Alan Charles Harrington (17 November 1933 – 23 December 2019) was a Welsh professional footballer and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

international. Harrington played his entire professional career at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

where he is regarded as one of the club's all-time greats.

Career

Born in

Penarth Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

, Harrington joined

from local side Cardiff Nomads in 1951. He made his debut midway through the following season in a 0–0 draw with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. He went on to hold a position in the first-team squad for the next twelve years, although he missed the entire 1963–64 season due to a broken leg. He was forced to retire from playing after suffering a second broken leg during a 1–1 against

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 January 1966. In later years, Harrington managed Barry Town, steering them to the

Welsh Football League The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leag ...

championship in 1982–83. In November 2007 he was awarded an FAW merit award."Bellamy named Welsh player of the year"
Daily Post Retrieved on 24 January 2008

References

1933 births 2019 deaths Sportspeople from Penarth Footballers from the Vale of Glamorgan Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Cardiff City F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football defenders {{Wales-footy-defender-stub