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
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 ...
, 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
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 ...
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
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 ...
, 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
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 later
Hillingdon Borough.
Summersby died on 7 August 2016, in
Bury St Edmunds, aged 81.
[
]
References
External links
*
Roy Summersby Stats at pompeyrama.com
Roy 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