On This Day (20th May 1955): The Day Sunderland Almost Signed John Charles

Aug 1962: John Charles of Leeds United. Mandatory Credit: Don Morley/Allsport | Getty Images Argus had tracked and reported this story with some enthusiasm in the Sunderland Echo in the spring of 1955. It was not the first time he had committed to print to tell readers the club were chasing the signature of “this great player”.

Sunderland were known as the Bank of England club in the 1950s. Under the stewardship of chairman Ted Ditchburn and his board, they spent unprecedented amounts of money to buy in the best individual players of the age in an attempt to recapture the glories of halcyon days. With Bill Murray as manager for all of this ‘Bank of England’ period, Sunderland had just enjoyed their best-ever season (1954/55) in this era.

They finished fourth in the First Division and got to the semi-final of the FA Cup, where they were knocked out by Manchester City by a goal to nil at Villa Park. Had they won, they would have faced Newcastle in the final at Wembley. Murray was nothing if not a good judge of individual flair and skill, though some would challenge his ability to mould these individuals into an effective team, and had identified the rare talent of John Charles as the next piece of the Bank of England team jigsaw.

To be fair to Murray and the board, Charles was still making his name in the game, but would go on to be viewed by many as the greatest all-round player of his, and probably many, generations. He had arrived at Leeds from his hometown club Swansea in 1948 as a seventeen-year-old without ever playing a first-team game for the Swans. By 1950, he was not only a Welsh international, but also established in the Leeds United team primarily as a defender, with an instinct for a foray up the park.