Tales From Across The Border

Charles Bamforth poses an unusual question for Wolves Heroes readers and reveals a little-known story from the seaside…

What links three goalkeepers, two policemen, a million pound footballer and a one-time favourite seaside retreat for Black Country folk? That would be Rhyl.

Let us turn first, though, to Peter Owen. He was the keeper in Wolves’ first FA Youth Cup final appearance, back in 1953.

Owen didn’t make it beyond the junior sides in three years at Molineux and, before long, had enrolled in the police force in Shropshire while playing for Wellington Town – the club he was serving when selected for Shropshire FA in November, 1953.

Not many years passed before he returned to his native North Wales and was based in Prestatyn. As a fully trained coach, Sergeant Owen became manager of the Welsh Police football team and was later part of the Great Britain police team set-up as well as scouting for Bournemouth.

All of which made him attractive to Northern Premier League Rhyl FC when they sought someone to head up first-team operations at Belle Vue in February, 1986. Owen took the position in an honorary capacity and kept his uniform.

Rhyl finished 14th, ten points better off than third-from-bottom Chorley, who would famously shock Wolves in the FA Cup a few months later. Burton Albion closed in fifth place.

In June, 1986, Peter Owen secured the astonishing signing of Steve Daley. Seven years after leaving Wolves in that £1.5m move to Manchester City, the 33-year-old put his signature to a two-year deal in North Wales, turning down offers from League clubs in the process.

Steve continued to live in Codsall and travel for training and games. But he suffered a tough start. He injured an ankle after 13 minutes of his debut but returned to play well at the heart of the Lillywhites’ midfield.

In fact, he replaced Owen in the late September and became player-manager. Results weren’t the problem but it turned out to be a struggle. Daley fell foul of the traffic police after a 4-1 defeat at Goole on November 8, 1986, and the resultant driving ban cost him his job as a representative for the financial company run by Rhyl chairman Mike Jones.

Daley kept his role as player-manager but, unable to meet the club’s insistence that players should turn up twice a week for training, the end was nigh. He departed Belle Vue in January, 1987, and headed to Kettering to reunite with his former Walsall boss, Alan Buckley.

Meanwhile, at Molineux, Wolves were entering happier times under the leadership of Graham Turner, who made one of his most astute signings soon after Christmas.

That was another Welsh goalkeeper, the incomparable Mark Kendall, who had a 473-appearance career that started with Tottenham.

When he hung up his gloves several years after leaving Molineux, he himself become a policeman in Wales and his son, Lee, who was mascot for Wolves in the nightmare play-off game at home to Aldershot in May of 1987, would go on himself to become a professional keeper.

He started as a youngster with Crystal Palace, made a solitary first-team appearance for Cardiff and, from 2007 to 2009, was between the sticks for Rhyl, by now playing in Europe thanks to their winning ways in the Welsh Premier League.