Glover Pat Image 16 Plymouth Argyle 1939

Description

A Wales schoolboy international, Swansea born centre forward Ernest “Pat” Glover began playing football for The Forward Movement, a church group (known today as the The Presbyterian Church of Wales) set up to support poor and working class people and joined hometown club Swansea Town in 1928, but moved to Second Division Grimsby Town the following year without having played for the Swansea first team. He would become a Grimsby Town legend.

He made his Football League debut in February 1930 at West Ham United and established himself the following year in the Grimsby team during their relegation season from the First Division, the same year he won his first Wales cap of 7 awarded over the next eight years when he played against Scotland at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham in October 1931, and scored 7 goals for his country through to his final cap in March 1939.

Alongside the likes of Harry Betmead and Jackie Bestall he spearheaded Grimsby’s most successful period in its history, scoring 4 goals against both Exeter City in a January 1932 FA Cup tie, and in a 5-5 draw against Preston North End in October 1932, and a stunning 43 goals in just 41 matches as The Mariners won the 1934 Second Division Championship, including hat-tricks against Oldham Athletic, Manchester United and Millwall. The following season he was an ever present as Grimsby Town achieved their highest ever placing, fifth in the 1934-35 League Championship, Glover netting a fantastic 36 times during the campaign.

Described as “dashing” and “a very clever marksman”, Glover scored a further 94 goals over the first three seasons back in the First Division, with a 5 goal spree in a 6-0 win over Sunderland in April 1937, 4 goals in a 5-1 win at Huddersfield Town in September 1934, in a 6-2 win at Aston Villa in November 1935, and in a 5-1 win over Middlesbrough in October 1936, as well as hat-tricks against Sunderland, Brentford, Derby County, and in an FA Cup tie against Walsall. He also played in Grimsby’s 1936 FA Cup semi final defeat to eventual winners Arsenal at Leeds Road, Huddersfield, In total he scored a still club record 197 goals in 244 appearances for The Mariners. He also remains Grimsby’s most capped player.

Glover moved to Second Division club Plymouth Argyle in the 1939 close season playing 3 fixtures, scoring once, before the 1939-40 season was abandoned due the outbreak of the Second World War on 3rd September 1939. He had arrived at Home Park with Grimsby teammate Cyril Lewis, and Glover continued to play in the South West Regional League in the months following the declaration of War, and then joined the Police War Reserve. He also added a further wartime cap to his previous seven for Wales, scoring in a 1-1 draw against England at Ninian Park, Cardiff on 11th November 1939, before his eventual retirement.