 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leonard Stephen Davies[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1899-04-28)28 April 1899 | ||
| Place of birth | Splott,Cardiff, Wales | ||
| Date of death | 1945 (aged 45–46) | ||
| Place of death | Prescot, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Victoria Athletic | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1919–1931 | Cardiff City | 306 | (128) |
| 1931–1932 | Thames | 27 | (12) |
| 1932–1935 | Bangor City | ||
| Total | 333 | (140) | |
| International career | |||
| 1922–1929 | Wales | 23 | (6) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1932–1935 | Bangor City | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Leonard Stephen Davies (28 April 1899 – 1945) was a Welsh professionalfootballer. Born inCardiff, he trained as a marine engineer before becoming a footballer, making his senior debut for his hometown clubCardiff City in 1919 in theSouthern Football League. Cardiff joined theFootball League the following year but Davies remained areserve until establishing himself in the first team in late 1922. He scored Cardiff's firsthat-trick in the Football League in January 1922 and was the club's top scorer in all competitions during the campaign.
In the1923–24 season, Cardiff went into their final game of the campaign needing a win to become the first Welsh side to win theFootball League First Division title. During the match, Davies missed apenalty kick as his side were held to a goalless draw, missing out on the title viagoal average. He also helped the club reach the1925 FA Cup Final but missed the game due to injury. He played in a final two years later, in the1927 FA Cup Final, helping the side become the only Welsh side to win the competition as they defeatedArsenal 1–0.
He remains the record goalscorer for Cardiff City in both league and all competitions having scored 179 goals for the club between 1919 and 1931. He later played a single season forThames before finishing his career withBangor City. He also representedWales at international level 23 times during his career, scoring 6 goals
Born in theSplott district ofCardiff, Davies attended Gladatone Road School. He trained as a marine engineer in his teens and spent time at sea.[1][3] He also played cricket at youth level forGlamorgan County Cricket Club.[4]
Davies began his football career with local youth side Victoria Athletic and represented Wales at youth level in 1913 againstEngland atPenydarren Park.[3] He joinedCardiff City in 1919 and made his senior debut in the 1919–20 season, replacingGeorge Beare for a 2–2 draw withLuton Town on 13 September 1919 in theSouthern Football League.[1][5][6] However, this proved to be his only first team appearance for more than a year. Cardiff joined theSecond Division of theFootball League in 1920, but Davies played only three times during the league season. His only other appearance during the1920–21 season came in theWelsh Cup. With Cardiff meetingBristol City in the Football League on the same day, they were forced to field a reserve side for their match againstPontypridd. Although Cardiff went on to lose the game, Davies scored the first senior goal of his career.[7]
Davies remained a reserve at the start of the1921–22 season, during which the club initially struggled in thetop tier. WithFred Pagnam having failed to score in 13 appearances, Davies was brought into the side in November and scored a brace during a 2–1 victory overEverton. He scored in his next two appearances and remained a regular in the first team for the remainder of the campaign.[8] In December 1921, Cardiff rejected a £3,000 (around £140,000 in 2021) offer for Davies from a rival First Division club.[9] He scored Cardiff's firsthat-trick in the Football League on 21 January 1922 during a 6–3 victory overBradford City.[10] He was also prolific in the Welsh Cup, scoring four times againstNewport County in the third round and adding a hat-trick againstMerthyr Town in the fourth. In the final, Davies scored Cardiff's second goal as they defeatedTon Pentre 2–0. He finished the season as Cardiff's second highest scorer in the First Division with 17, 3 short ofJimmy Gill, but his scoring exploits in the FA Cup and Welsh Cup saw him out score Gill in all competitions.[8]
Gill and Davies remained a prolific partnership for the club in the1922–23 season, with Davies scoring 19 league goals, two more than his teammate. Davies' tally included a hat-trick during a 6–1 victory overChelsea in March 1923. He also scored six times in four matches as Cardiff retained their Welsh Cup title, including a hat-trick in a 10–0 win overOswestry in the fourth round and the winning goal in the final during a 3–2 victory overAberdare Athletic.[11]
Davies began the1923–24 season slowly, scoring once in his first five appearances although Cardiff scored ten times in the games. From 15 September to 27 October, he embarked on a scoring run, netting in six of the seven matches his side played, which included winning goals in two matches. On 10 November, he scored all of Cardiff's goals in a 4–2 victory overWest Bromwich Albion. He went on to finish the campaign as the club's top goalscorer having scored 23 times in the league, a career high tally.[12] However, his campaign was overshadowed by a missedpenalty on the final day of the season. In their last game, Cardiff metBirmingham. If they won the game Cardiff would be guaranteed the First Division title. The match was goalless after 70 minutes, when a goal-bound shot from Gill was blocked by the hand of a Birmingham defender resulting in a penalty being given. The club's usual penalty takerJack Evans had missed recent attempts, while Gill was reluctant to take it.[13] Davies instead stepped in to take the first penalty of his senior career.[14] His teammateFred Keenor later described the attempt, noting "There is no doubt that the excitement and the knowledge that so much depended on the shot unnerved Len a little. Under ordinary circumstances it would have been a gift goal, but Len Davies muffed the kick and the ball rolled gently to the goalkeeper, who calmly gathered and made an easy clearance."[15] The game eventually ended goalless while their nearest rivalsHuddersfield Town won 3–0 and secured the title courtesy ofgoal average. The difference between the two sides, 0.024 of a goal remains the closest margin of victory ever recorded in the top tier of English football.[16][17] Davies was said to be inconsolable following the miss.[3]
He was again Cardiff's highest goalscorer the following year, netting 20 times despite suffering several injury problems that restricted him to 30 league appearances. However, his injury issues cost him a place in the squad for1925 FA Cup final withJoe Nicholson starting in his place. His side went on to suffer defeat againstSheffield United.[18][19] The signing ofHughie Ferguson in 1925 led to Davies being moved to an inside forward role and his scoring record fell as a result. He scored eight times during the1925–26 season and seven the following year.[20][21] In 1927, he was part of the Cardiff side that beatArsenal to win theFA Cup Final, becoming the only side from outside England to have won the competition. The only goal of the game came as the opposition goalkeeper was unable to control a shot from Hughie Ferguson as Davies advanced on him.[1] Two weeks after the final, Davies scored the opening goal in Cardiff's 2–0 win overRhyl in the Welsh Cup final.[21]
Davies remained with Cardiff until 1931, one year after finishing as the club's top scorer for the fifth time in the Football League.[22] He missed the majority of his final season after undergoing surgery forappendicitis,[23] before being released alongside Keenor.[24] The pair both made their final appearance for the club in a goalless draw withTottenham Hotspur on 6 April 1931. The club had suffered relegation to theThird Division South by the time of his departure.[25] He remains the club's highest scorer with 179 goals in all competitions and also holds the club record for the most hat-tricks, scoring eight during his time in Cardiff.[26][27]
He instead joined fellow Third Division South SideThames. During only season with the club, they played his former side Cardiff which resulted in a clash ofkit colours. Thames instead played in 11 of Davies' Welsh shirts which he had obtained on international duty.[28] The match ended in a 9–2 defeat for his Thames side, a record league victory that still stands as of 2021 for his former club Cardiff.[3] Thames finished bottom of theThird Division South in the 1931–32 season and the club was wound up at the end of the season. Davies instead joinedBangor City for the 1932–33 season,[29] staying with the club until 1935 when he finished his playing career.[1]
Davies made a goalscoring debut forWales on 4 February 1922 in a 2–1 win overScotland and was ever present for the side for a further three year, playing in every international fixture until 1925.[3] In 1929, Davies was named in aFootball Association of Wales XI that toured Canada. He was a prolific scorer during the tour, including scoring seven times in a single game during a match against a Lower Mainland XI.[3] In total, Davies played 23 times for the Welsh national side, scoring six times and helping Wales to Home Championship titles in 1924 and 1928. His last game for Wales came on 20 November 1929 againstEngland.[3]
Davies met his future wife, Gwendoline Stroud, through his playing career as she was a fervent supporter of Cardiff. The pair married on 1 January 1923.[30] After retiring from playing, Davies became a school sports coach atMostyn House School, Parkgate, and later worked on an aircraft production line duringWorld War II.[4] He died of pneumonia inPrescot in 1945.[3]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Welsh Cup | Other[nb 1] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cardiff City | 1919–20[5] | SL First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
| 1920–21[7] | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 4 | 1 | ||
| 1921–22[8] | First Division | 25 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 8 | – | 35 | 30 | ||
| 1922–23[11] | First Division | 27 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | – | 35 | 28 | ||
| 1923–24[12] | First Division | 38 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 47 | 24 | ||
| 1924–25[19] | First Division | 30 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 34 | 22 | ||
| 1925–26[20] | First Division | 37 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 38 | 9 | ||
| 1926–27[21] | First Division | 34 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 5 | – | 46 | 15 | ||
| 1927–28[31] | First Division | 37 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 46 | 21 | |
| 1928–29[32] | First Division | 27 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | – | 31 | 10 | ||
| 1929–30[22] | Second Division | 37 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | – | 43 | 15 | ||
| 1930–31[25] | Second Division | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | – | 12 | 4 | ||
| Total | 306 | 128 | 33 | 19 | 32 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 372 | 179 | ||
| Thames | 1931–32 | Third Division South[33] | 27 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 29 | 12 | |
| Total | 333 | 140 | 35 | 19 | 32 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 401 | 189 | ||
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4 February 1922 | Racecourse Ground,Wrexham, Wales |  Scotland | 2–1 | 1921–22 British Home Championship |
| 2. | 1 April 1922 | Windsor Park,Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Ireland | 1–1 | 1921–22 British Home Championship |
| 3. | 16 February 1924 | Ninian Park,Cardiff, Wales | Scotland | 2–0 | 1923–24 British Home Championship |
| 4. | 12 February 1927 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Wales |  England | 3–3 | 1926–27 British Home Championship |
| 5. | 12 February 1927 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Wales | England | 3–3 | 1926–27 British Home Championship |
| 6. | 26 October 1929 | Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales | Scotland | 2–4 | 1928–29 British Home Championship |
Cardiff City[1]
Bibliography