Royston Harry Swinbourne (25 August 1929 – 27 December 2015) 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 played as a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

in the

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 ...

for

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. He was capped once by England B.

Playing career

Swinbourne began his career at Wath Wanderers, the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

-based nursery club of

. He moved south to join Wolves in 1944 and signed as a professional the following year. After proving himself in the reserve ranks, he made his debut on 17 December 1949 in a 1–1 draw with

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

. He came to the fore during the 1950–51 season, replacing Jesse Pye in the attack, and finished as top goalscorer with 22 goals. Injuries waylaid him the following year, but in the next campaign, forming what was described as "a potent dual spearhead" with

Dennis Wilshaw Dennis James Wilshaw (11 March 1926 – 10 May 2004) was an English international footballer. A forward, he scored 173 goals in 380 appearances in the Football League, and also scored ten goals in twelve appearances for the England national t ...

, he was once again the club's leading scorer with 21 goals. His tally of 24 in the 1953–54 season was a career best and helped Wolves capture their first ever league championship. It was Swinbourne himself who scored twice in the final game, a 2–0 victory over

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 ...

that confirmed the title. The following season brought another strong return, including two goals in Wolves' famous floodlit victory over Honved of Hungary. In 1955 he scored for England B in a 1–1 draw against their German counterparts: His career was halted when he damaged his knee while hurdling over a posse of cameramen on the pitchside at

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as The Kenny, is a association football, football stadium in the area of Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The sta ...

ground in November 1955. After trying to return just weeks later, He was forced to undergo surgery on the injury, but was never able to resume his playing career and retired in May 1957.

Later life

In later life, Swinbourne lived in

Kinver Kinver is a large village in the District of South Staffordshire in Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the ...

before moving to a nursing home in

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

. He died on 27 December 2015, aged 86, following a long battle with vascular dementia. He was survived by his wife, Betty, and daughters Jayne and Helen.

References

External links

Film clip of Wolves v Honved 1954
at British Pathé {{DEFAULTSORT:Swinbourne, Roy 1929 births 2015 deaths Sportspeople from Conisbrough Footballers from South Yorkshire English men's footballers England men's B international footballers Men's association football forwards Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players Deaths from vascular dementia 20th-century English sportsmen