39 Facts About Trevor Ford

Trevor Ford was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a centre forward for Swansea Town, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Cardiff City, PSV, Newport County and Romford, as well as for the Wales national team.

Trevor Ford moved to Aston Villa in 1947 where he scored consistently in the First Division, finishing as the club's top scorer for three consecutive seasons between 1947 and 1950.

At Sunderland, Trevor Ford formed a strike partnership with England international Len Shackleton, known as the "clown prince of football".

Trevor Ford left Sunderland in 1953 to return to Wales with Cardiff City.

Trevor Ford spent three seasons at Ninian Park before being suspended by the Football Association after revealing details of illegal payments being made to players during his time at Sunderland in an attempt to avoid the maximum wage at the time.

Unable to play in Britain due to the suspension, Trevor Ford joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven but returned to Britain in 1960 when his suspension was lifted to finish his career with short spells at Newport County and Romford.

Trevor Ford was encouraged into football by his father who would buy him a new football and boots for each birthday.

Trevor Ford grew up in the Townhill district of the city and attended Powys Avenue School as a child, captaining the school's football side as a centre-half.

Trevor Ford would soak a leather football in water and make him wear an ordinary plimsoll on his stronger foot to stop Ford kicking the heavy ball with it.

Trevor Ford was selected to represent Wales at under-14 level in a series of matches against the other home nations of Britain but suffered a broken ankle in a match for his school side just days before the first scheduled fixture against Scotland.

At the age of 14, Trevor Ford was chosen to represent Wales against a London Schools under-15 side as a bowler, playing alongside his future Wales and Cardiff City teammate Alf Sherwood in the side, himself a keen cricketer.

Trevor Ford left school at the age of 15 and began working as a "bogie boy" at a local blast furnace, a job that involved transporting hot shells out of the furnace ready to be shaped into steel tubes, earning 35 shillings a week in wages.

Trevor Ford later joined the army to complete his wartime service, serving as a physical training instructor in the Royal Artillery and, in the latter stages of the Second World War, was an anti-aircraft gunner.

Trevor Ford impressed enough to be offered an amateur contract with the London-based side, which was initially to be withheld until the end of hostilities in the Second World War.

However, Trevor Ford himself rejected the contract as he felt he was too young too move away from his home and family.

Trevor Ford remained in Swansea for another year, working in the local steelworks whilst playing local football, until Swansea Town manager Haydn Green visited Ford's home.

Trevor Ford was seen as a footballing celebrity at the time due to his prolific scoring record having made 128 appearances for Villa between January 1947 and October 1950 scoring 61 goals.

Trevor Ford made an impressive start for Sunderland, scoring a hat-trick on his home debut at Roker Park against Sheffield Wednesday, including a typically physical finish for one goal, taking Wednesday goalkeeper Dave McIntosh across the line with the ball, and later breaking a post with one effort.

Trevor Ford revealed that he was relieved that the record had been broken having described the fee as "weighing heavy on his shoulders".

Billy Bingham, who played alongside the pair at Sunderland, later commented "He never seemed to know what Shackleton was going to do with the ball and subsequently Trevor believed that Shackleton was ignoring him on the field of play".

The arguments between the pair eventually led Trevor Ford to refuse to play for the side if Shackleton was in the team, following a match against his former club Aston Villa.

Trevor Ford was left out of the side for the following match against Portsmouth with the club releasing a statement that he was being "rested due to his current lack of form".

Trevor Ford still holds the club record for the fastest goal scored for the club, which he set on 23 October 1954 against Charlton Athletic, after just fifteen seconds.

The revelations saw the club suffer heavy financial penalties and Trevor Ford was temporarily suspended from the game.

Trevor Ford eventually won his case for reinstatement, returning to The Football League with a brief spell at Newport County in the Third Division.

Trevor Ford ended a long career playing his football at Romford.

In 1955, Trevor Ford guest appeared for Southern Premier League side Gloucester City.

Trevor Ford continued his scoring start for Wales with another goal against Scotland in the following British Home Championship in 1947, his third goal in his first three matches for his country.

Trevor Ford would go on to score 23 times for Wales, including a hat-trick against Belgium in 1949 and braces against England, Portugal, Switzerland and Yugoslavia.

Trevor Ford's total of 23 goals was a record for Wales at the time before being equaled by Ivor Allchurch and eventually surpassed by Ian Rush and Gareth Bale.

In 1958, Wales qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history but Trevor Ford was serving his suspension from the British game which meant he was overlooked for selection and was not included in the Welsh squad for the 1958 World Cup.

Former England international Gil Merrick accused Trevor Ford of maltreating goalkeepers in his autobiography, although Trevor Ford later sued Merrick, stating that he had never been cautioned or sent off over his style of play, and received an apology and the withdrawal of the book over the claim.

Bingham stated that Trevor Ford was "the bravest player I ever played with" and described his physical condition, remarking "the two of us would lift weights, and I don't think he broke a sweat while I was struggling to lift some of them".

Away from his physicality, Trevor Ford was noted for his immense work rate and accurate finishing.

Trevor Ford was a keen cricketer from an early age and would often turn out for a team representing Aston Villa against local sides.

Holidaying in South Wales at the time and a spectator at the game, Trevor Ford volunteered to field for Glamorgan after Ossie Wheatley left the match due to injury during the lunch interval.

Trevor Ford remarked to Glamorgan captain Tony Lewis "Give me some kit and I'll play".

Trevor Ford entered the field of play following the resumption of the game and fielded for half-an-hour.

Trevor Ford died at Singleton Hospital in his native Swansea on 29 May 2003 at the age of 79 and was buried in Oystermouth Cemetery.