Keenor is considered to be one of Cardiff City’s all time great players and was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame. On 15th November 2007, a petition to the Cardiff Civic Authorities was begun to bestow a tribute upon both Keenor, and the 1927 FA Cup squad he captained. On 4th December 2009, the road approaching Cardiff City Stadium was named Fred Keenor Road. Honoured with a famous statue outside Cardiff City Stadium, there are few greater players to have pulled on the blue jersey than Fred. The tiny Scotsman became a Cardiff giant when Ferguson scored the most celebrated goal in the club's history but his glorious story ended in tragedy.

Harris, Clive; Whippy, Julian (2008). The Greater Game: Sporting Icons Who Fell in The Great War. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. p.174. ISBN 978-1-84415-762-4. We got Ryan on board to play drums and recorded the single over three days in the summer of 2010 at Monnow Valley Studios in Monmouth. I have never been more relieved,” he laughs. “Imagine being known as the lads who lost the FA Cup.”And on June 24, 1944, his son Alfred, a Flight Sergeant in the RAF, was killed when the Lancaster bomber on which he served as an air gunner was shot down over France. In Fred: The Man, Graham Keenor intends to explode some myths, including that his uncle was “tipsy” during some of his numerous Ninian Park appearances. Stationed in London with the regiment, an arrangement was made allowing players to return to their clubs for league matches to fulfill their contractual obligations. Keenor travelled by train every weekend to the venue of each Cardiff fixture to keep playing and was listed in the matchday programmes as "Private Keenor" for the remainder of the season. Cardiff finished the season in third place in the First Division. [24] Keenor made 21 appearances in the league during the season, scoring two goals. [25] The effects of the war effort crippled the club's finances. With travel restrictions placed on train services, and local men enlisting en masse, Cardiff's income from attendances dwindled. The situation became so dire that players were told to look for part-time jobs during the summer break in case the club was unable to pay their wages. When they threatened to strike, the club's committee approached Keenor over the possibility of forming a squad from his fellow soldiers of the Football Battalion. [26] With the war escalating, the Football Association officially suspended all its competitions at the end of the 1914–15 season, [27] negating any need for Keenor to raise a team. [26] First World War [ edit ] Keenor while a guest at Brentford in 1919 I think it would be fitting – he’s the player that lifted the cup out of English hands. Me and the club would be more than happy to support this.” With ‘I’ll Be There’ recorded and a record company on board, the decision was then made that all monies raised would go towards the Fred Keenor Fund, the charitable campaign set up the same year by the Cardiff City Supporters Trust to raise funds to create a statue of the legendary Cardiff City captain, who fought in the First World War. The statue of City’s cup winning captain, Fred Keenor. Photo by Jon Candy

Cardiff gave Keenor a free transfer to Crewe in 1931 but returned 'home' following a stint as player-manager at Oswestry Town and Tunbridge Wells Rangers, to be a storeman at Cardiff Corporation's building department.The GP who became a British Lion was born in Bridgend but played for Cardiff Medics and Cardiff RFC during his distinguished rugby career. Call centre worker Huw Rees, 26, of Tongwynlais, said: “Keenor is a legend and Cardiff City’s most celebrated player. Keenor was selected to represent the Welsh schoolboy side in 1907 and appeared in the first-ever meeting between the English and Welsh schoolboy sides, [67] playing in the match as an outside-right. [6] He also featured in two Victory Internationals at the end of the First World War. [67] Keenor was handed his debut for the senior team on 15 March 1920. He was named in the squad for their 2–1 victory over England in the 1919–20 British Home Championship, following the withdrawal of Billy Jennings through injury. [68] On 16 February 1924, Keenor was handed the Wales captaincy for the first time in his career for a match against Scotland. [69] The Scots were captained by his Cardiff teammate Jimmy Blair, making the match the first time in the history of international football that opposition teams had been captained by players from the same club side. [70] Scotland weren't really affected by the rule because of the Scottish League and they could still field players from teams like Celtic and Rangers." 'Fred Keenor and 10 unknowns' Jonny played it to Eddie Piller, the owner of Acid Jazz Records who agreed to release it,” explains Owen. “He’s a really nice bloke who understood immediately the social history of the chant. The song is about coal coming down the Taff Vale railway to Cardiff, and Eddie was really interested in both the song’s industrial and football history.”

We wanted to honour his memory with every penny raised from the single going towards the statue. In these days of modern footballers, here was a man who lived out his life in modest means and was dearly loved by the people.”

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We walked into the restaurant and there’s a bunch of lads who were in the pub sitting at a table in the restaurant with the staff having their picture taken with the FA Cup. Mr Inker said: “It’s a crying shame that a local lad who lifted the FA Cup for Cardiff City really hasn’t been recognised in his own city. The 1927 showpiece was the first cup final to be broadcast live on BBC Radio and was the final where the FA Cup anthem Abide With Me was sung.

The Cambridge University graduate was actually born in Bridgend but became a hero on the Arms Park terraces during the 1990s, during which time he won 42 caps for Wales. And now Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust has set-up a sub-committee to help progress the plan – with club chairman Peter Ridsdale saying he’ll support the idea. Abbink, Dinant. "England – Southern League Final Tables". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010 . Retrieved 21 February 2019. Nov 2023 Coaches banned from weighing gymnasts in new rulesBritish coaches are no longer allowed to weigh gymnasts under new rules to protect "physical and psychological health". A match report on Keenor from Athletic News following a victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in 1914. [18]

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a b c d e f g Shepherd, Richard. "1920–1947 Great Days, Lows & Recovery". Cardiff City F.C. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019 . Retrieved 17 August 2016. So we’re doing a DJ set at the Burgess Green pub, which is the home of the PVM, the Port Talbot Pure Violence Mob, so we knew it was going to be a bit lively,” the musician remembers. a b c "Welsh International Matches". Welsh Football Data Archive. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019 . Retrieved 12 October 2009. The original line-up of The Stand included Stereophonics’ drummer Stuart Cable, who was instrumental in the group’s plans, until his untimely death in June 2010. Stuart Cable (Creative Commons) He said: “It’s going to be a long process because if you’re writing a book on football you can go to libraries and you can do research into all the newspapers.