Wyn Rhys Griffiths (17 October 1919 – 29 May 2006) 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 le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He began his career during wartime, playing for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, signing for the latter after the war. He made his professional debut in 1948 for the club but made no further appearances before moving on to Newport County.

Career

Griffiths was born on a farm in the village of

Blaengwynfi Blaengwynfi is a village in the Afan Valley, in the Neath Port Talbot area of South Wales. It is in the community of Gwynfi and Croeserw, Location It is a part of the Upper Afan Valley. It used to be a coal mining village, and is directly below ...

, near

Maesteg Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translation of Mae ...

. He began his career as an amateur with

during wartime. He also appeared as a guest player for

and

, including playing in the club's match against Russian side

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

who were touring the UK in 1945. He played the first 45 minutes of the match but was replaced at half time by

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

goalkeeper Harry Brown, who had attended the game as a spectator. Griffiths was forced off after sustaining an injury when he was kicked in the head by opposition forward

Konstantin Beskov Konstantin Ivanovich Beskov (russian: Константи́н Ива́нович Бе́сков; 18 November 1920 – 6 May 2006) was a Soviet/Russian footballer and coach. Beskov was born in Moscow. He played for Dynamo Moscow as forward, sc ...

. When Griffiths was unable to continue, a call was issued around the ground for a replacement with Brown arriving in the home dressing room just before Charlton Athletic's

Sam Bartram Samuel Bartram (22 January 1914 – 17 July 1981) was an English professional footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper and holds the record for most appearances for Charlton Athletic, his only club at the professional level. Career Aft ...

. He signed for Cardiff City at the end of the war and made his professional debut in 1948, playing in a 1–1 draw with

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. However, he was unable to break into the first team ahead of

Danny Canning Leslie Daniel Canning (21 February 1926 – 30 June 2014) was a Welsh professional footballer. A goalkeeper, he made over 100 appearances in The Football League during spells with Cardiff City, Swansea Town and Nottingham Forest and won promoti ...

and later Phil Joslin and eventually left the side in 1952. He moved to Newport County where he made three league appearances.

Later life

Following the end of his professional football career Griffiths, who had qualified as a vet in July 1943, was employed at a colliery to treat the site's

pit ponies A pit pony, otherwise known as a mining horse, was a horse, pony or mule commonly used underground in mines from the mid-18th until the mid-20th century. The term "pony" was sometimes broadly applied to any equine working underground.English ...

. He went on to open his own veterinary practice in Newport before becoming a fellow at the

Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom, established in 1844 by royal charter. It is responsible for monitoring the educational, ethical and clinical standards of the v ...

, becoming one of the first in Wales after publishing a paper on

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatme ...

in sheep. He also worked for the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

inspecting cattle. He went on to own race horses and became a well-known figure in horse racing, attending over 50

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

s. This eventually led to him working for

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales br ...

as a racing reporter and tipster. Griffiths developed Alzheimer's in later life. He died in May 2006 at the age of 86 in

Royal Gwent Hospital The Royal Gwent Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty Brenhinol Gwent) is a local general hospital in the city of Newport, Wales, Newport. It is managed by the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. Since 2020, the hospital no longer has a full Emergency Departme ...

in Newport after suffering a fall in his home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Wyn 1919 births 2006 deaths Welsh men's footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers Arsenal F.C. wartime guest players Cardiff City F.C. wartime guest players Deaths from falls