John Tudor (24 June 1946 – 9 February 2025)
It’s sad to report the death at the age of 78 former Coventry City player John Tudor after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s. John John was a striker pulled from non-league by Jimmy Hill who played a key part in the 1967 promotion team and the first season in the First Division before going on to have a long and successful career with good spells at Sheffield United and Newcastle United amongst other clubs.
Jimmy Hill’s knack for spotting young football talent is largely overlooked when considering the great man’s career but Coventry City benefited from that skill enormously in the 1960s. He encouraged the development of youth players such as Mick Coop, Willie Carr and Ronnie Rees and had an eye for late developers such as Ernie Machin, Dave Clements and John Tudor. John had almost given up hope of playing professional football after being turned down by numerous clubs including Derby, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough. He was playing for his local team Ilkeston Town in the Midland League and his manager Jim Raynor recommended him to City in late 1965. City took him on a month’s loan. He made a big impression scoring twelve goals in five ‘A’ team games, including six in one game in March 1966 he scored 30 minutes into his debut for the reserves against Ipswich. A professional contract was forthcoming and within a month of the start of the 1966-67 season he made his first team debut in a 3-0 home win over Bury. John, playing as a double striker with Bobby Gould, didn’t score but impressed with his strong heading ability.
He kept his place in a run of nine games that autumn and after scoring in his second game, at Preston, he netted a further four goals. Back in the reserves he was top scorer with 13 goals in 23 games. He made a further seven first team appearances in the promotion season including deputising for the injured leading scorer Gould in the final three games. Gould was injured in the game at Cardiff and John was thrown into the biggest game in the club’s history against Wolves in front of a record crowd of 51,452. City won 3-1 and although John wasn’t on the score-sheet he constantly caused the Wolves defence trouble with his aerial ability. In total that season he scored nine goals in sixteen games.
One of his most memorable games came in City’s second game in the top flight. An already tough game away to Nottingham Forest was made even harder when captain George Curtis was carried off after just four minutes with a broken leg. Tudor moved back to centre-half and substitute Gould came on to score two goals as City earned an amazing 3-3 draw. According to the Coventry Evening Telegraph ‘Time and time again, his [Tudor] blond head soared up to check Forest’s wave of attacks as he out jumped and almost completely subdued the villain of the piece, Frank Wignall.’ John later remembered it well, ‘Several City players were angry at Wignall’s challenge on George and wanted to do him. It wasn’t hard to mark him as he was running scared after the incident’. Leter that season at West Brom he again played at centre-half, marking the great Jeff Astle. John nullified the threat of Astle and City gained their first away win of the season.
