Harold "Harry" Hanford (9 October 1907 – 1996) was a Welsh

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 le ...

who made more than 300 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing for Swansea Town,

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

and

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. He was

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seven times 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 ...

at senior international level. In the book by Geraint H Jenkins, 'Proud to be a Swan', Hanford is described as "a muscular, lantern-jawed stopper". Despite having been at the club for only a short time, he is a "veteran" of the Swansea City side struggling under the management of James Thomson towards the end of the 1920s. An inspirational figure in the side who, in times of economic hardship, regularly rallied the troops with the help of the "legendary" Joe Sykes and record Football League appearance holder for the Swans,

Wilfred Milne Wilfred Milne (24 March 1899 – 29 November 1977) was an English professional footballer. A one-club man, Milne spent his entire professional career with Swansea Town where he holds the club record for most appearances in the Football League ...

. Hanford was part of the

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Swansea Town side that saw off First division

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

in the third round of the 1935

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 ...

. Swansea were having a difficult season in division two that year but, goals from S Lowery (2) Hughie Blair and Walter Bussey helped them see off Stoke at the Vetch Field. Hanford played alongside

, who still holds the club record for most appearances in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

(586). However, the Swans went on to lose to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

in the fourth round.

References

1907 births 1996 deaths Sportspeople from Neath Port Talbot Welsh footballers Wales international footballers Association football defenders Swansea City A.F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players English Football League players Swindon Town F.C. wartime guest players {{Wales-footy-defender-stub