27 Facts About Ken Leek

Kenneth Leek was a Welsh footballer, who played as a centre forward or inside forward for several different clubs and for the Wales national side in a professional career which spanned from 1952 until 1968.

Ken Leek scored 145 goals in the Football League from 396 appearances with five clubs.

Ken Leek had three seasons at Leicester, and scored in every round of the FA Cup en route to the 1961 final.

Ken Leek was dropped from the final and soon moved on to Newcastle United.

Ken Leek's stay with Newcastle was brief and he signed for Birmingham City before the end of the year, having had a loan spell in Canada with Montreal Concordia.

Ken Leek played more than 100 games with Birmingham, scoring nearly a goal every other game including two in the 1963 League Cup triumph against rivals Aston Villa.

Ken Leek returned to Northampton, helping them to promotion to the top flight before finishing his professional career with Bradford City.

Ken Leek's career took him onto three Welsh non-league sides.

Ken Leek was born on 26 July 1935 in Ynysybwl, South Wales, where he lived next door to Birmingham City and future Welsh international footballer Don Dearson.

Ken Leek attended two rugby-playing schools before taking up football himself at the age of 14.

Ken Leek soon appeared for the first team and won honours for the Welsh under-23 side.

Ken Leek scored for Northampton in their 1958 FA Cup triumph against First Division side Arsenal.

Ken Leek left Leicester just weeks later, having scored 43 goals in 108 appearances, with 34 of those coming in 93 league matches.

Ken Leek scored two goals in the first leg of the club's League Cup victory against their local rivals Aston Villa in the 1963 final.

Ken Leek made his debut against Doncaster Rovers on 6 November 1965 and finished his first season as top scorer with 11 goals.

Ken Leek spent three seasons with City, playing in midfield, scoring 25 goals from 99 league games, and adding a goal in the League Cup.

Ken Leek left Bradford in June 1968 to return to Wales as a player-coach with non-league side Rhyl.

Ken Leek played for other Welsh sides Merthyr Tydfil and Ton Pentre before retiring in 1970.

Ken Leek was a non-playing member of Wales's squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden.

Ken Leek followed it up with games against the other home nations, England and Northern Ireland, among six caps that year.

Ken Leek won another three caps in 1962, and played for a second time against England in 1963.

Ken Leek initially played as an inside or outside left forward but moved to centre forward early in his career.

Ken Leek was tall and said to be "effective in the air", had pace and was adept with both feet.

Ken Leek suffered from injuries because of his robust style.

Ken Leek was very elusive and caused a lot of problems for centre halves.

Ken Leek was married to Janet, with whom he had two daughters and four grandchildren.

Ken Leek died on 19 November 2007 at his home in Northampton after a short illness; he was 72.