Roy Donald Summersby (19 March 1935 – 7 August 2016) was an English 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 ...

who played as an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. He appeared 275 times 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

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, eas ...

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 ...

, and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, before moving into non-league football with

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of ...

and Hillingdon Borough.

Playing career

Summersby began his playing career at

, initially as a junior before signing as a professional in March 1952, but did not fully establish himself in the first team until 1957. In December 1958, he signed for

then playing in the Fourth Division in its inaugural season. He quickly became a first team regular and put together a sequence of 126 consecutive appearances, many of them alongside Johnny Byrne. In October 1959, Summersby scored four goals in Crystal Palace's biggest-ever league win; a 9–0 home victory over Barrow. In the 1960–61 season, Palace achieved promotion to the third tier and Summersby was ever present, making 46 appearances, scoring 25 goals, which is still (as of September 2014) the fourth highest seasonal goals total in Crystal Palace Post-War history. Only Byrne the same season (30), Andrew Johnson in 2003–04 (28) and

Glenn Murray Glenn Murray (born 25 September 1983) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football pundit who played as a Forward (association football), striker. His career spanned 19 years from 2002 until 2021. Best known ...

in 2012–13 (30) have scored more goals. The next season, Summersby made 42 appearances, scoring eight times, but in 1962–63 only appeared 17 times (in the first half of the season) and scored twice. At the end of that season, in May 1963, he transferred to

, rejoining former Palace

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 ...

George Smith. However, after only 12 games for Portsmouth, over two seasons, Summersby moved on to non–league football with

and later Hillingdon Borough. Summersby died on 7 August 2016, in Bury St Edmunds, aged 81.

References

External links

*
Roy Summersby Stats at pompeyrama.comRoy Summersby at holmesdale.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summersby, Roy 1935 births 2016 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Millwall F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from the London Borough of Lambeth Chelmsford City F.C. players Hillingdon Borough F.C. players