Powell Aubrey Image 2 Leeds United 1947

Description

Cwmtwrch, Swansea Valley born inside right Aubrey Powell began his football career with Cwm Wanderers, spending 1934-35 as an amateur on the books of Swansea Town without making a first team appearance. In November 1935 he joined First Division club Leeds United, making his Football League debut against Middlesbrough on Christmas Day 1936, and although he managed a dozen appearances for Leeds in his debut season, due to a broken leg his next first team outing wasn’t until September 1938, when he was a regular in The Peacocks’ line-up in the final peacetime season before the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, which substantially interrupted his career.

Powell continued playing for the Leeds United throughout the war in the Wartime League, as well as playing for Wales 4 times  in unofficial wartime internationals. He played 123 times in Wartime League matches, scoring 37 goals, and scored once in 3 appearances in the Football League War Cup for Leeds. Powell was second only to Gerry Henry in wartime appearances for the club by an individual player.

Powell won his first full official Welsh cap in a 3-1 win over Scotland at the Racecourse Ground Wrexham on 19th October 1946, going on to win 7 further caps through to 1950, and he scored his only international goal in a 3-1 defeat by Scotland at Ninian Park, Cardiff in his final match on 21st October 1950.

With the resumption of peacetime football Powell also resumed playing League football for Leeds United and after the club’s relegation in 1947 scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Plymouth Argyle that September, before he joined Everton in July 1948 for £10,000, a club record fee at the time, after 25 goals in 121 matches for Leeds both sides of the War.

He made his Toffees debut in a 3-3 draw with Newcastle United, scoring in front of a 57,729 crowd on 21st August 1948, scoring 5 goals in 35 matches for Everton over two seasons at Goodison Park. He joined Birmingham City in August 1950, scoring once in fifteen appearances for The Blues before finishing his career at non League Wellington Town in June 1951, where he retired in 1952 after developing severe arthritis.