Roy Greaves (4 April 1947 – 12 August 2024) 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 ...

who made more than 500 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

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, where he spent the vast majority of his career, and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, and in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

for the Seattle Sounders. Greaves was born in

Farnworth Farnworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southeast of Bolton, 4 miles south-west of Bury (7 km), and northwest of Manchester. Within the historic county of Lancashire, Farnworth lies on ...

, near

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

on 4 April 1947. He began his football career as a junior with Bolton Wanderers, playing as a striker, and scored twice in his league debut against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in 1965. With the team struggling after the abolishment of the maximum wage he still managed to lead the side's goal scoring charts but was criticised as the club went into the Third Division for the first time. When

Jimmy Armfield James Christopher Armfield (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional association football, football player and manager. He played the whole of his Football League career at Blackpool F.C., Blackpool, usually at right b ...

took over as manager in the summer of 1971 he withdrew Greaves into a midfield role. Playing in this role he helped the team win the Third Division Championship in 1972–73 and eventually back into the top flight in 1977–78. Bolton's relegation two seasons later brought an end to Greaves' time at the club and he moved initially to the United States to play for Seattle Sounders before seeing out his career with a season at Rochdale. He then moved back to Bolton to run a pub. Greaves died on 12 August 2024, at the age of 77.

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* 1947 births 2024 deaths Bolton Wanderers F.C. players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English Football League players English men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Footballers from Farnworth Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Rochdale A.F.C. players Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players {{England-footy-midfielder-1940s-stub