Mel Hopkins
Melvyn "Mel" Hopkins (born November 7, 1934 in Ystrad , † October 18, 2010 in Worthing ) was a Welsh football player . The defender took part in the 1958 World Cup with the Welsh national team.
Athletic career
Hopkins first played at the Ystrad Boys Club in his birthplace . The son of a miner moved to Tottenham Hotspur in January 1952 in English professional football, where he made his debut and quickly became a regular at the club. At the same time, he became a national player when he played for the first time in the national shirt in April 1956 as part of the British Home Championship 1955/56 against Northern Ireland . The team trained by Jimmy Murphy initially missed qualifying for the 1958 World Cup finals in a group of three with Czechoslovakia and the GDR behind Czechoslovakia, but after the politically motivated waiver of several Asian teams against Israel , they became one of the runners-up in the group drawn to the Israelis as opponents. Both in the return leg Hopkins was used when the Welsh first qualified for a World Cup finals. There the selection team reached the quarter-finals and was unhappy with a 0-1 defeat against eventual world champions Brazil .
In November 1959 there was an international match for the British Home Championship 1959/60 against Scotland in a momentous aerial duel with Liverpool FC's opposing striker Ian St. John , as a result of which Hopkins was injured for a long time and was ousted by Ron Henry has been. Thus, he remained without a stake in the Spurs double win in 1961 and at best made a moral contribution to the title wins. In October 1964, Hopkins finally moved after a total of 219 league games in the first division for the London club in the fourth division at Brighton & Hove Albion . As a regular player, he led the club to promotion to the third division, but soon lost his place in the starting line-up. About the non-league football at Canterbury City and the Northern Irish club Ballymena United he returned in 1969 again at Bradford Park Avenue in English professional football. In 1970 the Bradford AFC was voted out of the Football League and replaced by Cambridge United , whereupon he ended his career in the Southern Football League at Wimbledon FC .
Hopkins later worked briefly at Derby County , where his former teammate Dave Mackay worked as a coach, in scouting. He later settled in Sussex . In 2003 he received a Medal of Honor from the Football Association of Wales .
After a long illness, he died in a hospice in October 2010 . In the following league game, the Hotspurs wore a black mourning bracelet .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Football: Wales loses a legend
- ↑ a b c d Mel Hopkins: Footballer in the great 1960s Spurs side who also excelled for Wales in the 1958 World Cup
- ↑ Hartson scoops Welsh FA award
- ↑ Ex-Wales and Spurs defender Mel Hopkins dies, aged 75
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hopkins, Mel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hopkins, Melvyn (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | welsh football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 7, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ystrad |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 18, 2010 |
| Place of death | Worthing |