page_title: Ivor Allchurch
section_title: Personal life
hierarchical_section_title: Ivor Allchurch / Personal life
caption_attribution_description: English: Statue of former professional footballer Ivor Allchurch outside the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales
context_page_description: Ivor John Allchurch MBE was a Welsh professional footballer who played for Swansea Town, Newcastle United and Cardiff City, as well as the Wales national football team.
  Known as the "Golden Boy of Welsh football", Allchurch played as an inside forward, and began his career playing for his hometown side Swansea Town where he spent over 10 years, captaining the side for several seasons and scoring over 100 goals in all competitions. He attracted attention from numerous clubs during his early years with Swansea but chose to remain with the club until the age of 28 when he joined First Division side Newcastle United. Signing in 1958 for a fee of £28,000, he formed a prolific strike partnership with George Eastham and Len White. In 1962, he joined Cardiff City for £18,000, where he spent three seasons before finishing his professional career with a second spell with Swansea Town. His two spells with Swansea saw him become the club's all-time top goalscorer.
  During his career, Allchurch won a total of 68 caps for Wales, a record which stood until 1986 when it was exceeded by Joey Jones.
context_section_description: Following his return from national service, Allchurch became engaged to Esme Thomas who was 16 at the time, the couple keeping their engagement secret from their parents until she turned 18. The pair publicly revealed their engagement when she turned 18 and eventually married in 1953, settling in the Mumbles district of Swansea. The couple had two sons, John and David. Following Allchurch's transfer to Newcastle in 1958, the family relocated to Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne.
  He was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 1962 and, in 1966, he was awarded a Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to Welsh football. He is also a member of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and the English Football Hall of Fame having been inducted in 1995 and 2005 respectively. Allchurch and his wife moved to a bungalow in Bishopston, Swansea after his retirement from professional football and he worked as a storeman for a stationery company. He died on 10 July 1997 at his home  aged 67. His funeral was held at Swansea Crematorium and attracted over 500 people.
  To celebrate Allchurch's achievements for his local club, it was originally decided that money should be raised for a bust of him, which was raised by Swansea City supporters. However, the strong support eventually saw the plans changed to incorporate a statute outside their stadium. In 2005, a life-sized statue of Allchurch was unveiled outside Swansea's newly opened Liberty Stadium.
caption: Statue of Allchurch outside the Liberty Stadium, Swansea
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