Ivor Verdun Powell,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(5 July 1916 – 6 November 2012) 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 ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. He won eight

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

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 ...

. A

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he began his professional career with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

in September 1937. His career was interrupted by

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 ...

, though he returned to QPR to help them to the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

title in 1947–48. He moved to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

for £17,500 in December 1948, and played 79 games in the First Division. He was appointed

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in July 1951, though was sacked after just four months. He was appointed

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

manager in 1952, but was again unsuccessful, and departed in February 1955. He did find success at

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

following his appointment in 1960, leading the club to promotion out of the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

in 1961–62. He left the club in 1963, and later managed

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

, before becoming a coach. He was inducted to the

Welsh Sports Hall of Fame The Welsh Sports Hall of Fame (WSHOF) is a charitable organisation created to commemorate the sporting achievements and preserve the artefacts of Welsh athletes. It was established in 1980 from the memorabilia collection of Welsh radio commentato ...

in 2004 alongside

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

player

Terry Griffiths Terence Martin Griffiths (born 16 October 1947) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion when he won the 1979 World Snooker Champion ...

and cricketer

Tony Lewis Anthony Robert Lewis CBE (born 6 July 1938) is a Welsh former cricketer, who captained England, became a journalist, went on to become the face of BBC Television cricket coverage between 1986 and 1998, and became president of the Marylebone C ...

. He also entered the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the oldest working football coach on his 90th birthday after 55 years as a coach. He retired on 26 May 2010, aged 93. Ivor was the father of Barry Powell.

Playing career

Club career

Powell started his working life down the mines, alongside his father and six brothers. His playing career began with

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

League side Bargoed Thursdays. In August 1936 he was invited to London to have a trial with

. This was unsuccessful but Powell stayed in London and got a job. He started playing for the reserve team of

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

and in May 1937 played in a friendly game against QPR. Powell was the outstanding player in the game, which Barnet won 8–1, and this time Rangers took real interest. Joining QPR on professional terms under

Billy Birrell William Birrell (13 March 1897 – 29 November 1968) was a Scottish professional footballer who made over 220 appearances as a forward in the Football League for Middlesbrough. He also made over 120 appearances in the Scottish League for Raith ...

in September 1937, the club finished third in the

, missing out on promotion as they finished three points below champions

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

. They finished sixth in 1938–39, the first full season before the outbreak of

. During the war he guested for

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

whilst working as an

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

physical trainer. It was at Blackpool that he struck up a friendship with

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 ...

, who later became Powell's best man at his wedding to Joan Browell in 1943. He returned to

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

after the war, and helped QPR to finish as the Third Division South runners-up in 1946–47, though only the team that finished first were promoted into the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. They managed to finish as champions in 1947–48 under

Dave Mangnall David Mangnall (21 September 1905 – 10 April 1962) was an English association football, football player and manager. As a player, he scored 144 goals from 221 appearances in the Football League playing for Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, ...

's stewardship, to finally win promotion. He played a total of 159 league and cup games for the club. On 15 December 1948, the tough tackler commanded a £17,500 transfer fee; this was a record for a half back and for both the buying and selling clubs when he moved to Alex Massie's

. He played another 79 First Division games for Villa in 1948–49, 1949–50, and 1950–51, before he was appointed

in July 1951.

International career

Powell made eight international caps for

and won four wartime caps. In one game he was replaced by

Englishman The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...

Stan Mortensen Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, most famous for his part in the 1953 FA Cup Final (subsequently known as the "Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a h ...

in a game between

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 ...

and Wales when his injury left the Welsh side without an available substitute.

Management career

as player-manager he played just the six times, restricted on the field by a knee injury. As a manager, he tried to 'rule by fear' and was not well liked by the players; with the club bottom of the

, his contract was terminated in November 1951.

Roy Sproson Roy Sproson (23 September 1930 – 24 January 1997) was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts (and 5 substitute appearances) for Vale ...

later said that "everything seemed to go wrong for him at Vale" and that "he used to treat players like kids". He moved to Barry Town before being appointed the new

manager, again as player-manager, before the start of the 1952–53 season. His first season at

Valley Parade Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they c ...

was disappointing as they slipped to 16th in

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

. The following season they came fifth but were 16 points shy of the

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

places. During that season he missed the first

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

of his career in a home fixture with

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

. The following season, he was carried off with knee ligament damage against

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. The injury ended his playing career. City's form also struggled and Powell left in February 1955 after a run of seven straight defeats and just two wins from 19 games without his presence on the field. City were forced to apply for re-election at the end of the campaign. Powell became a trainer-coach at

Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

, and also had a coaching spell at PAOK in Greece, before he returned to management with

in May 1960, succeeding

Andy Beattie Andrew Beattie (11 August 1913 – 20 September 1983) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He was the first manager of the Scottish national team. Playing career Beattie was born in Kintore, Aberdeenshire and was emplo ...

. He led the "Cumbrians" to their first promotion when they finished fourth in the

in 1961–62. He instilled discipline at

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

, and signed players such as

Peter McConnell Peter Nelson McConnell (born April 19, 1960), also known as Peter Mc, is an American video game composer and musician, best known for his work at LucasArts and for composing the soundtracks for every '' Sly Cooper'' game since the second instal ...

, Reg Davies,

Terry Caldwell Terence Caldwell (born 5 December 1938) is an English former professional association football, footballer who made nearly 400 appearances in the Football League playing as a Defender (association football), defender for Huddersfield Town A.F.C. ...

, and Jack Marsden. He left the following season, with the club struggling in the league and knocked out of 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 ...

by Southern League side Gravesend & Northfleet. He became manager of

in 1964 and then a member of the coaching staff at

Team Bath TeamBath is the University of Bath's sporting organisation. In addition to entering teams in BUCS intervarsity competitions, TeamBath has also entered teams in national leagues and competitions. Team Bath F.C. reached the first round proper of t ...

(

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

), where he worked for over 30 years, before becoming a coach at the same club. At the age of 93, Powell announced his retirement as the "world's oldest football coach" in May 2010.

Legacy

He was inducted to the

in 2004. In 2006, while assistant coach for

at the

, he celebrated his 90th birthday and entered the

as the oldest working football coach. He later became the club President. He completed 53 years as an FA accredited coach. In 1993, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (MA) by the

. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2008 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and a ...

for his services to sport and was presented with his award by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

on 25 June 2008, a few days short of his 92nd birthday. He described receiving the award as "an honour and a privilege." In 2010, he launched "The Ivor Powell Sports Scholarship Fund" at the University of Bath to provide scholarships for future undergraduates who are gifted both academically and in their chosen sport. This scholarship is administered by University of Bath Development and Alumni Relations.

Career statistics

Playing statistics

Source: :A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

Football League play-offs The English Football League play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the four association football teams finishing immediately below the automatic promotion places in the second, third and fourth tiers of the English football league ...

and

Full Members Cup The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. The ...

International statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

Queens Park Rangers *

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

: 1947–48

As a manager

Carlisle United *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

fourth-place promotion: 1961–62

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Ivor People from Bargoed Sportspeople from Caerphilly County Borough Welsh footballers Wales international footballers Association football wing halves Barnet F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. wartime guest players Blackpool F.C. wartime guest players Port Vale F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players English Football League players Association football coaches Association football player-managers Welsh football managers Port Vale F.C. managers Bradford City A.F.C. managers Carlisle United F.C. managers Bath City F.C. managers TeamBath coaches British expatriates in Greece PAOK FC managers English Football League managers Members of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force Physical Training instructors 1916 births 2012 deaths