Mel Hopkins

Mel Hopkins (7 November 1934 – 18 October 2010)^[1] was a Welsh international footballer. He played at left back.

Mel Hopkins

Personal information
Full name	Melvyn Hopkins
Date of birth	(1934-11-07)7 November 1934
Place of birth	Ystrad, Rhondda, Wales
Date of death	18 October 2010(2010-10-18) (aged 75)
Place of death	Worthing, England
Position(s)	Full-back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1952–1964	Tottenham Hotspur	219	(0)
1964–1967	Brighton & Hove Albion	58	(2)
1967–1969	Canterbury City
1969–1970	Bradford Park Avenue	30	(0)
Total		307+	(2)
International career
1956–1963	Wales	34	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

The son of a miner,^[2] he was signed by Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 15, when spotted playing for his local boy's club.^[3] He was taken on as an apprentice after just one trial.^[2] Mel Hopkins made his debut in January 1952^[4] and winning a League and FA Cup double in 1961.^[5][6] In 1959, he suffered a serious injury following a collision with Ian St John, smashing his nose and upper jaw, an injury which would keep him out of football for two years.^[3]

In total, Hopkins played 219 games for Spurs, before leaving Spurs for Brighton and Hove Albion in October 1964 for a transfer fee of £8,000.^[3][4] He scored 2 goals and played 58 games for Albion. A brief spell at Ballymena United in Northern Ireland 1967 was followed by a move to Bradford Park Avenue in January 1969, where he played 30 games, retiring in 1970.^[7]

International career

Hopkins played for his country between 1956 and 1963,^[8] earning 34 caps^[7] including playing for the Wales squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, where they lost narrowly to Brazil in the quarter-finals.^[3][9]

In 2003, Hopkins was given a merit award by the Football Association of Wales.^[10]