours
Swansea Town
Cardiff City
References
Specific
- ^ "Mel Charles". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ a b Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 26
- ^ "Appearances for Wales National Team". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ^ a b c "Mel Charles, 1935-2016". Arsenal.com.
- ^ a b c Charles & Leslie 2009, pp. 90–91
- ^ "Football: How Alice Street in Swansea gave Wales five internationals". 18 November 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 39
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 42
- ^ a b c Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 45
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 46
- ISBN 0-7553-1209-0.
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 49
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 59
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 70
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 52
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 75
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 55
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 56
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 58
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 60
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 80
- ^ a b Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 131
- ^ a b Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 137
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 136
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 129
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 128
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 140
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 141
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, pp. 143–48
- ^ a b Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 149
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 153
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 154
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 155
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 157
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 161
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 181
- ^ a b Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 182
- ^ a b Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 183
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 184
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 186
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 185
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 187
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 188
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 190
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 192
- ^ a b Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 193
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 196
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 197
- ^ a b Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 198
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 199
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 200
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 204
- ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 205
- ^ a b c Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 206
- ^ a b Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 88
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 93
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 94
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 100
- ^ a b Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 102
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 104
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 105
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 107
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 108
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 14
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 114
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 19
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, pp. 115–119
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 16
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 17
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 22
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 20
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 96
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 171
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 174
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 178
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 139
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 87
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, pp. 235–238
- ^ a b c d Charles & Leslie 2009, pp. 125–26
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 229
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. 209
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, pp. 210–15
- ^ Charles & Leslie 2009, p. XI
- ^ "Obituary: Ex-Wales international Mel Charles dies, aged 81". BBC Sport. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- ^ Mel Charles at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ "Mel Charles". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ "Welsh Football Data Archive: Preserving our football heritage". wfda.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^ "Welsh Football Data Archive: Preserving our football heritage". wfda.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^ "Welsh Football Data Archive: Preserving our football heritage". wfda.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
General
- Charles, Mel; Leslie, Colin (2009). In the Shadow of a Giant: The Autobiography of Arsenal and Wales legend Mel Charles. ISBN 978-1-84454-776-0.
External links
- Mel Charles profile at Arsenal.com