Wyn Davies obituary: Newcastle striker known as ‘Wyn the Leap'

Times

24-07-2025

Few footballers were as formidable in the air as Wyn Davies, or 'Wyn the Leap' as he was widely known. As crosses came in he would hang in the air high above desperate defenders, heading the ball powerfully towards goal or knocking it down for team-mates to score. In the author Duncan Hamilton's nostalgic memory he was 'the footballer who could fly'. 'Up in the air there was nobody who could compete with him, not just in England but in Europe,' said his Newcastle United team-mate Bobby Moncur.
And it was for Newcastle in Europe that Davies really made his name. He was a key member of the team that won the 1969 Fairs Cup. They beat opponents including Feyenoord and Sporting Lisbon and then triumphed in the final against Ujpest, a Hungarian team boasting several internationals. The veteran Newcastle reporter John Gibson recalled 'one foreign international defender moaning to me after facing the relentless challenge of Davies, 'Football is called football because it is supposed to be played on the ruddy ground, not with a forehead used as a sledgehammer!' '
It was also his courage that made him so effective. Described as 'warrior-like' in his approach, with distinctive red hair, Davies was little deterred by defenders' aggression. His nose was broken during the Fairs Cup campaign, and he played the final with an undiagnosed fractured cheekbone. He survived skirmishes including a semi-final against Rangers when he was roughed up by defenders and bombarded with bottles by the Glaswegian fans. 'I'm the centre forward paid to take the knocks,' was Davies's laconic comment on such experiences.
In another European campaign Newcastle played the Italian giants Inter Milan. Davies scored with an excellent diving header in the away leg at the San Siro. Back home at St James' Park he challenged the Milan goalkeeper and a mêlée ensued; the keeper was sent off as police came onto the pitch to restore order and Davies scored again in a 2-0 win.
He scored ten goals in 24 European games for Newcastle, but his record in domestic games was less good — 56 overall in 216 appearances. Another team-mate, Frank Clark, reflected that 'scoring goals wasn't really his strength. He was one of the bravest players I ever saw but his game was all about creating havoc in the opposition box.'
Newcastle had begun their pursuit of Davies, then a Bolton player, after he caused just such havoc against them in 1965. At first he rebuffed their advances. 'They wanted to sign me,' Davies recalled 'and I stalled after some of the [Bolton] lads told me to ask for £70 a week and they refused.' But the manager Joe Harvey returned the following year, agreed a transfer fee of £85,000, and made Davies a new offer.
Davies insisted on finding a phone box to contact his mother and have a long conversation in his first language, Welsh, seeking her advice. He had once signed for Wrexham without consulting her and she complained so much that he subsequently never took any career decision without her approval. She now said yes and he headed north.
Davies sends a header towards goal at St James' Park in 1966
ALAMY
They were close as she had brought up Davies and his brothers alone after his father died when he was six. Ronald Wyn Davies was born in 1942 in Caernarfon and worked in the nearby slate quarries while playing for teams including Llanberis before joining Wrexham, where he scored 26 goals. He moved to Bolton in 1962, motivated partly by memories of seeing the great Nat Lofthouse play. He inherited Lofthouse's No 9 shirt and scored 74 goals in 170 appearances, also spending time improving his English. But he swore at referees in Welsh so they would not understand.
While at Bolton, Davies made his international debut for Wales. He won 34 caps and the most famous of his seven goals came in 1966 against the newly crowned World Cup winners, England. It was a trademark Davies goal, chasing a long ball into the area and rising above two helpless defenders to power the ball into the top corner. He and his fellow strikers Ron Davies and John Toshack were dubbed 'the Welsh air force'.
In 1971 Davies moved from Newcastle to Manchester City, resuming a partnership from his Bolton days with the striker Francis Lee (obituary, October 3, 2023), and won an FA Charity Shield medal. In 1972 he moved across the city to Manchester United, scoring on his debut. But he 'didn't get on' with the new manager Tommy Docherty (obituary, January 1, 2021) and was sold the next year to Blackpool. He also played for Stockport County, Crewe Alexandra and Bangor City, as well as for a team in South Africa, before retiring from playing.
Davies was something of an introvert, remaining close to his Welsh family and returning to live in Bolton, where he worked for a time at a bakery. He had never had an agent and had earned a tiny amount by comparison with modern players. But he insisted he was content in later life with an allotment, looking after his dogs and sharing scrapbook memories with football fans.
There were occasional visits from a group of Newcastle supporters, the Fairs Club, who wanted to re-live the glory of the 1969 European triumph. He appreciated those fans in particular as 'humble people and fanatical', hearing them sing their old song of praise from the glory days: 'Come all without, come all within, you've not seen nothing like the Mighty Wyn.'
Wyn Davies, footballer, was born on March 20, 1942. He died of undisclosed causes on July 17, 2025, aged 83