Phil Woosnam

Woosnam played football with Montgomeryshire Schoolboys and gained youth international honours with Wales, and gained eight amateur caps, the first against England in 1951. While studying physics, he captained Bangor University's football team at the Welsh Universities' Championship and played for the Peritus club. Woosnam completed his national service with the Royal Artillery where he played for 55th RA Tonfanau and was selected for the Army XI several times, including alongside Eddie Colman and Duncan Edwards of Manchester United. Retaining his amateur status throughout, Woosnam played club football for Welshpool, Oswestry Town, Bangor City, Wrexham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City, Caersws, Aberystwyth Town, Portmadoc, Sutton United, as well as guesting occasionally for Middlesex Wanderers, before he joined Leyton Orient. His only Manchester City appearance was in a 6-0 defeat versus Cardiff City at Ninian Park. He made his senior international debut for Wales against Scotland in October 1958, having turned professional in January 1957. He represented the London XI against Lausanne Sports while at Brisbane Road. He was named amateur footballer of the year in 1955. In November 1958, Woosnam was signed by West Ham United for £30,000 and left his job as a physics teacher at Leyton County High School for Boys to turn professional. West Ham insisted that they would only sign Wooosnam if he gave up full-time teaching. A condition of his release from teaching to turn…

Woosnam acted as caretaker manager at West Ham after Ted Fenton's reign came to an end in 1961. Woosnam was only 29 years old and had designs on the job before Ron Greenwood was appointed. Greenwood soon saw Woosnam and some other senior players as a threat to his authority, which in part prompted Woosnam's transfer to Aston Villa. Woosnam immigrated to the United States in 1966 when he was appointed player-coach for the Atlanta Chiefs and scored the first goal in the first football game in the Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. Woosnam was named 'Coach of the Year' in 1968. In 1968, with qualifiers for the 1970 FIFA World Cup about to start, Woosnam accepted an invitation to coach the United States national team. It would be the USMNT's first full internationals in three and half years. He was in post for only two months in which the team played nine internationals, including a three match tour of Haiti. Under Woosnam, the team won four games, lost four and drew one. It was during this period that Coventry City's proud Scot Gerry Baker was persuaded to turn out for the US where he had been born 30 years earlier. When Woosnam stepped down to become commissioner of the NASL, he was succeeded by his assistant, Englishman Gordon Jago. Ultimately, the team failed to qualify for the 1970 World Cup.