Herbert Arthur Llewellyn (5 February 1939 – 8 September 2016) was an English
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
. A
centre-forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, he scored 114 goals in 239 league and cup appearances in a nine-year career in the Football League.
He began his career at Everton in May 1956, and played eleven top-flight games before moving on to
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
in July 1958. He proved a prolific signing, hitting 51 goals in 96 league games, before he was sold on to Port Vale for a £7,000 fee in November 1960. He was sold to
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
for £7,000 in February 1963, but soon found himself without a club after breaking his leg 11 minutes into his "Cobblers" debut. He returned to the game with
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
in summer 1965. He spent three seasons with the "Latics", bagging 140 goals in 185 games as the club won a succession of minor trophies.
Career
Llewellyn signed his first senior contract with Everton in May 1956. He scored on his "Toffees" debut, a 2–0 win over Blackpool at
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...
on 22 August, and scored another goal three days later in a 2–2 draw at home to Bolton Wanderers. He went on to play nine further league games for Everton, without finding the net. Under the stewardship of Ian Buchan, the club finished 15th in the First Division in 1956–57, and then 16th in 1957–58.
He signed with
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
Gresty Road
Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153.
History
Cre ...
, Llewellyn scored 51 goals in 96 league games.
He joined
Norman Low
Norman Harvey Low (23 March 1914 – 21 May 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the son of Scottish international footballer, Wilf Low.
A central defender, he played for Newcastle United between 1931 and 1933, before a ...
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950.
The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...
on 12 November. He scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 home win over
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
on 10 December, and again in a 4–1 home win over
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
on 18 February. He finished the 1960–61 season with 20 goals in 32 appearances, and was a member of the team that won the Supporters' Clubs' Trophy in 1961.
Llewellyn scored 20 goals in 50 games in the 1961–62 season to become the club's joint- top scorer (with Arthur Longbottom). He hit his third hat-trick for the "Valiants" on 6 January, in a 3–1
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
victory over
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
. He scored 10 goals in 21 games in 1962–63, including a hat-trick past
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
in a 4–1 home win on 8 December. However, he was sold to Dave Bowen's Northampton Town for £7,000 by new manager
Freddie Steele
Freddie Steele (December 18, 1912 – August 22, 1984) was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington. He was recognized as the National Boxing Association (NBA) Middleweight Champion of the World between 1936 ...
in February 1963; Steele had sold off strike-partner Longbottom the previous month.
Llewellyn only played eleven minutes of one match for the "Cobblers" due to a serious leg injury he sustained on his debut. He therefore played little part in the club's Third Division title winning campaign in 1962–63, and soon departed the County Ground. He moved on to Bill Moore's
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
in February 1964. He scored six goals in 17 Third Division games in 1963–64 and 1964–65, a solid return for a striker just returning to fitness in a struggling team. He then left Fellows Park, and joined Allan Brown's Cheshire County League side
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
.
Llewellyn made his league debut for Wigan against
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Harry Lyon, and hit 57 goals in 57 games in his first season at Springfield Park, as the "Latics" finished as the league's runners-up in 1965–66. He also helped the club to win the Cheshire League Cup, Lancashire Junior Cup and Liverpool Non League Senior Cup. He scored 28 goals in 40 games in 1966–67, as Wigan finished in second place again, whilst lifting four trophies: the Liverpool Non League Senior Cup, Lancashire Floodlit Cup, and the Northern Floodlit League championship and cup. Llewellyn then hit 18 goals in 35 league games in 1967–68, his last season in football. In all he scored 140 goals in 185 appearances across all competitions in just three seasons at Wigan, playing under the management of four different men: Allan Brown, Alf Craig, Harry Leyland, and Allan Sanders. He hit five goals on two separate occasions, hit four goals in three other games, and also claimed a total of six hat-tricks.
Style of play
Llewellyn was a pacey
centre-forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
with good ball-control skills.
Career statistics
Source:
Honours
Wigan Athletic
*Cheshire League Cup: 1966
*Lancashire Junior Cup: 1966
*Liverpool Non League Senior Cup: 1966 & 1967
*Lancashire Floodlit Cup: 1967
*Northern Floodlit League Championship: 1967
*Northern Floodlit League Cup: 1967