# Mel Hopkins

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**Mel Hopkins** (7 November 1934 – 18 October 2010)[1] was a Welsh international [footballer](/source/Association_football). He played at [left back](/source/Left_back).

## Club career

The son of a miner,[2] he was signed by [Tottenham Hotspur](/source/Tottenham_Hotspur_F.C.) at the age of 15, when spotted playing for his local boy's club.[3] He was taken on as an apprentice after just one trial.[2] Mel Hopkins made his debut in January 1952[4] and winning a [League](/source/Football_League_First_Division) and [FA Cup](/source/FA_Cup) [double](/source/Double_(association_football)) in 1961.[5][6] In 1959, he suffered a serious injury following a collision with [Ian St John](/source/Ian_St_John), smashing his nose and upper jaw, an injury which would keep him out of football for two years.[3]

In total, Hopkins played 219 games for Spurs, before leaving Spurs for [Brighton and Hove Albion](/source/Brighton_and_Hove_Albion) in October 1964 for a transfer fee of [£](/source/GBP)8,000.[3][4] He scored 2 goals and played 58 games for Albion. A brief spell at [Ballymena United](/source/Ballymena_United) in Northern Ireland 1967 was followed by a move to [Bradford Park Avenue](/source/Bradford_Park_Avenue_A.F.C.) in January 1969, where he played 30 games, retiring in 1970.[7]

## International career

Hopkins played for his country between 1956 and 1963,[8] earning 34 caps[7] including playing for the Wales squad for the [1958 FIFA World Cup](/source/1958_FIFA_World_Cup) in [Sweden](/source/Sweden), where they lost narrowly to [Brazil](/source/Brazil_national_football_team) in the quarter-finals.[3][9]

In 2003, Hopkins was given a merit award by the [Football Association of Wales](/source/Football_Association_of_Wales).[10]

## References

1. [Mel Hopkins obituary](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-11581571)

1. [Incredible journey - from Ystrad Boys Club to World Cup; The boys of '58](https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-87503342) - [Western Mail](/source/Western_Mail_(Wales)), June 20, 2002

1. [Pele broke my heart, Saint broke my nose](https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5139153.pele-broke-my-heart-saint-broke-my-nose/) - interview with Mel Hopkins, The Argus, 19 December 2001

1. [Tottenham Hotspurs transfer history](http://www.topspurs.com/thfc-transfers.htm) - topspurs.com

1. [Fans will not forgive Santini](https://archive.today/20120701153557/http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2004/10/26/108459.html) - The Argus, October 26, 2004

1. [Remembering the genius of Garrincha](https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7197754.stm) - [BBC.co.uk](/source/BBC.co.uk), 20 January 2008

1. [Mel Hopkins statistics](https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/wal-recintlp.html) on [RSSSF](/source/RSSSF)

1. [The fiery captain who loved a good punch-up](https://archive.today/20120712163039/http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2001/7/2/175773.html) - The Argus, 2 July 2001

1. [Hartson scoops Welsh FA award](https://web.archive.org/web/20110525163228/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=279739&cc=5739) - [ESPNsoccernet](/source/ESPNsoccernet), October 6, 2003

## Further reading

- Ashley Drake Publishing - *When Pele Broke Our Hearts*

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mel Hopkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Hopkins) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Hopkins?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.