Fred Keenor: The Man Who Never Gave Up

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Michael, who also lives in Cardiff, produced the statue of footballer Ivor Allchurch, which stands outside the Liberty Stadium in Swansea. A tribute to Cardiff City legend Fred Keenor". WalesOnline. Media Wales. 10 November 2012 . Retrieved 9 November 2012. A son Albert, was born to Fred and wife Muriel on May 3, 1926, in Whitchurch, Cardiff, but his death certificate shows he died one hour later. The cause of death was given as “prematurity”.

There were rumours that when Fred played for Cardiff City he liked his drink. People said he would have a couple of drinks before he went on the pitch, but that wasn’t true. We walked into the restaurant and there’s a bunch of lads who were in the pub sitting at a table in the restaurant with the staff having their picture taken with the FA Cup. Davies, Gareth M; Garland, Ian (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Soccer Players. Wrexham: Bridge Books. ISBN 978-1-872424-11-8. As soon as was possible the Cup winners were taken to the City Hall, where the Lord Mayor of Cardiff received them. The route to the hall was crammed, and progress was very slow as a result. Cheers rent the air from all quarters, and there was not a break in the volume of sound during the mile journey from the station to Cathays Park.He said: “This is something I would welcome if it is something the Supporters’ Club would like to happen. Fans believe the man who became the first and only skipper from a non-English club to lift the famous trophy should be honoured with a permanent memorial 82 years after he held the silverware aloft at Wembley. Cardiff City entered a period of decline in the following years. Two seasons after their Cup triumph and despite conceding the fewest goals in the division, Cardiff were relegated to the Second Division at the end of the 1928-29 season. An ageing Keenor became a target of frustrated fans as Cardiff suffered financial difficulties that saw the majority of the team’s star names sold in a bid to raise funds. Replacements were signed from amateur sides, but the team struggled in the Second Division. Before the 1930-31 season Keenor was still on the wages he had received when the club was in the First Division. They gave him a twenty-five per cent pay cut during the season and a fifty per cent cut during the off-season. Club director Walter Bartley Wilson, who had intended to leave Keenor with no choice but to leave the club due to the severe drop in wages, instigated the cuts. However, Keenor told him, “Bart, I’m going to surprise you too. I’m going to take it”. Barber, David (6 December 2014). "The FA Cup has never been an English-only competition". The Football Association . Retrieved 8 August 2016.

Cardiff born centre half Fred Keenor was an outstanding Welsh footballer, second in influence to the development of Welsh football possibly only to Billy Meredith in the pre Second World War era. Having played for Cardiff Schoolboys, Keenor was selected to represent the Welsh schoolboy side in 1907 and appeared as an outside right in the first ever meeting between the English and Welsh schoolboy sides. He began his adult football career with local junior side Roath Wednesday, the team of the district of Cardiff in which he grew up, before joining hometown Southern League club Cardiff City in May 1913, initially on an amateur contract aged 17. Meanwhile, to tie in with the weekend’s Six Nations rugby, we are today focusing on some of the city’s greatest ever rugby heroes. Port Talbot is a divided town, half is Cardiff, half is Swansea, but this pub was a Cardiff City pub. Spells with Crewe Alexandra, Oswestry Town and Tunbridge Wells Rangers followed, but it wasn’t long before Fred returned to the city which was his home. Having built and designed a house in Whitchurch, Fred lived with his wife, Muriel, and became a keen gardener.Fred was shot at the Somme in World War I and it was feared that he might never play football again. We are sure that the end product will be something every Cardiff City, and indeed Wales fan, can be proud of. The Trust is giving fans the chance to vote online because there are many Bluebirds in the UK and across the world.” The centre-forward's 74th-minute strike in the 1927 FA Cup final, which slipped under Arsenal's Welsh goalkeeper Dan Lewis, ensured the world's most famous domestic trophy left England for its one and only time. Wales themselves faced a similar situation 88 years ago when they were forced to field a much-weakened side made up of lower-league players. We wanted to honour his memory with every penny raised from the single going towards the statue. In these days of modern footballers, here was a man who lived out his life in modest means and was dearly loved by the people.”

Nelson played 271 games for Cardiff and became a Scottish football immortal in 1928, playing for the famous 'Wembley Wizards' Scotland team that trounced England 5-1 under the twin towers, a feat that still remains one of Scottish sport's greatest occasions. Nov 2023 Coaches banned from weighing gymnasts in new rulesBritish coaches are no longer allowed to weigh gymnasts under new rules to protect "physical and psychological health". a b c "Fred Keenor". Football and the First World War. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 . Retrieved 25 July 2016. Alpuin, Luis Fernando Passo. "Wales – record international players". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 March 2009 . Retrieved 12 October 2009.It’s an examination of what he was like as a man. He played for Cardiff City from 1912 to 1931, but between 1915 and 1919 he survived the First World War.” Lloyd, Grahame (1999), C'mon City! A Hundred Years of the Bluebirds, Bridgend: Seren Books, ISBN 978-1-85411-271-2 A small boy found that the occasion offered splendid opportunity for a remunerative business on the canal bridge, where a large number of people had ensconced themselves on the parapet and pillars. To their mortification a gust of wind carried away a dozen hats, some landing on the towpaths and others sailing down the stream. The boy volunteered at twopence per man to shin down the side of the bridge to retrieve the lost headgear.