SOUTH WEST FA CUP FINALISTS 1940’s &1950’s
1946 & 1947 Don Welsh (Charlton Athletic)
Don Welsh joined Charlton Athletic from Torquay United in 1935 and captained the Addicks to the first post-war FA Cup final in 1946 which saw Charlton face Derby County.
The Addicks were beaten 4-1 by the Rams, but Welsh was back at the home of football a year later as he led Charlton to cup glory as they defeated Burnley 1-0.
After retiring from playing, Don entered management and embarked on spells managing Brighton and Hove Albion, Liverpool, where he became the first manager ever to be sacked by the Anfield club, Bournemouth and Wycombe Wanderers.
1956 Alex Govan, Gordon Astall, Len Boyd & Johnny Newman (Birmingham City)
The 1956 FA Cup, which was won by Manchester City, will always be remembered for their German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann playing through the game with a broken neck, but lining up for Birmingham City that day were four players who spent different stages of their careers in the South West.
Forward Alex Govan started and finished his career with Plymouth Argyle. He first signed for the Pilgrims in 1946 and remained at Home Park until 1953 when he joined the Blues. Alex stayed at St Andrews until 1958 when he joined Portsmouth before returning to Home Park later that year where he finished his career in 1962.
Gordon Astall also joined Plymouth Argyle in 1946 and found his way to Birmingham in 1953, arriving at St Andrews shortly after Govan made the same journey. In an eight-year stint with the Blues, as well as appearing in the 1956 cup final, Gordon won two England caps and featured for the Blues in the 1961 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final, which they lost 4-1 to Barcelona.
In 1961, he returned to Devon to join Torquay United on a free transfer and he stayed at Plainmoor until 1963 when he retired from professional football.
Four years before Govan and Astall joined Birmingham City from the Pilgrims, Len Boyd trod the same path from Home Park to St Andrews in 1949. The 17,500 that the Blues paid Argyle for his services was the first five figure fee that the Pilgrims had ever received for a player. He was capped by England at Under-23 level and later played for Hinckley United after leaving St Andrews in 1959.
Central defender Johnny Newman would later go on to play for Plymouth Argyle (1960-1967) and Exeter City (1967-1972) and he would also manage the Grecians from 1969-1976 before going on to manage Grimsby Town, Derby County and Hereford United.