Charles, W. John Born: 27th December 1931, Position: Centre Forward/ Central Defender (Leeds United, Juventus, Leeds United, AS Roma, Cardiff City and Wales)
Major Honours:  none Relevant Career Statistics: 38 caps and 15 International goals. Admitted to the Hall of Fame: 1st February 2002 with 28% of the votes.
Roy of the Rovers References:   Roy of the Rovers "Talk In" feature on the playing career of 'King John'  - 13th December 1980,
Internet Links: There are no specific web sites dedicated to John Charles, but the following links offer great sources of information. The profile of John Charles on the Internet's best and free encyclopaedia. This page also give links to other references to this hall of famer. The Mighty, Mighty Whites - This link takes you to the index page which is set in frames. From the drop down list for players select 'Charles' and you will then come across an in-depth profile of the 'Gentle Giant'!  leedsfans.org.uk - A player profile on the great man provided by a dedicated Leeds fan.
Books:  John Charles - A biography on the great Welsh Sportsman.

Known as the 'Gentle Giant', John Charles was one of the great players of his generation. He allied great skill to an awesome physique and was good enough to set a Leeds record of 42 goals in one season as a centre forward, while playing for his country as a dominant central defender.  

William John Charles was born in Swansea in 1931. His younger brother Mel later played alongside him for Wales and had a good career with Swansea, Arsenal and Cardiff. 

John played for Swansea Boys before he left school in 1945 and managed to get himself taken onto the groundstaff of his home town club, third division Swansea Town, in 1946 as he was approaching his fifteenth birthday. 

King John spent a couple of years at Vetch Field without ever getting a call up, but there were interested eyes being cast around the place. Like Swansea, Leeds had been relegated after the war and the charismatic Major Frank Buckley, who had built Wolves from a struggling team into a crack First Division outfit, had been brought in to revive their fortunes in the summer of 1948. Buckley had always valued scouting and youth programmes and had quickly instituted both at Elland Road. Jack Pickard was Buckley's chief scout in South Wales and he spent much of his time at Swansea. John was soon offered a trial and he accepted the invitation to go to Elland Road. Buckley saw enough of Charles in the first few weeks to make his mind up and quickly persuaded him to sign for the club. He offered a £10 signing on fee, a wage of £6 a week, and a new suit and overcoat as a bonus. It was the start of a wonderful relationship which saw Buckley mould Charles into one of the finest talents of his generation.

In those days, Charles was notionally a left half, but Buckley insisted on trying him out at right back, although he had moved again, to centre half, by the time he made his debut, and later got switched with glorious effect to the number 9 shirt.

Leeds were in the bottom half of the Second Division, but were safe enough and Buckley decided to blood the youngster, at centre half, on April 23, 1949. Charles did well enough in a goalless draw at Ewood Park to keep his place for the final two games of the season, another 0-0 draw, at home to Cardiff City, and then for a trip to the far off city of London, which saw Leeds lose 2-0 to QPR.

Charles had made a good start to his career and was in the side to stay. Injuries apart, he was never out of the Leeds side again while he was at the club. He was an ever present in the team that did exceedingly well the next season, 1949-50. They finished in an impressive fifth spot and beat Spurs 3-0 to end the powerful London club's 22 match unbeaten run. 

Charles gained a personal reward for his form that season when he was called up for the Welsh team and became the youngest player to appear for his country when he turned out in a 0-0 draw against Ireland. 

The 1950-51 season saw Leeds have another successful season, although with less glory. They finished fifth again, although they never looked to be promotion contenders. The end of the season, however, was to mark a turning point in a fledgling career. Due to injuries he was put in at centre forward against Manchester City over Easter and again at home to Hull City on Easter Monday. Charles scored twice against Hull and thereby justified United's experiment. 

From 1950 until 1952 Charles was away on National Service with the 12th Royal Lancers at Carlisle. The army allowed him to turn out for Leeds but also saw to it that he played for them, and in 1952 Charles skippered his side to the Army Cup. It was during this period that he had operations to repair cartilages in both knees. Surgery meant Charles missed a large chunk of the 1951-52 season. 

John Charles was one of the outstanding footballers of the 1950's and his prodigious talents were coveted throughout Europe. It was astonishing, then, that he remained with Leeds United, a modest Second Division club from Yorkshire until he was 25 and did not make his debut in the top flight until 1956, when he had spearheaded the club's promotion challenge.

He took Division One by storm and finished the country's top scorer with 38 goals, only just failing to break the club record of 42 he had set three years previously. There had been rumours and newspaper talk for years of other clubs making a move for the Welshmen, but always the Leeds United directors had resisted all offers.

Now, though, in the spring of 1957, things had changed. The club's Elland Road ground had been ravaged by fire the previous September and the main stand razed to the ground. It had not been adequately insured and the difference between the pay out which the club received and the cost of the new stand was around £60,000. Leeds United were in dire need of money, the sort of money a world class player like John Charles could fetch. He was transferred to Juventus in 1957 for a then world record fee of £67,000. He scored 29 goals in his first season in the defensively supreme Serie A, won the Italian Footballer of the Year award and prompted the club to three championships and two cups in his five years in Turin. In 1997 he was voted as the best ever foreign player to have played for Juventus.

In the summer of 1962, John Charles was 31. He had proven himself an outstanding footballer at the very highest level, inspiring one of the most successful periods in Juventus' history and spearheading Wales' exciting and totally unexpected assault on World Cup glory in 1958. He had been in Italy for five years after a world record move from Leeds, but had decided that the time was right to move his young family back to England.

Charles still had a soft spot in his heart for his adopted home in West Yorkshire and when he heard that Leeds United were interested in re-signing him, the Welshman had little doubt. Leeds were now back in the Second Division, and other offers were surfacing from First Division sides, but a new broom was sweeping through the Yorkshire club and Charles was excited by what he had seen at his old stomping ground.

Former England inside forward Don Revie was now manager hand he splashed out a club record £53,000 to secure the return to Yorkshire of John Charles. However, John did not settle and he stayed just 91 days before he was sold to Roma for £70,000. 

Initially, the move was a success and Charles scored within fifteen minutes of his first game for Roma, in a match against Bologna. His next match was a farewell appearance for Leeds in a friendly at Elland Road against Juventus, a game which was arranged as part of the package agreed when Charles left Turin.

The early promise was never fulfilled, however, and Charles was on the move again a year later. His stock had plummeted in a disastrous stay in Rome and the price was just £20,000 when Charles returned home to Wales and a stay at Cardiff City.

It wasn't a particularly good time for Charles, despite his excellent relationship with manager George Swindin but he stayed with the Ninian Park club for three years, until 1966. In his first year there, Charles faced his old club Leeds in a bruising FA Cup third round tie at Ninian Park. Under Revie, Leeds had settled down as an effective football team and were on the way to the Second Division title and the big time, although their no frills approach was winning them few friends.

Leeds centre half Freddie Goodwin broke his right leg in the match in a clash with Charles, leaving the way for a young Paul Madeley to come through while Jack Charlton was also out injured.

In 1966, Charles decided to try his hand at management and accepted a role as player manager at Southern League Hereford United. He saw it as a first step on the obvious road to a second career in the game, but it didn't work out that way, even though he enjoyed his time at Edgar Street and laid much of the groundwork for Hereford's eventual election to the Football League after a high profile Cup giant killing run in 1972.

The crowds grew with Charles' arrival and he did well, building a useful side by the judicious mix of experienced professionals and raw young recruits. He went on to Merthyr Tydfil for a short period and was still playing for the club when he was 41: "I loved it there. We were in the Southern League and I remember Ken Brown, who used to play at West Ham, came down and joined me. It was wonderful to think we were doing something for the town. The crowds went up from five hundred to over two thousand, so we must have been doing something right."

Eventually, though, Charles did hang up his boots and turn his back on management and returned to live in Leeds. He had a joint testimonial match with Bobby Collins in 1988. He remains a regular supporter on match days and a staunch fan of David O'Leary's exciting young side.

A series of business failures and rampant inflation meant Charles' lifestyle has often been comparatively modest, especially when seen beside that of the majority of modern players, who will never come anywhere near matching his ability. But he expresses no bitterness and is renowned for his generosity in fund raising for charity. In June 2001, when he was awarded the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

John Charles never had any trouble with referees. He was never booked, sent off or even spoken to by a referee in a lengthy career in Yorkshire, Italy and Wales and will always be remembered for his icy cool and self discipline, as well as his amazing footballing skills.

For Roy of the Rovers purposes John Charles was the complete footballer. In Italy they would play him up front until he scored, then switch him to centre half to stop the other side scoring. The perfect all rounder! Such talent for a man with perfect 'Roy of the Rovers' credentials, we welcome 'King' John Charles to the Roy of the Rovers Hall of Fame.