Idris Morgan Hopkins (11 October 1910 – 9 October 1994) 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 ...

famed for his talented right foot. He played for many clubs throughout his career, but most famously

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

where he captained them in the English First Division. He is a member of the Brentford Hall of Fame.

Early life

Hopkins was born in the mining town of

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

in Wales, son of a coal miner. He was naturally right footed but spent a great deal of time improving his weaker left foot repeatedly kicking a ball against a wall until it was of equal standard. Before turning professional he played football at an amateur level for Gellyfaelog and New Road.

Professional football career

Hopkins' first taste of professional football came with spells at

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 ...

sides

Merthyr Town Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional association football, football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system. The ...

and

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 ...

in 1927 and 1929 respectively. He failed to make a league appearance for either side before dropping back into

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

and Ramsgate Press Wanderers. He moved on to

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 1932 where he played 4 games before being transferred to

. It was at Brentford where he established himself as a footballer as part of their greatest ever team. He wore the number 7 shirt and was an old fashioned inside forward with two good feet and a determined attitude. Between 1932 and 1947 and he made 314 official appearances, scoring 77 goals and added over 200 appearances and 49 goals during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1946 Brentford, in Division 1, and with Hopkins as club captain were relegated to Division 2. During that season he made 43 appearances and scored four goals. This season was the last that Brentford were in the top flight of English football until they won promotion in 2021. In May 1947 he left Brentford and signed for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

where he played 27 times before retiring in 1948 at the age of 40. He also made two appearances for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

as a guest player during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His weekly wage was £12, the maximum permitted under league rules. Equivalent to £330 a week in 2007 terms, it was significantly lower than the wages of modern international footballers. He was inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in 1989.

International career

Hopkins was capped 12 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 ...

playing in the

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

s between 1934 and 1939, and undoubtedly would have won more if it hadn't been for World War II. He also made 9 appearances for Wales in wartime internationals scoring once. During his international career he played against such greats as

Cliff Bastin Clifford Sydney Bastin (14 March 1912 – 4 December 1991) was an English footballer who played as a winger for Exeter City and Arsenal. He also played for the England national team. Bastin is Arsenal's third-highest goalscorer of all time. C ...

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while stil ...

and

Tommy Lawton Thomas Lawton (6 October 1919 – 6 November 1996) was an English football player and manager. A strong centre-forward with excellent all-round attacking skills, he was able to head the ball with tremendous power and accuracy. Born in Fa ...

. Perhaps the most notable match he appeared in was Wales 4–2 victory over

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1938 at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...

as part of the

1939 British Home Championship This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

. Idris was amongst the scorers for Wales with Stanley Matthews and Tommy Lawton netting for England.

Honours

As a player

Brentford *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

Championship: 1934–35 *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

Championship: 1932-33 * London War Cup Winner: 1941-42

As an individual

* Brentford Hall of Fame

Non-playing Career and Retirement

After football Hopkins had spells coaching in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

with IFK Norrkoping and FK Slepnier, and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

with Demirspor F.C. He also managed Ramsgate, Portadown and Sutton United. He eventually moved to

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

where he owned and ran a confectionery shop Kandies in Harefield during the 1960’s and 70’s before settling in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

with his wife, Nancy, and sons Barry and Ashley. Hopkins died in on 9 October 1994 two days before his 84th birthday. A minutes' silence was held as a mark of respect before Brentford's match on the following Saturday.

External links

Some photos of Idris's International Caps and some old Brentford Photos
* The British Home International Tournament
A history of Welsh international football matchesHis career at Crystal Palace
* *
His comments to a passer by on the bus

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Idris 1910 births 1994 deaths Brentford F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Wales men's international footballers Wales men's wartime international footballers Footballers from Merthyr Tydfil Welsh men's footballers West Ham United F.C. wartime guest players Dartford F.C. players Southern Football League players Merthyr Town F.C. players Men's association football outside forwards