John Pounder

John Pounder

Luton Town scouts took a liking to Atlas Sports (Sheffield) winger Tony and after asking him to Kenilworth Road for trials encouraged him to sign a professional contract at a Sheffield hotel on Boxing Day 1955 just before the Town were due to play at Bramall Lane.

Fast and direct, Tony was given his Division One baptism the following April in a 1-0 home win over Portsmouth and made two further appearances in 1956-57 before moving on to Coventry in search of more regular first-team football.

He did not last long at Highfield Road but made up for it with a long playing career at Crewe, Yeovil, Dorchester and Crewkerne and then watched as his son, also Tony, turned out in almost 200 games for Bristol Rovers and Hereford.

Tony lived in Yeovil in retirement before passing away in 2019.