| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Royston Vernon[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1937-04-14)14 April 1937[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Ffynnongroew, Wales[1] | ||
| Date of death | 4 December 1993(1993-12-04) (aged 56)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955–1960 | Blackburn Rovers | 131 | (49) |
| 1960–1965 | Everton | 176 | (101) |
| 1965–1970 | Stoke City | 84 | (22) |
| 1967 | →Cleveland Stokers (guest) | 11 | (2) |
| 1970 | →Halifax Town (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 1970 | Cape Town City | ||
| 1970–1972 | Great Harwood | ||
| 1972 | Hellenic | ||
| Total | 406 | (174) | |
| International career | |||
| 1957–1968 | Wales | 32 | (8) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Thomas Royston Vernon (14 April 1937 – 4 December 1993) was a Welsh professionalfootballer who played as aforward forBlackburn Rovers,Everton andStoke City.[1] Vernon won 32caps forWales, scoring eight goals in total, and representing his country in the1958 World Cup in Sweden.[2]
Vernon was born inFfynnongroew,Flintshire[2] and attended Glyndŵr School in Rhyl.[3] He made his debut forBlackburn Rovers at the age of 18. He soon became a regular underJohnny Carey andEwood Park and scored 15 goals in 44 games in1957–58 as Rovers won promotion to theFirst Division. He took to the top flight with ease scoring 17 goals in1958–59 as Blackburn finished in 10th position.
After an argument with Blackburn managerDally Duncan, Vernon signed forEverton in 1960 for £27,000 plus wingerEddie Thomas.[2] He became a prolific goalscorer for the "Toffees" after scoring nine goals in his first 12 matches in1959–60 he then scored 22 in1960–61, a career best of 28 in1961–62 and was the top scorer with 24 goals and captain when Everton won theFirst Division title in the1962–63 season.[2] His striking partner who scored 22 goals in that title winning year was 'the golden vision'Alex Young.
Vernon was a lean player with anaquiline 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.[2] He made 200 appearances for Everton scoring 111 goals.[2]
After Everton managerHarry Catterick became 'fed up' with Vernon's off field antics he sold Vernon toStoke City for £40,000.[2] He made a good start to his career underTony Waddington scoring five goals in his first ten matches for the "Potters" at the end of the1964–65 season. He scored 11 in 36 appearances in1965–66 but a string of injuries reduced his effectiveness and after spending a short time out on loan atHalifax Town he moved to South Africa to play forCape Town City and laterHellenic.[2]
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.[2]
Vernon representedWales at senior and amateur level.[4]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 1955–56 | Second Division | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| 1956–57 | Second Division | 31 | 11 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 32 | 11 | ||
| 1957–58 | Second Division | 37 | 15 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 44 | 15 | ||
| 1958–59 | First Division | 36 | 16 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 38 | 17 | ||
| 1959–60 | First Division | 15 | 6 | 3 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 18 | 8 | ||
| Total | 131 | 49 | 13 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 144 | 52 | |||
| Everton | 1959–60 | First Division | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 | |
| 1960–61 | First Division | 39 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 22 | |
| 1961–62 | First Division | 37 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 28 | |
| 1962–63 | First Division | 41 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 27 | |
| 1963–64 | First Division | 31 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 21 | |
| 1964–65 | First Division | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | |
| Total | 176 | 101 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 202 | 111 | ||
| Stoke City | 1964–65 | First Division | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 |
| 1965–66 | First Division | 31 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 11 | |
| 1966–67 | First Division | 20 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | |
| 1967–68 | First Division | 19 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 3 | |
| 1968–69 | First Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | |
| Total | 88 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 24 | ||
| Cleveland Stokers (loan) | 1967 | United Soccer Association | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | 11 | 2 | |||
| Halifax Town (loan) | 1969–70 | Third Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Career total | 410 | 174 | 29 | 11 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 461 | 189 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 1957 | 7 | 1 |
| 1958 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1960 | 4 | 1 | |
| 1962 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1963 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1965 | 7 | 6 | |
| 1966 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1967 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 8 | |
Blackburn Rovers
Everton
|  | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
