Harold "Harry" Hanford (9 October 1907 – 1996) was a Welsh

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 ...

who made more than 300 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

playing for Swansea Town,

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

and

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

seven times for

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 ...

at senior international level. In the book by Geraint H Jenkins, 'Proud to be a Swan', Hanford is described as "a muscular, lantern-jawed stopper". Despite having been at the club for only a short time, he is a "veteran" of the Swansea City side struggling under the management of James Thomson towards the end of the 1920s. An inspirational figure in the side who, in times of economic hardship, regularly rallied the troops with the help of the "legendary" Joe Sykes and recorded Football League appearance holder for the Swans, Wilfred Milne. Hanford was part of the giant killing Swansea Town side that saw off First division

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

in the third round of the 1935

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 ...

. Swansea were having a difficult season in division two that year but, goals from S Lowery (2) Hughie Blair and Walter Bussey helped them see off Stoke at the Vetch Field. Hanford played alongside Wilfred Milne, who still holds the club record for most appearances in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

(586). However, the Swans went on to lose to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

in the fourth round.

References

1907 births 1996 deaths Sportspeople from Neath Port Talbot Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Swansea City A.F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players English Football League players Swindon Town F.C. wartime guest players {{Wales-footy-defender-stub