Roy Swinbourne
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography Royston Harry Swinbourne (25 August 1929 – 27 December 2015) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward in the Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers.[1] He was capped once by England B.[2]
Playing career
Swinbourne began his career at Wath Wanderers, the Yorkshire-based nursery club of Wolverhampton Wanderers. He moved south to join Wolves in 1944[3] and signed as a professional the following year.
After proving himself in the reserve ranks, he made his debut on 17 December 1949 in a 1–1 draw with Fulham.[4] He came to the fore during the 1950–51 season, replacing Jesse Pye in the attack, and finished as top goalscorer with 22 goals.[5] Injuries waylaid him the following year, but in the next campaign, forming what was described as "a potent dual spearhead" with Dennis Wilshaw,[6] he was once again the club's leading scorer with 21 goals.[7]
His tally of 24 in the 1953–54 season was a career best and helped Wolves capture their first ever league championship. It was Swinbourne himself who scored twice in the final game, a 2–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur that confirmed the title.[8] The following season brought another strong return, including two goals in Wolves' famous floodlit victory over Honved of Hungary.[9][10]
In 1955 he scored for England B in a 1–1 draw against their German counterparts: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
Swinbourne too, in spite of limited support, showed that he is a dashing centre-forward who knows where the goal lies. He scored his side's goal and but for three really great diving saves by Kubsch would have snatched the victory himself.[11]
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". His career was halted when he damaged his knee while hurdling over a posse of cameramen on the pitchside at Luton Town's Kenilworth Road ground in November 1955.[12][13] After trying to return just weeks later,[14] He was forced to undergo surgery on the injury, but was never able to resume his playing career and retired in May 1957.[12]
Later life
In later life, Swinbourne lived in Kinver before moving to a nursing home in Kidderminster.[15] He died on 27 December 2015, aged 86, following a long battle with vascular dementia.[16] He was survived by his wife, Betty, and daughters Jayne and Helen.[15]
References
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External links
- Film clip of Wolves v Honved 1954 at British Pathé
- Pages with script errors
- 1929 births
- 2015 deaths
- Sportspeople from Conisbrough
- Footballers from South Yorkshire
- English men's footballers
- England men's B international footballers
- Men's association football forwards
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
- English Football League players
- Deaths from vascular dementia
- 20th-century English sportsmen