Cod Almighty | Diary

Before John Charles, there was another gentle giant

1 December 2022

On Sunday, BBC Sport published the results of a poll to determine the best male Welsh footballer. There is nothing wrong with the winner - no one could seriously argue against John Charles - or even the shortlist, except that one name is missing. It is a second offence. Not so long ago Elis James presented a three-part documentary on the history of the Welsh team. It was very good, except that it made a huge jump from Billy Meredith, either side of World War One, to the 1950s. Missing was the last time Wales won outright the home nations championship, in 1937, and the man who scored their goals - Grimsby Town's Pat Glover.

To say that Glover performed his feats before the TV age, so he is always likely to be overlooked, is to conceal a deeper truth. The late 1920s and 1930s were hard times, especially in South Wales. Just like today, most of Wales's best players played outside Wales as the gates of Welsh clubs slumped. But with no TV, it was harder for the Welsh public to retain a bond with players they could never watch. Cardiff City's FA Cup victory in 1927 is more firmly entrenched in sporting folklore than the achievements of the Wales national team a decade later.

Yet Glover, in 1937, was widely regarded as the best centre forward in Britain. He was tall and strong and, as he said, he hit the ball like it owed him money. Footballers were starting to become celebrities, and Glover, through the syndicated newspaper columns he was often asked to write, projected a large yet modest personality.

He had no secret scoring touch he said: it was all down to the understanding he had developed with Town's inside forwards Jack Bestall and Charlie Craven. It was an understanding cemented by sharing rooms on away trips, the three of them sleeping across a double bed (Thanks to Rob McIlveen for finding and sharing that nugget.)

Quite how Bestall and Craven felt about sharing a bed with the six-foot Glover we don't know. Physically imposing, Glover, like John Charles, was a gentle giant. At the height of his fame, he drew headlines after stopping play when through on goal to ensure an injured defender got immediate treatment. That may not have gone down so well with Town fans as the 180 goals he scored from 227 matches, most of them in the top flight.

Those facts speak for themselves. So should seven goals in seven Wales appearances. It would have been many more if Wales had played more than the three games a season they were limited to in the 1930s.

Pat Glover: Grimsby's greatest goalscorer and a neglected Welsh great also. Let's not let him be forgotten.