Trevor Ford
Trevor Ford, the United Kingdom forward, made 152 appearances for Sunderland. He found the net 96 times, averaging 0.63 goals per game. That return marks him out as one of the club's more prolific scorers in our records. His most prolific season in our data was 1952-53, with 44 goals.
Trevor Ford (1 October 1923 – 29 May 2003) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a forward for Swansea Town , Aston Villa , Sunderland , Cardiff City , PSV Eindhoven , Newport County and Romford , as well as for the Wales national team . A prolific scorer throughout his career, he scored 202 league goals in 401 matches, the majority coming in the First Division during a career that spanned fifteen years. Described by The Independent as a "fearsomely physical" forward, [ 2 ] Ford began his career with his hometown club Swansea Town during wartime and played for less than one season in the Second Division . He moved to Aston Villa in 1947 where he scored consistently in the First Division, finishing as the club's top scorer for three consecutive seasons between 1947 and 1950. [ 3 ] In October 1950, he transferred to Sunderland for the sum of £30,000, breaking the British transfer fee record at the time. At Sunderland, Ford formed a strike partnership with England international Len Shackleton , known as the "clown prince of football". [ 4 ] However the relationship between the two was acrimonious and the club was unable to mount a title challenge despite their investment, finishing in mid-table in each of Ford's seasons at Roker Park . He left Sunderland in 1953 to return to Wales with Cardiff City. He spent three seasons at Ninian Park before being suspended by the Football Association after revealing details of illegal payments being made to players during his time at Sunderland in an attempt to avoid the maximum wage at the time. Unable to play in Britain due to — Wikipedia
- Position
- FW
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Birthplace
- Swansea
- Born
- 1 Oct 1923
Aston Villa were, however, never able to maintain a title push and, in October 1950 , 27-year-old Ford was the subject of a British football transfer record when he signed for ' Bank of England club ' Sunderland for £30,000. Sunderland also purchased a house for Ford and his family. [ 13 ] He was seen as a footballing celebrity at the time due to his prolific scoring record having made 128 appearances for Villa between January 1947 and October 1950 scoring 61 goals. He made an impressive start for Sunderland, scoring a hat-trick on his home debut at Roker Park against Sheffield Wednesday , including a typically physical finish for one goal, taking Wednesday goalkeeper Dave McIntosh across the line with the ball, and later breaking a post with one effort. [ 2 ] Despite being the most expensive footballer in British history, Ford continued to work as a car salesman for the Sunderland chairman in his spare time after training to earn extra money. [ 13 ] In March 1951, Ford's record transfer fee was broken, following the transfer of Jackie Sewell from Notts County to Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £34,500. Ford revealed that he was relieved that the record had been broken having described the fee as "weighing heavy on his shoulders". [ 8 ] During the 1952–53 season , the club turned down a bid from Italian side Fiorentina for Ford. Ford had been keen on completing the transfer, which would have seen him earning £2,000 a year each with a £35 match win bonus as well as the club buying each player a house. [ 8 ] With the club's failure to live up to its high spending potential, Ford became a target for doubters due to his physical playing style and his arguments with teammate and former record-breaking signing, Len Shackleton . [ 9 ] During a match against Chelsea in February 1952, Ford scored a first-half hat-trick during the match as the Mackems found themselves 4–0 up at half-time, Shackleton having also scored. In the second half of the match, Shackleton was believed — Wikipedia
- Trevor Ford — 44 goals in 1952-53 — One of the best single-season hauls in our records (66 apps).
- Trevor Ford — 34 goals in 1950-51 — One of the best single-season hauls in our records (62 apps).
By Season
Appearances counted as matches started or come on as substitute. Figures from recorded season totals — we hold no match-by-match data for this era.
Similar Players
Similarity scores (0–100) weigh position, scoring rate, appearances and era.