Alan William Sealey (24 February 1942 – February 1996) was an English

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 lea ...

. Sealey, an outside right, initially played for

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

in 1960, before moving to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, in a player exchange for Dave Dunmore, where he played from 1961 to 1967. Sealey celebrated getting married in May 1965 just one week before he would go on to score both goals in West Ham's 2–0 win against

TSV 1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's association football, football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football league system ...

in the 1965 European

Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. He had previously scored just three goals for the east London club that season. Sealey's top flight career virtually ended within a year of this. He was playing cricket with teammates during a rest in pre-season training, and broke his leg while falling over a wooden bench. He ended his league career playing for Plymouth Argyle in 1967, but continued playing with

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

sides Bedford Town,

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

and Ashford Town. His family maintained its close connection to West Ham United, with his nephew,

Les LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimental ...

, and grand-nephews signing for the team between 1994 and 2001. Sealey died suddenly at his home in Collier Row,

in February 1996 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, aged 53, just over five years before the same condition would claim the life of his nephew,

at age 43. The older Sealey was survived by his wife Barbara and his son Anthony.

Honours

West Ham United *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

: 1963–64 *

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

: 1964–65

References

External links

Plymouth Argyle career details

at The National Football Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Sealey, Alan 1942 births 1996 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Leyton Orient F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players People from Hampton, London Footballers from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames English Football League players Bedford Town F.C. players Romford F.C. players Ashford United F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen