Cyril Sidlow (26 November 1915 – 12 April 2005) was a Welsh

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He played for several football clubs, most notably

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Life and playing career

Sidlow was born in

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. He played for Llandudno, Colwyn Bay and

. He was signed by the Wolves in 1937 by

Major Frank Buckley Franklin Charles Buckley (more commonly known as Major Frank Buckley) (3 October 1882 – 21 December 1964) was an English football player and, later, manager. He was the brother of Chris Buckley, who played for Aston Villa. Early life Buckle ...

. Sidlow was the first choice Wolves keeper before the war, but the signing of

Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He is credited as being ...

after the war limited his chances. His career included a notable international match between England and Wales at Ninian Park where Wolves supplied both the England keeper (Williams) and Welsh keeper (Sidlow). With the Wolves having two international keepers, this led to Sidlow being surplus to requirements. However, a recognized international, Liverpool manager

George Kay George Kay (21 September 1891 – 18 April 1954) was an English football player and manager of Luton Town, Southampton and Liverpool. The highlight of his playing career was when he captained West Ham United in the first FA Cup final to be play ...

signed him for a then record £4000 in February 1946. Sidlow made his debut for Liverpool on 31 August 1946 in a league match at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

, and kept his first clean sheet for the club, with

Len Carney Leonard Francis Carney (30 May 1915 – March 1996) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward. Career Born in Liverpool, Carney played amateur football for Liverpool University, Northern Nomads, Marine and Collegi ...

scoring a late goal for the Reds in the 90th minute. At the age of 24, Sidlow's career was curtailed with the beginning of the Second World War. He was almost 31 when he re-signed for the Reds. Sidlow with Charlie Ashcroft and Ray Minshull were the goalkeepers vying for the number one jersey at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

for the 1946/47 season: the first competitive season following the war. Even with the competition, Sidlow was given the position, which he held for 34 of the 42 games in a season that saw Liverpool win their first championship in 24 years. Much of which is owed to Sidlow as the final game of the season was a must win for the Reds. Sidlow's former employers, the Wolves, needed just a point to win the title and Liverpool had to face them at Molineux. The Reds were a point back on their hosts and needed a victory to win the league title. After a comprehensive 5–0 win at Anfield, Wolves were favorites to win the game and take the title, but goals from

Jack Balmer John Balmer (6 February 1916 — 25 December 1984) was an English footballer who played as a striker for English club Liverpool. Life and playing career Born in West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, Balmer played for Collegiate Old Boys ...

and

Albert Stubbins Albert Stubbins (17 July 1919 – 28 December 2002) was an English footballer. He played in the position of centre forward, although his career was limited by the onset of World War II. While playing for Liverpool, he won the League Champions ...

, plus Sidlow and the backline keeping Wolves down to one goal meant the Championship trophy would be heading to

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

. Sidlow tasted disappointment with the Reds too when they reached their first

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

final in 1950,

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

where the opposition who took the

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 ...

back to

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

after a 2–0 win. Sidlow's Liverpool days were drawn to a close during the 1950/51 after he originally begun the season as first choice. Charlie Ahcroft and Russell Crossley took over for four games before Sidlow came back in to play his last match for the club, Anfield was the place and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

were the visitors. Things didn't go well for Sidlow and the Reds as

The Magpies "The Magpies" is the most famous poem by New Zealand poet Denis Glover (1912–1980). It helped define New Zealand's distinctive style of poetry. The poem was first published in Glover's 1964 anthology ''Enter Without Knocking''. Over the course ...

went back to

St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Park ...

with the points after a 4–2 win. Crossley came back into the side and Sidlow retired in the August 1952, upon retirement from the top level, he went on to play for New Brighton. Sidlow earned seven caps for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

during his career.

Memorial

After his death his daughter sponsored a local award in Perton and Codsall, where her father lived until his death, to recognize local players achievements.

Career details

*Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. (1937–1946) *Liverpool F.C. (1946–1952) - 165 appearances - Football League Championship (level 1) winners medal (1947), FA Cup runners-up medal (1950) *Wales 7 caps

References

External links

Player profile at LFChistory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidlow, Cyril 1915 births 2005 deaths People from Colwyn Bay Footballers from Conwy County Borough Welsh men's footballers Colwyn Bay F.C. players Wales men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players New Brighton A.F.C. players English Football League players