Swans and Dragons: Terry Medwin
In a regular website feature, we look back at former Swansea City players who have also turned out for Wales at full international level.
Born in Swansea on September 25, 1932, Terry Medwin was raised in the Sandfields area, just a goal-kick away from Vetch Field.
From the age of four, he used to sneak inside the ground on matchdays and watch the club he would go on to sign part-time forms with just a day after his 17th birthday.
Medwin made his first-team debut during the 1951-52 season as the Swans finished 19th in the Second Division.
The winger quickly established himself as a regular feature in Billy McCandless’ side, scoring 57 goals in 147 league appearances before leaving for Tottenham Hotspur in May 1956.
In April 1953, Medwin made his full international debut in Wales’ 3-2 victory over Ireland in Belfast and appeared in away defeats against France and Yugoslavia the following month.
Those were his only appearances for Wales as a Swan as he had to wait over three years to win his next international cap.
It came against Scotland in the Home Nations Championship and Medwin marked his return by finding the net in a 2-2 draw.
By then, he was plying his trade with Spurs having moved to North London a few months earlier.
Medwin featured in three of Wales’ qualifying matches for the 1958 World Cup. The Dragons, who finished second in Group 4, were initially denied a place at the finals with only the group winners progressing.
However, Jimmy Murphy’s men were handed a second chance to make it to Sweden after been selected as Israel’s opponents for a two-legged play-off.
Medwin started in Wales’ 2-0 win in Tel Aviv in January 1958 and was also included in the second leg three weeks later, as the Dragons enjoyed another 2-0 success in Cardiff with Swans favourites Ivor Allchurch and Cliff Jones scoring the goals.
The trio of Medwin, Allchuch and Jones were all included in Wales’ squad for the finals.
Medwin featured in four of the Dragons’ five matches at the tournament as they made it to the quarter-finals, scoring the winner against Hungary in the first-round play-off.
That goal remained the last to be scored by a Wales player at a major tournament before Gareth Bale’s strike in the 2-1 victory over Slovakia at Euro 2016.
Between 1956 and 1963, Medwin scored 72 goals in 215 appearances for Spurs.
He netted five times in 14 league matches during the 1960-61 season as they won the First Division title and FA Cup, becoming the first English club to achieve the double in the 20th century.
He was left out of Bill Nicholson’s squad for the 1961 FA Cup final but started in the following year’s showpiece as Spurs beat Burnley 3-1 at Wembley.
The curtain came down on Medwin’s international career later that year after six goals in 30 appearances for Wales.
His final cap came in a 4-1 defeat by England that November, while his last competitive game at club level came in Spurs’ 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion just over three months later.
After sustaining a broken leg on Spurs’ post-season tour of South Africa in the summer of 1963, Medwin retired from playing at the age of 30.
He went on to manage non-league side Cheshunt and spent time on the coaching staff at Fulham, before becoming assistant to John Toshack during his time as manager of the Swans between 1978 and 1984.
