JOHN WILLIAMS

Full Name: John Lloyd Williams (also known as John L, John Cardiff)

Born: 27 January 1936

Came from: Cardiff City   Went to: Torquay United

First game: 18 September 1958   Last game: 26 September 1961

Appearances: 38 (38/0)   Goals: 0

Born in Rhymney between Merthyr and Ebbw Vale in south Wales, he was often known as John 'Cardiff' or John L. Williams, to help distinguish him from Johnny Williams when at the club, with in effect, two John Williams on the books.

Capped at youth level for Wales, scoring in a 3-1 defeat by England at Portsmouth, he attracted the attention of several professional clubs but chose nearby Cardiff City. In 1958, after three seasons without a first team appearance he asked to be transferred. He was on the point of joining Norwich City for £4,000 before a late bid from Argyle secured his signature. Argyle had offered less, at £3,000 but a £300 signing-on bonus help swing the deal in their favour. He made his debut in the autumn of 1958 and was a regular in the 1958-59 promotion side which won the Third Division championship.

Although he did lose his place to Len Casey as the promotion push appeared to falter, he was recalled for the final few matches. However, he never again captured a regular slot in the first team but did come to national prominence as the man who marked Jimmy Greaves in the famous reserve match against Tottenham Hotspur, in December 1961. Greaves had returned to the UK having been signed from Italian giants, AC Milan, for a British record fee of £99,999 (designed to avoid the extra pressure of being the first £100,000 player in Britain) after a brief and unhappy spell in Italy. He was registered too late for Spurs' next First Division game, so he got a run out for their reserves at Home Park. An incredible 12,907 turned up for the game to see Greaves score twice and playing with a smile seldom seen in Italy, in a game Spurs won 4-1. Despite this, Williams had played well, especially given the scale of his task, and received numerous positive citations in the press.

Unusually, he was retained for two further seasons in the early 1960s, to set an example for young players making their way through the reserves. After a spell with Torquay United, for whom he played 42 times between 1962 & 1965, he then returned to his native South Wales and played for Merthyr Town in the Southern League and later Ton Pentre, in the Welsh League. Alongside continuing his football career there, he worked for over 20 years, as a Training Officer at the Hoover Factory in the Pentrebach part of Merthyr. He later worked in the town's Asda superstore and was hugely popular with colleagues. Physically he had changed little from his playing days and ran the London Marathon twice, the Welsh half-marathon and the Great Cardiff Run.

John also attended a 50th anniversary re-union of the 1958-59 promotion side at Home Park in 2008 and was presented by a modern day shirt with his name on it by then chairman, Paul Stapleton. Such was his pride about his time with the club, he turned up looking very dapper in his club issued, crested, 1958 blazer, which was still in immaculate condition.

John sadly passed away in south Wales in October 2022 aged 86 years old, after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. His family requested and were given, an Argyle flag by the club to drape over his coffin.