Alf Sherwood

Sherwood joined Cardiff City in 1942, from Aberaman Athletic after impressing then manager Cyril Spiers in a wartime friendly. He originally played as a wing half but during a match against Lovells Athletic the club was short of defenders so Sherwood was moved to full-back where he was so impressive that he played the position for the rest of his career. In total he played in 140 wartime fixtures for the club. The Football League returned for the 1946–47 season and Sherwood missed just one match as the club finished top of the third division south. Following the departure of Fred Stansfield, he formed a full back partnership with another Cardiff City great, Ron Stitfall, and in the 1951–52 season Sherwood was appointed captain of the club, leading them back to the first division that year. Sherwood was also the stand in goalkeeper for both club and country, due to substitutes having not yet been introduced. His greatest goalkeeping moment came on 17 April 1954 in a match against Liverpool. Goalkeeper Ron Howells fractured his thumb while making a save during the match and Sherwood took over in his place, facing a penalty from Scottish international Billy Liddell from which he performed a double save to all but assure Liverpool of relegation. Sherwood went on to become one of the all-time appearance leaders for the club in all competitions before he was allowed to leave the club by manager Trevor Morris, to join Newport County, in 1956 at the age of 33. He went on to confound…

Sherwood was born in North View Terrace, a short distance away from the ground of his hometown club Aberaman Athletic. As a youngster, Sherwood was a youth international for Wales at both football and cricket, playing alongside Trevor Ford and Gilbert Parkhouse, before becoming one of the Bevin Boys, a scheme created by former Minister of Labour and National Service Ernest Bevin, in which young men aged between 18 and 25 were drafted to work as miners during World War II.

Cardiff City Football League Division Three South Winner: 1 1946–47 Football League Division Two Runner-up: 1 1951–52