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Mel Charles

2016-10-25T05:34:58Z

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{{EngvarB|date=April 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Mel Charles
| image =
| caption =
| fullname = Melvyn Charles
| birth_date = {{birth date|1935|5|14|df=y}}<ref name="page 26">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=26}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Swansea]], Wales
| death_date = {{death date and age|2016|9|24|1935|5|14|df=y}}
| height =
| position = [[Defender (association football)#Centre-back|Centre-half]] / [[Wing half|Right-half]] / [[Forward (association football)#Centre-forward|Centre-forward]]
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]]
| youthyears2 = | youthclubs2 = [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea Town]]
| years1 = 1952–1959| clubs1 = [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea Town]]| caps1 = 233| goals1 = 69
| years2 = 1959–1962| clubs2 = [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]| caps2 = 60| goals2 = 26
| years3 = 1962–1965| clubs3 = [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]]| caps3 = 79| goals3 = 25
| years4 = 1965–1966| clubs4 = [[Porthmadog F.C.|Porthmadog]]| caps4 = | goals4 =
| years5 = 1966–1967| clubs5 = [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]]| caps5 = 7| goals5 = 0
| years6 = 1967| clubs6 = [[Oswestry Town F.C.|Oswestry Town]]| caps6 = | goals6 =
| years7 = 1967–1972| clubs7 = [[Haverfordwest County A.F.C.|Haverfordwest]]| caps7 =|goals7 =
| totalcaps = 379| totalgoals = 117
| nationalyears1 = 1958| nationalteam1 = [[Wales national under-21 football team|Wales U23]]| nationalcaps1 = 1| nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 1955–1962| nationalteam2 = [[Wales national football team|Wales]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/wal-recintlp.html|title=Appearances for Wales National Team|work=rsssf.com|accessdate=14 September 2011}}</ref>| nationalcaps2 = 31| nationalgoals2 = 6
}}

'''Melvyn''' "'''Mel'''" '''Charles''' (14 May 1935 – 24 September 2016) was a Welsh [[Wales national football team|international]] [[association football|footballer]]. He was the brother of all-round player [[John Charles]] and father of former Wales international [[Jeremy Charles]]. Like his brother, he could play as both a [[Defender (association football)#Centre-back|centre-half]] and [[Forward (association football)#Centre-forward|centre-forward]], though his preferred position was at [[Wing half|right-half]].

After a short stint on the [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] ground staff, he turned professional with his local club, [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea Town]], in 1952. He spent seven years in the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] with the club, before he won a £42,750 move to [[Football League First Division|First Division]] [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] in March 1959. His three seasons at the club were plagued by injury, and in February 1962 he was sold on to [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]] for a £28,500 fee. He spent three years with Cardiff, winning the [[Welsh Cup]] in 1964, his only domestic honour, before he joined [[Porthmadog F.C.|Porthmadog]] in the [[Welsh Football League|Welsh League]] in 1965. He spent a brief period in the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] with [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] in the 1966–67 season, before he returned to Welsh football with [[Oswestry Town F.C.|Oswestry Town]]. He joined [[Haverfordwest County A.F.C.|Haverfordwest]] in 1967, where he spent five years before he retired from the game. He scored a total of 122 goals in 401 league and cup games in [[the Football League]].

He captained Wales at international level. Like his brother he represented Wales at the [[1958 FIFA World Cup]], and also went his whole career without being booked or sent off.<ref name="page 90–91" /> He also competed in eight [[British Home Championship]]s, and became only the third Welshman to score four goals in a game when he scored all the goals in a 4–0 win over [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]]. In total he earned 31 senior caps, in addition to one [[Wales national under-21 football team|under-23]] cap, and he scored six full international goals.

==Club career==

===Swansea City===
Growing up in a poor family in the [[Cwmbwrla]] district of [[Swansea]] alongside elder brother [[John Charles|John]] and three other siblings,<ref name="page 26" /> John and Mel Charles seemed destined to begin their careers at local club [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea Town]]. However manager [[Billy McCandless]] was unwilling to test youngsters in the unforgiving waters of the [[Football League Third Division South|Third Division South]], so the boys were not signed up to the club.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=39}}</ref> This proved costly to Swansea, and the result was that John signed with [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]], and fourteen-year-old Mel also followed him to [[Elland Road]] to become one of the ground staff.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=42}}</ref> Despite fitting in well at the club, he was unable to settle in [[Leeds]]; due to his poor background he was unable to afford trips back to Wales to visit his family and he was also [[Literacy|illiterate]] so could not write home.<ref name="page 45">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=45}}</ref> After a young apprentice, also from Swansea, failed to impress at Leeds, manager [[Frank Buckley (footballer)|Major Frank Buckley]] asked Charles to accompany him on the trip back to his hometown.<ref name="page 45" /> However, due to his homesickness, Charles never returned to [[Yorkshire]] once he made it back to Swansea.<ref name="page 45" /> Instead Swansea Town scout [[Joe Sykes (footballer)|Joe Sykes]] persuaded Charles to join the club's ground staff.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=46}}</ref>

He was offered a professional contract with Swansea Town at the age of seventeen, and he immediately settled into the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] side.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=49}}</ref> His debut came at [[Bramall Lane]] on 20 December 1952, in what turned out to be a 7–1 defeat to [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=59}}</ref> However his progress was halted when he twisted his knee on [[Conscription in the United Kingdom|National Service]], though this injury came as he was messing around outside the cook house rather than on parade or in the 9th Battalion's march to the Army Cup.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=70}}</ref> He went straight back into the first team upon his recovery, and he was played mostly at [[Defender (association football)|centre-half]], or in his preferred position at [[Wing half|right-half]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=52}}</ref> He remained in the first eleven under [[Ron Burgess (footballer)|Ron Burgess]], who was appointed manager following McCandless' death in July 1955.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=75}}</ref>

He spent seven seasons with the "Swans" from 1952 to 1959, all of which ended with Swansea finishing between tenth and twentieth. They consistently picked up results at [[Vetch Field]], but failed to perform away from home.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=55}}</ref> During this time they also reached the final of the [[Welsh Cup]] in 1956 and 1957, though lost out to [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]] and then [[Wrexham A.F.C.|Wrexham]]. A cash-strapped club, their cause was not helped by the fact that the directors refused to pay for overnight stays, and so many times the team's coach would appear outside the opposition's ground just minutes before the match.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=56}}</ref> Swansea were a selling a club, and during his time [[Ivor Allchurch|Ivor]] and [[Len Allchurch]], [[Cliff Jones (Welsh footballer)|Cliff Jones]], and [[Terry Medwin]] would all be sold to big English clubs.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=58}}</ref> Including Charles, these five players all represented Wales at the [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]]. Jones' brother [[Bryn Jones (footballer, born 1931)|Bryn]] also played for Swansea, as did [[Cyril Beech|Cyril]] and [[Gilbert Beech]]; this meant three sets of brothers played for the "Swans" during this time, in what was an extremely local squad.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=60}}</ref> Throughout the 1950s Swansea were an attacking team, and during his time at Vetch Field Charles picked up four goals in a match against [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]], as well as hat-tricks against [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]], [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]] and [[Sheffield Wednesday F.C.|Sheffield Wednesday]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=80}}</ref> Charles offered to work at a second job to remain at Swansea with their strict wage limit of £14 a week, but this was not permitted, and instead he put in a transfer request.<ref name="Charles 2009 131">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=131}}</ref> He employed Neil Harris to act as his 'business manager' in his pending transfer move, thereby making him the first ever [[Sports agent|agent]] in the English game.<ref name="Charles 2009 131"/> In one of his last games for the club, he helped Swansea record their first ever league win over [[South Wales derby|rivals]] [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]] at [[Ninian Park]].<ref name="page 137">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=137}}</ref>

===Arsenal===
Chased by [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] and [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]], Charles was eventually sold to [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] in March 1959 for a fee of £42,750 (plus two other players, [[David Dodson]] and [[Peter Davies (footballer)|Peter Davies]], going the other way); this was at the time the highest ever transfer between two British clubs ([[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]] had paid [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] £65,000 for [[John Charles]] in 1957).<ref name="page 137" /> Aiming to use him as a [[Forward (association football)|centre forward]], Arsenal manager [[George Swindin]] and captain [[Tommy Docherty]] managed to persuade Charles to take the move, and as Charles was convinced by the Arsenal men, Tottenham decided to withdraw their offer.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=136}}</ref> Spurs manager [[Bill Nicholson (footballer)|Bill Nicholson]] was forced to sign [[Dave Mackay]] instead, as the [[White Hart Lane]] club would become a major force in the game in the 1960s.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=129}}</ref> Due to this success, in his autobiography, Charles wrote that "signing for Arsenal was the most terrible choice I ever made".<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=128}}</ref> Though he also wrote that "I'll always have a place in my heart for Arsenal, and it was an honour to have played for them."<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=140}}</ref>

He was paid £20 a week, and set up with a house and car by the Arsenal management – a [[Sunbeam-Talbot]] with the [[Vanity plate|license plate]] 'MEL 9'.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=141}}</ref> Not used to the complexities of a rapidly modernising game, he endured a frosty relationship with coach [[Ron Greenwood]] after numerous humorous mix-ups over new terms such as 'blind-side run' and 'marking space', and embarrassed himself in front of the TV cameras when he fumbled and said "I'm okay, I've just got [[clitoris]]es in my eyes", instead of [[cataract]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|pp=143–48}}</ref>

He made his debut against [[Sheffield Wednesday F.C.|Sheffield Wednesday]] on 22 August 1959, in what was a difficult [[1959–60 in English football|1959–60]] season for the "Gunners". Though they ended up in thirteenth place, Charles managed to bag himself a hat-trick at [[Arsenal Stadium|Highbury]] in a 5–2 win over [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] on 6 February.<ref name="page 149">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=149}}</ref> A fortnight later he missed a chance to make it two Highbury hat-tricks in a row when, already with two goals to his name, he scuffed a penalty into the arms of [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] keeper [[Jimmy O'Neill (footballer, born 1931)|Jimmy O'Neill]].<ref name="page 149" />

Always struggling with his knees, during the [[1960–61 in English football|1960–61]] he started to be afflicted by ligament damage.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=153}}</ref> The physios used whatever methods they could to reduce the swellings in his knees, and as he was a big-money signing, Charles would be forced to take to the field week in and week out, despite his injuries.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=154}}</ref> His team were wildly inconsistent, beating [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] 5–0, only to lose 6–0 to [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] a few weeks later; meanwhile supporters were anxious at the rise of their [[North London derby|North London rivals]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=155}}</ref> Arsenal finished eleventh, some 25 points behind [[Double (association football)|Double]]-winning Tottenham Hotspur.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=157}}</ref>

The [[1961–62 in English football|1961–62]] season was another difficult one for both Charles and Arsenal. However he did manage to bag another hat-trick for the club, as he scored all three goals in an [[FA Cup]] win over [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=161}}</ref> His time in London would be dominated by injuries though, and he underwent three operations in three years.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=181}}</ref> Having played just 64 matches in three seasons for Arsenal, scoring 28 goals, the club's directors decided to cut their losses, and sell Charles on.{{cn|date=September 2016}}

===Cardiff City===
In February 1962 he returned to his native Wales to sign with [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]], who paid Arsenal £28,500 for his services.<ref name="page 182">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=182}}</ref> Though he would have preferred a move back to [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea]], they were unwilling to spend money in the transfer market, and so he was happy to sign with Cardiff, despite the [[South Wales derby|Cardiff-Swansea rivalry]]; in turn the Cardiff fans were welcoming to Charles despite his Swansea connection.<ref name="page 182" /> The "Bluebirds" were in a relegation dogfight, and there was a lot of pressure on Charles to perform, however he missed an easy chance for a goal in his debut, in what ended as a 0–0 draw at home to [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]].<ref name="page 183">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=183}}</ref> He helped them to earn 1–1 draws against [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]] and former club [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], however a bad run soon followed and the club lost their [[Football League First Division|First Division]] status at the end of [[1961–62 in English football|the season]].<ref name="page 183" />

Cardiff signed renowned goal-getters [[Ivor Allchurch]] and [[Peter Hooper]] for the upcoming [[1962–63 in English football|1962–63]] [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] campaign, and so Charles was moved to a more central role in the pitch.<ref name="page 184">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=184}}</ref> Though signed by [[Bill Jones (football manager)|Bill Jones]], ironically [[George Swindin]], the manager who had sold him at Arsenal, replaced Jones as manager in October 1962.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=186}}</ref> Despite the disruption, Charles scored in both derby games against Swansea, in what was otherwise a forgettable season for Cardiff fans.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=185}}</ref>

Cardiff signed [[John Charles]] for the start of the [[1963–64 in English football|1963–64]] campaign, allowing the brothers to play alongside each other for the first time at club level.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=187}}</ref> However Swindin was against the move, as his team were already quite aged without the 32-year-old former superstar; instead it was the club's chairman who pushed for the £22,500 deal.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=188}}</ref> On his league debut for Cardiff, against [[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]], John scored from a free kick inside his own half.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=190}}</ref> However Mel picked up an injury, and Cardiff's promotion hopes began to fade after a poor run of form in the Christmas period.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=192}}</ref> The season did end on a high note though, as both brothers played in the [[Welsh Cup]] final victory over [[Bangor City F.C.|Bangor City]].<ref name="page 193">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=193}}</ref> The two-legged affair had finished as a draw, and so Cardiff only lifted the cup after a 2–0 win at the [[Racecourse Ground]], in a hastily arranged replay.<ref name="page 193" />

Swindin was sacked for failing to bring promotion, and new manager [[Jimmy Scoular]] did not see eye-to-eye with Charles.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=196}}</ref> Charles scored a hat-trick against [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]], but was dropped by Scoular for the next game after he told his striker that he hadn't worked hard enough for the team.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=197}}</ref> Charles responded by pointing at a horse in a field by [[Ninian Park]] and telling Scoular "you could put a number eight shirt on him and he would run all day – but he wouldn't score a fucking hat-trick for you!"<ref name="page 198">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=198}}</ref> Scoular responded to this outburst by telling Charles that he had played his last game for Cardiff and could look for a new club.<ref name="page 198" />

===Later career===
Charles' next club would be [[Welsh Football League]] side [[Porthmadog F.C.|Porthmadog]]. Despite being a little known outfit, the club was bankrolled by a millionaire, and so Charles was paid a higher wage than he had received at Arsenal and Cardiff.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=199}}</ref> They finished the 1965–66 season second in the Welsh League, behind [[Caernarfon Town F.C.|Caernarfon Town]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=200}}</ref> Despite enjoying his time in North Wales, he decided that he could not turn down an offer to return to [[the Football League]] by [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]], then managed by [[Stanley Matthews]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=204}}</ref> Port Vale paid Porthmadog a £1,250 fee, and Charles made his Vale debut in a 1–0 defeat at local rivals [[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]] on 3 February 1967.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=59|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0|url=http://www.amazon.ca/Port-Vale-Personalities-Jeff-Kent/dp/0952915200}}</ref> He played a further six games, including a rough encounter with [[Walsall F.C.|Walsall]], another one of Vale's rivals, before he decided to head back to Wales.

{{Quote|"Coming out of the Welsh League and playing the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] was bloody rough. There were some hard bastards in that league and they knocked me about a bit... although Port Vale wanted me to stay on I had had enough... getting used as a punchbag in the Fourth Division didn't really appeal to me at that stage on my career.|Charles reflects on his time at [[Vale Park]] in his autobiography.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=205}}</ref>}}

Charles signed on a free transfer to [[Oswestry Town F.C.|Oswestry Town]] in May 1967, before moving on to [[Haverfordwest County A.F.C.|Haverfordwest County]] later in the year; both clubs competed in the Welsh Football League. He enjoyed his time in [[Pembrokeshire]] and went on to play close to 200 games for County, mostly as a centre-half.<ref name="page 208"/> He left the club in 1972 to return to the [[Cwmbwrla]] district of [[Swansea]], where he set up an amateur side called Cwmfelin.<ref name="page 208">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=206}}</ref> After he retired from competitive football he had kneecap replacements in both his legs.<ref name="page 208" />

==International career==
Charles made his debut for [[Wales national football team|Wales]] in a game against [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]] at [[Windsor Park]] on 20 April 1955; the Welsh won 3–2 thanks to a [[John Charles]] hat-trick.<ref name="Charles 2009 88">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=88}}</ref> His second cap came against [[Austria national football team|Austria]] on 23 November, in a game latter dubbed the 'Battle of Wrexham'.<ref name="page 90–91">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|pp=90–91}}</ref> He was stretchered off with fifteen minutes to go after an Austrian boot went through the back of his leg; this was notable as the only time John ever lost his temper, as he reacted to the challenge by lifting the Austrian off the ground and screaming "If you ever do that to my brother again I'll bloody kill you!"<ref name="page 90–91" /> Charles was then selected for the [[1957 British Home Championship]] squad, and helped his country to record a 2–2 draw with [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] at [[Ninian Park]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=93}}</ref> He also battled against injury to play in the 3–1 defeat to [[England national football team|England]] at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], before the tournament ended with a goalless draw in Ireland.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=94}}</ref>

He helped Wales to qualify for the [[1958 FIFA World Cup]] in Sweden – the only time thus far that the nation has qualified for the competition. They were drawn in [[1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 4)|a difficult qualifying group]] consisting of themselves, [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]], and [[East Germany national football team|East Germany]]. A [[Roy Vernon]] goal gave Wales two opening points at home to the Czechs – this was John Charles' final game before his big money move to [[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=100}}</ref> In the second game, Mel gave Wales an opening lead against the East Germans, only for the Germans to come back to record a 2–1 win in front of 100,000 supporters at the [[Zentralstadion (1956)|Zentralstadion]].<ref name="Charles 2009 102">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=102}}</ref> The return fixture to the Czechs at [[Prague]] ended with a 2–0 defeat, seemingly ending Welsh hopes of qualification.<ref name="Charles 2009 102"/> Juventus did not allow John to play in the final match, but Mel put in one of his best performances in a Welsh shirt, and managed to keep prolific striker [[Willy Tröger]] in check to help secure a 4–1 victory over East Germany at [[Cardiff]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=104}}</ref>

The Czechs won the group and Welsh hopes of World Cup football seemed to be over, however tension in the Middle East came to Wales' rescue. Though before this, the English recorded a thumping 4–0 win at Ninian Park in the [[1958 British Home Championship]] to further depress the Welsh.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=105}}</ref> The reprieve for Wales came as [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]] (now a member of [[UEFA]]) refused to compete in the [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC (Asian)]] qualifying group, and so [[Israel national football team|Israel]] advanced to the Second Round of [[Confederation of African Football|CAF]] / AFC qualifying by default. [[Egypt national football team|Egypt]] and [[Indonesia national football team|Indonesia]] both withdrew from the process, whilst [[Sudan national football team|Sudan]], then the only other team from the region who had entered, refused to recognise Israel, and so also withdrew from the competition. [[FIFA]] ruled that Israel could not qualify for the World Cup without kicking a ball, and so a lottery was held for another team to play Israel in a specially created play-off qualification match. Another nation won the lottery, but refused to play as they were too proud to accept such an easy route to the tournament; the [[Football Association of Wales|Welsh FA]] had no such qualms, and so Charles and his countrymen only had to overcome a team of amateur Israelis to qualify for the elite competition of international football.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=107}}</ref> Wales duly qualified with two simple 2–0 victories, one in the baking sun at a half completed [[Ramat Gan Stadium]], the other in front of 50,000 rain-soaked Welshmen at Ninian Park; the scores were kept respectable by some heroic goalkeeping from [[Ya'akov Hodorov]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=108}}</ref>

Wales' maiden appearance in the tournament, it was also [[National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup|the only time]] all four of the [[Home Nations]] qualified for the same World Cup, though only Wales and Northern Ireland made it past the group stage.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=14}}</ref> The Welsh FA were pessimistic for their prospects, and before the tournament they arranged for five days of training on some free land at [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] and booked the flights home for before the beginning of the knockout stages.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=114}}</ref> Manager [[Jimmy Murphy (footballer)|Jimmy Murphy]] used highly defensive tactics, they would prove highly effective as Wales never conceded more than once in any of their five games in the tournament.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=19}}</ref> Wales remained undefeated in the group stage, battling to draws with [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]], [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]], and eventual runners-up [[Sweden national football team|Sweden]]. Wales had played well against the Hungarians but played poorly against the Mexicans, though they still came close to recording two victories; in the third match both the Swedes and the Welsh were happy to amble to a draw, as that way both sides remained in the competition.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|pp=115–119}}</ref> As Hungary also recorded three points in the group, a play-off match ensued, and Wales came from behind at the [[Råsunda Stadium]] to advance with a 2–1 win; however due to dirty play from the opposition John Charles was injured in the match and missed out on the rest of the tournament. The Welsh were eventually knocked out by [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] in the quarter-finals at the [[Ullevi]] stadium in [[Gothenburg]], thanks to a goal by [[Pelé]] in the 66th minute – this was only Pelé's second game for his country, and the goal made him the [[FIFA World Cup records|youngest player ever]] to score in a World Cup game. Charles later recalled that Pelé miskicked the ball, and even in later life it upset him greatly to remember the ball trickling across the line.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=16}}</ref> Pelé himself said that Charles was the best centre-half of the tournament,<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=17}}</ref> and the Brazilian swapped shirts with Charles after the game.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=22}}</ref> The Brazilians went on to [[1958 FIFA World Cup Final|win the competition]]. It was a difficult experience for Wales, who were forced to play five highly competitive games in eleven days. Despite their heroics, the competition received little publicity in Britain at the time – the ''[[South Wales Evening Post]]'s'' back page headlined a [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club|Glamorgan]] cricket match – and Charles said in his autobiography that "I don't think many people in Wales even knew the World Cup was on."<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=20}}</ref>

After the World Cup, he played in a 3–0 Home Championship defeat to Scotland. On 26 November 1958, he helped the Welsh to record a 2–2 draw with England at [[Villa Park]] by marking [[Nat Lofthouse]] out of the game.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=96}}</ref> He would play for Wales a further eleven times, and only two of these games finished as Welsh victories, both against Northern Ireland. The second of these, at Ninian Park on 11 April 1962 for the [[1962 British Home Championship]], finished 4–0, and it was Charles who scored all four of the goals.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=171}}</ref> This made him one of only four players ever to score four goals in one game for Wales, the other three being [[John Price (footballer, born 1854)|John Price]] (1882), [[Jack Doughty]] (1888), and [[Ian Edwards (footballer, born 1955)|Ian Edwards]] (1978).<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=174}}</ref> Following this he was included in the tour of South America in 1962, where defeats were recorded by Brazil and Mexico, both of whom were warming up for the [[1962 FIFA World Cup]] – Brazil would go on to beat Czechoslovakia in [[1962 FIFA World Cup Final|the final]]. Wales had missed out on the tournament after narrowly losing their [[1962 FIFA World Cup qualification|qualifying]] encounter with [[Spain national football team|Spain]] 3–2 on aggregate, Charles played in both legs, though with [[Alfredo Di Stéfano]] in the team Spain were always considered the favourites.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=178}}</ref>

His final game for Wales came on 20 March 1963, in a 1–1 draw with Hungary in a [[1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying]] game.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=139}}</ref> In total he picked up 31 senior caps and scored six goals in a seven-year international career. Charles served as captain for a number of these games.<ref name="Charles 2009 88"/> He also captained [[Wales national under-21 football team|Wales under-23]]s in a 2–1 win over [[England national under-21 football team|England under-23]]s on 23 April 1958.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=87}}</ref>

===Caps===
{| class="wikitable collapsible" style="font-size:90%"
|-
!colspan="7"|'''International appearances and goals'''<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|pp=235–238}}</ref>
|-
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Result !! Competition !! Goals
|-
|align="center"| 1
| 20 April 1955
| [[Windsor Park]], [[Belfast]]
| {{fb|Northern Ireland}}
|align="center"| 3–2
| [[1955 British Home Championship]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 2
| 23 November 1955
| [[Racecourse Ground]], [[Wrexham]]
| {{fb|Austria}}
|align="center"| 1–2
| Friendly
|
|-
|align="center"| 3
| 30 October 1956
| [[Ninian Park]], [[Cardiff]]
| {{fb|Scotland}}
|align="center"| 2–2
| [[1957 British Home Championship]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 4
| 14 November 1956
| [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], London
| {{fb|FR Yugoslavia}}
|align="center"| 1–3
| [[1957 British Home Championship]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 5
| 10 April 1957
| [[Windsor Park]], [[Belfast]]
| {{fb|Northern Ireland}}
|align="center"| 0–0
| [[1957 British Home Championship]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 6
| 1 May 1957
| [[Ninian Park]], [[Cardiff]]
| {{fb|Czechoslovakia}}
|align="center"| 1–0
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 4)|1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 7
| 19 May 1957
| [[Zentralstadion (1956)|Zentralstadion]], Leipzig
| {{fb|East Germany}}
|align="center"| 1–2
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 4)|1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier]]
| 1
|-
|align="center"| 8
| 26 May 1957
| [[Stadion Juliska]], Prague
| {{fb|Czechoslovakia}}
|align="center"| 0–2
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 4)|1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 9
| 25 September 1957
| [[Ninian Park]], [[Cardiff]]
| {{fb|East Germany}}
|align="center"| 4–1
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 4)|1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 10
| 19 October 1957
| [[Ninian Park]], [[Cardiff]]
| {{fb|England}}
|align="center"| 0–4
| [[1958 British Home Championship]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 11
| 15 January 1958
| [[Ramat Gan Stadium]], [[Tel Aviv]]
| {{fb|Israel}}
|align="center"| 2–0
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup qualification|1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 12
| 5 February 1958
| [[Ninian Park]], [[Cardiff]]
| {{fb|Israel}}
|align="center"| 2–0
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup qualification|1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 13
| 8 June 1958
| [[Jernvallen]], [[Sandviken]]
| {{fb|Hungary}}
|align="center"| 1–1
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 14
| 11 June 1958
| [[Råsunda Stadium]], Stockholm
| {{fb|Mexico}}
|align="center"| 1–1
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 15
| 15 June 1958
| [[Råsunda Stadium]], Stockholm
| {{fb|Sweden}}
|align="center"| 0–0
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 16
| 17 June 1958
| [[Råsunda Stadium]], Stockholm
| {{fb|Hungary}}
|align="center"| 2–1
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 17
| 19 June 1958
| [[Ullevi]], [[Gothenburg]]
| {{fb|Brazil}}
|align="center"| 0–1
| [[1958 FIFA World Cup]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 18
| 18 October 1958
| [[Ninian Park]], [[Cardiff]]
| {{fb|Scotland}}
|align="center"| 0–3
| [[1959 British Home Championship]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 19
| 26 November 1958
| [[Villa Park]], Birmingham
| {{fb|England}}
|align="center"| 2–2
| [[1959 British Home Championship]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 20
| 4 November 1959
| [[Hampden Park]], Glasgow
| {{fb|Scotland}}
|align="center"| 1–1
| [[1960 British Home Championship]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 21
| 12 April 1961
| [[Windsor Park]], [[Belfast]]
| {{fb|Northern Ireland}}
|align="center"| 5–1
| [[1961 British Home Championship]]
| 1
|-
|align="center"| 22
| 19 April 1961
| [[Ninian Park]], [[Cardiff]]
| {{fb|Spain}}
|align="center"| 1–2
| [[1962 FIFA World Cup qualification|1962 World Cup qualifier]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 23
| 18 May 1961
| [[Madrid]]
| {{fb|Spain}}
|align="center"| 1–1
| [[1962 FIFA World Cup qualification|1962 World Cup qualifier]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 24
| 28 May 1961
| [[Budapest]]
| {{fb|Hungary}}
|align="center"| 2–3
| Friendly
|
|-
|align="center"| 25
| 8 November 1961
| [[Hampden Park]], Glasgow
| {{fb|Scotland}}
|align="center"| 0–2
| [[1962 British Home Championship]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 26
| 11 April 1962
| [[Ninian Park]], [[Cardiff]]
| {{fb|Northern Ireland}}
|align="center"| 4–0
| [[1962 British Home Championship]]
| 4
|-
|align="center"| 27
| 12 May 1962
| [[Maracanã Stadium]], Rio de Janeiro
| {{fb|Brazil}}
|align="center"| 1–3
| Friendly
|
|-
|align="center"| 28
| 16 May 1962
| [[São Paulo]]
| {{fb|Brazil}}
|align="center"| 1–3
| Friendly
|
|-
|align="center"| 29
| 22 May 1962
| [[Mexico City]]
| {{fb|Mexico}}
|align="center"| 1–2
| Friendly
|
|-
|align="center"| 30
| 20 October 1962
| [[Ninian Park]], [[Cardiff]]
| {{fb|Scotland}}
|align="center"| 2–3
| [[1963 British Home Championship]]
|
|-
|align="center"| 31
| 20 March 1963
| [[Ninian Park]], [[Cardiff]]
| {{fb|Hungary}}
|align="center"| 1–1
| [[1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying|1964 European Nations' Cup qualifier]]
|
|-
|}

==Personal life and post-retirement activities==
In March 1958, Charles married Vera (surname unknown). His brother [[John Charles]] was unable to attend the wedding as he was in [[Italy]] at the time.<ref name="page 125–26">{{harvnb|Charles|2009|pp=125–26}}</ref> It was a triple wedding, as Swansea teammates [[Don Pearson (footballer)|Don Pearson]] and [[Jeff Rees]] also married their partners in the same ceremony.<ref name="page 125–26" /> In September 1959 Vera gave birth to a son, [[Jeremy Charles|Jeremy]], who went on to play for Swansea and Wales himself.<ref name="page 125–26" /> They also had a daughter, Catherine.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=229}}</ref> The couple divorced in 1972, though remained good friends.<ref name="page 125–26" />

After he left the professional game he found himself 'virtually penniless'.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=209}}</ref> He tried jobs as a [[door-to-door]] shoe salesman, as a [[scrap]] metal dealer (along with brother John), as a butcher, and as a potato merchant; often failing in a spectacular and humorous fashion.<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|pp=210–15}}</ref>

Charles' autobiography, entitled ''In the Shadow of a Giant'', was released by [[John Blake (journalist)|John Blake Publishing]] in 2009. The title is a reference to his elder brother, [[John Charles]], who became one of the biggest names in football as Mel was building his own career. The foreword was written by [[John Toshack]] and [[Jack Charlton]].<ref>{{harvnb|Charles|2009|p=XI}}</ref>

==Statistics==

===Club statistics===
* Sourced from {{ENFA}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!rowspan="2"|Division
!colspan="2"|League
!colspan="2"|FA Cup
!colspan="2"|Other
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="8"|[[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea Town]]
|[[1952–53 Swansea Town F.C. season|1952–53]]
|[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]
|20||0||1||0||0||0||21||0
|-
|[[1953–54 Swansea Town F.C. season|1953–54]]
|Second Division
|31||10||3||0||0||0||34||10
|-
|[[1954–55 Swansea Town F.C. season|1954–55]]
|Second Division
|38||11||4||0||0||0||42||11
|-
|[[1955–56 Swansea Town F.C. season|1955–56]]
|Second Division
|34||8||1||0||0||0||35||8
|-
|[[1956–57 Swansea Town F.C. season|1956–57]]
|Second Division
|39||13||1||0||0||0||40||13
|-
|[[1957–58 Swansea Town F.C. season|1957–58]]
|Second Division
|40||10||1||1||0||0||41||11
|-
|[[1958–59 Swansea Town F.C. season|1958–59]]
|Second Division
|31||14||1||1||0||0||32||15
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!233!!66!!12!!2!!0!!0!!245!!68
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]
|[[1959–60 Arsenal F.C. season|1959–60]]
|[[Football League First Division|First Division]]
|20||8||1||0||0||0||21||8
|-
|[[1960–61 Arsenal F.C. season|1960–61]]
|First Division
|19||3||1||0||0||0||20||3
|-
|[[1961–62 Arsenal F.C. season|1961–62]]
|First Division
|21||15||2||2||0||0||23||17
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!60!!26!!4!!2!!0!!0!!64!!28
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]]
|[[1961–62 Cardiff City F.C. season|1961–62]]
|First Division
|12||3||0||0||0||0||12||3
|-
|[[1962–63 Cardiff City F.C. season|1962–63]]
|Second Division
|33||11||1||0||2||1||36||12
|-
|[[1963–64 Cardiff City F.C. season|1963–64]]
|Second Division
|26||9||1||0||1||0||28||9
|-
|[[1964–65 Cardiff City F.C. season|1964–65]]
|Second Division
|8||2||0||0||1||0||9||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!79!!25!!2!!0!!4!!1!!85!!26
|-
|[[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]]
|[[1966–67 Port Vale F.C. season|1966–67]]
|[[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]]
|7||0||0||0||0||0||7||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!379!!117!!18!!4!!4!!1!!401!!122
|}

===International statistics===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan=3 | [[Wales national football team|Wales national team]]<ref>{{NFT player|pid=19885|accessdate=10 July 2016}}</ref>
|-
!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|1955||4||0
|-
|1956||1||0
|-
|1957||7||1
|-
|1958||9||0
|-
|1961||6||1
|-
|1962||4||4
|-
!Total||31||6
|}

==Honours==
;With Swansea Town
*[[Welsh Cup]] runner-up: 1956 & 1957<ref>{{cite web|title=Welsh Football Data Archive: Preserving our football heritage|url=http://wfda.co.uk/welshcup_final_detail.php?id=69|website=wfda.co.uk|accessdate=25 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Welsh Football Data Archive: Preserving our football heritage|url=http://wfda.co.uk/welshcup_final_detail.php?id=70|website=wfda.co.uk|accessdate=25 September 2016}}</ref>

;With Cardiff City
*[[Welsh Cup]] winner: 1964<ref>{{cite web|title=Welsh Football Data Archive: Preserving our football heritage|url=http://wfda.co.uk/welshcup_final_detail.php?id=77|website=wfda.co.uk|accessdate=25 September 2016}}</ref>

==References==
;Specific
{{Reflist|4}}
;General
*{{cite book|last=Charles|first=Mel|author2=Colin Leslie|title=In the Shadow of a Giant: The Autobiography of Arsenal and Wales legend Mel Charles|publisher=[[John Blake (journalist)|John Blake Publishing]]|year=2009|isbn=1-84454-776-0}}

==External links==
* [http://www.arsenal.com/history/profiles/118/mel-charles Mel Charles profile] at Arsenal.com

{{Wales squad 1958 FIFA World Cup}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Mel}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Footballers from Swansea]]
[[Category:Welsh footballers]]
[[Category:Wales international footballers]]
[[Category:Wales under-23 international footballers]]
[[Category:Association football utility players]]
[[Category:Association football defenders]]
[[Category:Association football wing halves]]
[[Category:Association football midfielders]]
[[Category:Association football forwards]]
[[Category:Leeds United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Swansea City A.F.C. players]]
[[Category:Arsenal F.C. players]]
[[Category:Cardiff City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Porthmadog F.C. players]]
[[Category:Port Vale F.C. players]]
[[Category:Oswestry Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Haverfordwest County A.F.C. players]]
[[Category:1958 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:British autobiographers]]

Mel Charles

2016-10-25T05:34:52Z

179.228.13.73:

Kategorie:Operation Lava Jato

2016-10-23T19:58:52Z

179.228.13.73:

In dieser Kategorie befinden sich Artikel, die sich mit dem Korruptionsskandal [[Operation Lava Jato]] (Operação Lava Jato) in Brasilien beschäftigen, sowie Artikel zu Personen und Unternehmen, die damit verbunden sind.

[[Kategorie:Politik (Brasilien)]]
[[Kategorie:Skandale]]
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Kategorie:Operation Lava Jato

2016-10-23T19:58:46Z

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