Leonard Allchurch (12 September 1933 – 16 November 2016) was a Welsh professional

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 ...

. Allchurch played 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 ...

for almost twenty years, playing in the top flight with

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

and having lengthy spells with Swansea City and

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

. A Welsh international, he was born in Swansea and was the brother of fellow international

Ivor Allchurch Ivor John Allchurch MBE (16 October 1929 – 10 July 1997) was a Welsh professional footballer who played for Swansea Town, Newcastle United and Cardiff City, as well as the Wales national football team. Known as the "Golden Boy of Welsh foot ...

. He had the distinction of never receiving a booking or a caution throughout his entire Football League career.

Club career

Allchurch began his career with Swansea Town and, having signed professional terms in October 1950, he made his debut at the age of 17. With

manager John Harris looking to reignite their faltering promotion push he offered £12,000 for Allchurch but the deal was rejected. United were undeterred and finally agreed a deal for £18,000 in March 1961. Allchurch had an immediate impact, scoring on his debut and adding a further five goals in the final seven games of the season, helping his new club to clinch promotion. He remained an important part of the United first team for the following three years making over 140 appearances in total and scoring 37 goals. In March 1965, he moved to

Division Four 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 ...

side

for £10,000, becoming the most expensive signing in club history. He made his debut for the club on 6 September 1965 in a 2–1 defeat to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

and helped the club gain promotion to

Division Three 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 fo ...

in his second year at

Edgeley Park Edgeley Park is a football stadium in Edgeley, Stockport, England. Built for rugby league club Stockport RFC in 1891, by 1903, the rugby club was defunct and Stockport County Football Club moved in. Edgeley Park is an all-seater stadium hold ...

. After winning the club's player of the year award in his final season, he returned to Swansea City where he ended his professional playing career. He subsequently played for

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

having moved to the club in July 1971.

International career

Allchurch first joined his brother Ivor in the

Welsh national team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth ...

in April 1955 against Ireland. He earned 11 caps for his country.

Post football

On his retirement Allchurch became a hotelier in Swansea before running a leather goods business. Allchurch died at the age of 83 on 16 November 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allchurch, Len 1933 births 2016 deaths Welsh footballers Wales international footballers 1958 FIFA World Cup players Swansea City A.F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players English Football League players Association football wingers Footballers from Swansea Welsh people of English descent Haverfordwest County A.F.C. players