Reg Matthewson (6 August 1939 – 29 August 2016) was an English professional

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 ...

. He played as a defender 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for three clubs, making 394 appearances in the process.

Playing career

Matthewson began his professional career in his home city of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

with

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

, whom he signed a professional contract with in June 1958. He had to wait until 1961–62 for his league debut, with the Blades playing in the top-flight of English football at the time. After six years in the Blades' first-team, Matthewson joined

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

in February 1968 for £30,000,'Where are they now?', Chester City v. Fulham matchday programme; 1/5/1993; pg. 20 beginning a five-year spell at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against ...

that included one promotion and two relegations. In January 1973 Matthewson dropped into the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

when he joined

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, initially on loan. He made his debut in a 1–1 away draw at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alde ...

, with his home debut a fortnight later ending in a 5–0 win over

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

. Matthewson quickly joined Chester permanently and became club captain when

Bob Wallace Bob or Bobby Wallace may refer to: *Bobby Wallace (American football) (born 1954), college football coach at the University of North Alabama *Bobby Wallace (baseball) (1873–1960), Baseball Hall of Fame member *Bobby Wallace (footballer) (1908–19 ...

moved to

. The 1974–75 season was to be a final glory for Matthewson, as he skippered Chester to a first promotion from

Football League Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name i ...

and on an unlikely run to the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...

semi-finals. Matthewson featured in all of Chester's eight games during the cup run and missed just two league games, but he was to rarely play after promotion. His final game for Chester was a 3–1 derby defeat to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...

in April 1976. Matthewson had a spell on the Chester coaching staff and then joined Bangor City as player-coach, working under his former Chester teammate

Stuart Mason Stuart James Mason (2 June 1948 – 5 February 2006) was an English professional footballer who made appearances in The Football League for five clubs. The vast majority of his time was spent with Chester and Wrexham, mainly from full–back. ...

. He later had a spell assisting

Graham Turner Graham John Turner (born 5 October 1947) is an English former footballer who became a manager. His son Mark was also a professional footballer. He is third behind only Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger in terms of most games managed. After a ...

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mov ...

and away from football worked for a chemical fertiliser company in

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south ...

. His nephew

Trevor Matthewson Trevor Matthewson (born 12 February 1963) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre half. He played more than 500 senior games, including over 200 for Birmingham City. Biography Trevor Matthewson was born in Sheffield ...

played professionally. In his retirement, Matthewson lived in

Tarvin Tarvin is a village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It had a population of 2,693 people at the 2001 UK census, rising to 2,728 at the 2011 Census, and the ward covers about . ...

Honours

Fulham *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

runners-up: 1970–71 (44 apps, 1 goal) Chester *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name i ...

promotion as fourth placed team: 1974–75 (44 apps, 1 goal) *

semi-finalists: 1974–75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthewson, Reg 1939 births 2016 deaths Footballers from Sheffield English Football League players English footballers Association football defenders Sheffield United F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Chester City F.C. non-playing staff