Tony Millington

Anthony Horace Millington (5 June 1943 – 5 August 2015) was a Welsh footballer who played as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace, Peterborough United and Swansea City in the 1960s and 1970s and made 21 international appearances for Wales. His career ended in 1975 following a car accident and he later became the disability officer at Wrexham A.F.C. He was the brother of Grenville Millington, who played in goal for Rhyl and Chester.

He made his first-team debut for Albion on 30 September 1961, taking over from Ray Potter in a 2–2 draw at home to Manchester City. Millington spent the next 18 months in the reserves before he was transferred to Crystal Palace in October 1964.

After two seasons at Selhurst Park, Millington was sold to Peterborough United in March 1966 for a combined fee of £15,000. He soon became established as the first choice goalkeeper and made 118 league appearances over three years before moving to Wales to join Swansea Town for a £5,000 fee in July 1969.

Millington was a "key figure" as Swansea gained promotion from the Fourth Division in 1970. In January 1971, Swansea (now "City") met Rhyl in the Third round of the FA Cup; in goal for Rhyl was Millington's younger brother, Grenville.

By 1973, Millington was out of favour with Swansea's manager Harry Gregg, who brought in a succession of goalkeepers on loan, the most successful being Jimmy Rimmer from Manchester United. He retained his shirt for the next two matches, against Hungary and England, both of which ended in defeats. On 30 May 1965, he replaced Hollins, who was suffering from food poisoning, in a World Cup qualifying match at Moscow's Central Lenin Stadium against the Soviet Union. Wales went down 2–1, with Graham Williams turning the ball past Millington for the hosts' second goal, thus destroying Wales's hopes of qualifying.

International appearances Millington made 21 appearances for Wales in official international matches, as follows:

Date Venue Opponent Result Goals Competition 20 October 1962 Ninian Park, Cardiff 2–3 0 1963 British Home Championship 7 November 1962 Népstadion, Budapest 1–3 0 Euro 1964 qualifying 21 November 1962 Wembley Stadium, London 0–4 0 1963 British Home Championship 18 November 1964 Wembley Stadium, London 1–2 0 1965 British Home Championship 30 May 1965 Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow 1–2 0 1966 World Cup qualifying 18 May 1966 Mineirão, Belo Horizonte 0–1 0 Friendly 22 May 1966 Estadio Nacional, Santiago 0–2 0 Friendly 16 November 1966 Wembley Stadium, London 1–5 0 1967 British Home Championship 12 April 1967 Windsor Park, Belfast 0–0 0 1967 British Home Championship 28 February 1968 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham 2–00 1968 British Home Championship 8 May 1968 Ninian Park, Cardiff 1–1 0 Friendly 23 October 1968 Ninian Park, Cardiff 0–1 0 1970 World Cup qualifying 16 April 1969 Heinz-Steyer-Stadion, Dresden 1–2 0 1970 World Cup qualifying 18 April 1970 Ninian Park, Cardiff 1–1 0 1970 British Home Championship 22 April 1970 Hampden Park, Glasgow 0–0 0 1970 British Home Championship 25 April 1970 Vetch Field, Swansea 1–0 0 1970 British Home Championship 21 April 1971 Vetch Field, Swansea 1–3 0 Euro 1972 qualifying 26 May 1971 Olympiastadion, Helsinki 1–0 0 Euro 1972 qualifying 13 October 1971 Vetch Field, Swansea 3–0 0 Euro 1972 qualifying 27 October 1971 Letenský stadion, Prague 0–1 0 Euro 1972 qualifying 24 November 1971 Stadionul 23. August, Bucharest 0–2 0 Euro 1972 qualifying WinDrawLoss

Personality Described as a "brave goalkeeper (who was) full of agility, had a safe pair of hands and a useful kick", whose maxim was that "if something couldn't be done with spectacular style, it wasn't worth doing at all".

"Milly", as he was known, was popular with the fans who saw him as "a one-man entertainment". from supporters. Being superstitious, he was unable to watch penalty kicks being taken at the far end of the pitch and would kneel in the goalmouth with his back to the action. When his team scored a goal, he would often celebrate with a handstand in his penalty area.

Legend has it that during his time at Swansea:Warming up before the game, he suddenly chased off the field only to return carrying a chair. He'd spotted an elderly supporter on crutches in the crowd and ushered him into the disabled supporters' enclosure and sat him down to watch the game. He settled in Wrexham where he helped found a club for Wrexham Football Club's disabled supporters, He died on 5 August 2015 at the age of 72.

Honours Wales British Home Championship joint winners: 1969–70