Thomas Royston "Roy" Vernon (14 April 1937 – 4 December 1993) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

international

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 for

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, Everton and Stoke City. Vernon won 32

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 Ja ...

for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, scoring eight goals in total, and representing his country in the

1958 World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Brazil be ...

in Sweden.

Career

Vernon was born in Ffynnongroew,

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. He made his debut for

at the age of 18. He soon became a regular under

Johnny Carey John Joseph Carey (23 February 1919 – 22 August 1995) was an Irish professional footballer and manager. As a player, Carey spent most of his career at Manchester United, where he was team captain from 1946 until he retired as a player in 1953 ...

and Ewood Park and scored 15 goals in 44 games in 1957–58 as Rovers won promotion to the Football League First Division, First Division. He took to the top flight with ease scoring 17 goals in 1958–59 in English football, 1958–59 as Blackburn finished in 10th position. After an argument with Blackburn manager Dally Duncan, Vernon signed for Everton in 1960 for £27,000 plus winger Eddie Thomas (footballer born 1933), Eddie Thomas. He became a prolific goalscorer for the "Toffees" after scoring nine goals in his first 12 matches in 1959–60 in English football, 1959–60 he then scored 22 in 1960–61 in English football, 1960–61, a career best of 28 in 1961–62 in English football, 1961–62 and was the top scorer with 24 goals and captain when Everton won the Football League First Division, First Division title in the 1962–63 in English football, 1962–63 season. His striking partner who scored 22 goals in that title winning year was 'the golden vision' Alex Young (footballer, born 1937), Alex Young. Vernon was a lean player with an aquiline nose, a powerful left foot shot, great skill and a coolness when taking his chances. Brian Labone said of him: "Taffy Vernon was about 10 stone. Wet through he looked about as athletic as Pinocchio." Apart from his success in open play, Roy Vernon was probably the finest and most successful penalty-taker ever to play for Everton. He made 200 appearances for Everton scoring 111 goals. After Everton manager Harry Catterick became 'fed up' with Vernon's off field antics he sold Vernon to Stoke City for £40,000. He made a good start to his career under Tony Waddington scoring five goals in his first ten matches for the "Potters" at the end of the 1964–65 Stoke City F.C. season, 1964–65 season. He scored 11 in 36 appearances in 1965–66 Stoke City F.C. season, 1965–66 but a string of injuries reduced his effectiveness and after spending a short time out on loan at Halifax Town A.F.C., Halifax Town he moved to South Africa to play for Cape Town City F.C. (NFL), Cape Town City and later Hellenic F.C., Hellenic. Vernon was a heavy smoker, often smoking in the tunnel before the game and immediately after, and was reputed to bet on the horses and the greyhounds in his spare time. He died in 1993 from cancer.

International career

Vernon represented

at senior and amateur level.

Career statistics

Club

Source:

International

Source:

Honours

Blackburn Rovers * Football League Second Division runner-up: 1957–58 * FA Cup runner-up: 1960 FA Cup Final, 1960 Everton * Football League First Division champion: 1962–63 in English football, 1962–63 * FA Charity Shield: 1963 FA Charity Shield, 1963

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Roy 1937 births 1993 deaths Sportspeople from Flintshire Welsh footballers Wales international footballers Wales under-23 international footballers Welsh expatriate footballers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Everton F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players 1958 FIFA World Cup players Great Harwood F.C. players Cape Town City F.C. (NFL) players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Hellenic F.C. players Expatriate soccer players in South Africa Welsh expatriate sportspeople in South Africa English Football League players Wales amateur international footballers Cleveland Stokers players United Soccer Association players Association football forwards Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States National Football League (South Africa) players