Reg Matthews

Position
Goalkeeper
Nationality
Place Of Birth
Coventry
Date Of Birth
December 20, 1933
Date Of Death
October 7, 2001 (67)
Games Played
106
-
Per Game
Games Started
106
1.0
Per Game
Minutes
9570
90.3
Per Game
Goals Conceded
141
1.3
Per Game
Clean Sheets
26
0.2
Per Game
Notes
Stats
Matches
Transfers
Gallery
Internationals

Cov Kid Reg Matthews played his early football for City’s nursery club, Modern Machines. He signed full terms for Coventry in 1950 but such was the consistency of goalkeeper Alf Wood and his successor Peter Taylor that it was not until 1953, at the age of 21 that Reg made his first-team debut. The next three years were like a dream for him. After less than 30 league games he was selected for the Football League representative side and England under 23 caps quickly followed. In April 1956 he became the first City player to play for England, and the first Division 3 player, when he appeared at Hampden Park against Scotland. In his five international appearances he was never on the losing side, but after being dropped from the England team early the next season the pressure was on him to move from lowly City to a bigger club. Financially stretched City resisted the pressure until Chelsea offered £22,500, a world record fee at the time for a goalkeeper. In retrospect it was not a great move for Reg. He was never chosen for England again and in five years at Stamford Bridge no trophies were won. He moved to Derby County and made almost 250 appearances for the Rams. He was a brave and agile goalkeeper who dominated his penalty area in an era when ‘keepers had little protection from referees. Reg was a very popular man and after retiring from the game he worked at Massey Ferguson with several of his old teammates.

Penalties faced (12 - 2 saved)
1953-54
19 August 1953 v Aldershot A, scored
1954-55
20 November 1954 v Northampton Town A, saved
4 December 1954 v Northampton Town A, scored
29 January 1955 v Queens Park Rangers A, scored
5 March 1955 v Exeter City A, saved
1955-56
12 November 1955 v Shrewsbury Town H, scored
27 December 1955 v Millwall H, scored
11 February 1956 v Swindon Town A, scored
10 March 1956 v Brighton & Hove Albion A, scored
1956-57
25 August 1956 v Crystal Palace A, scored
10 September 1956 v Norwich City H, scored
10 November 1956 v Brentford H, scored

Football League Third Division South (England)
1956-1957
Coventry City
17
17
1530′
23
3
1955-1956
Coventry City
43
43
3870′
57
12
1954-1955
Coventry City
36
36
3240′
44
8
1953-1954
Coventry City
5
5
450′
11
1
101
101
0
9090′
0
0
0
135
24
FA Cup (England)
1955-1956
Coventry City
1
1
90′
1
1954-1955
Coventry City
4
4
390′
5
2
5
5
0
480′
0
0
0
6
2
Totals:
106
106
0
9570′
0
0
0
141
26
Date
For
Against
H/A
Result
Football League Third Division South 1956-1957
Football League Third Division South 1956-1957
Coventry City
Brentford
H
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Swindon Town
A
D 2:2
90`
2
Coventry City
Gillingham
H
W 4:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Brighton & Hove Albion
A
L 2:1
90`
2
Coventry City
Millwall
H
L 1:2
90`
2
Coventry City
Reading
H
L 0:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Ipswich Town
H
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Plymouth Argyle
A
D 0:0
90`
Coventry City
Queens Park Rangers
H
W 5:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Norwich City
H
W 3:2
90`
2
Coventry City
Northampton Town
A
L 4:0
90`
4
Coventry City
Norwich City
A
L 3:0
90`
3
Coventry City
Southend United
H
W 2:0
90`
Coventry City
Southampton
A
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Crystal Palace
A
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Southampton
H
W 2:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Exeter City
H
W 1:0
90`
Football League Third Division South 1955-1956
Football League Third Division South 1955-1956
Coventry City
Newport County
A
L 4:2
90`
4
Coventry City
Walsall
A
L 2:0
90`
2
Coventry City
Queens Park Rangers
H
W 4:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Ipswich Town
H
W 3:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Queens Park Rangers
A
W 1:2
90`
1
Coventry City
Shrewsbury Town
A
L 3:0
90`
3
Coventry City
Southend United
H
D 0:0
90`
Coventry City
Southampton
H
W 2:0
90`
Coventry City
Brighton & Hove Albion
A
L 2:1
90`
2
Coventry City
Crystal Palace
H
L 1:3
90`
3
Coventry City
Aldershot
A
D 2:2
90`
2
Coventry City
Northampton Town
H
L 0:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Swindon Town
A
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Exeter City
A
W 2:3
90`
2
Coventry City
Leyton Orient
H
W 3:0
90`
Coventry City
Ipswich Town
A
L 1:0
90`
1
Coventry City
Colchester United
A
L 2:0
90`
2
Coventry City
Millwall
H
W 5:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Millwall
A
W 0:2
90`
Coventry City
Norwich City
H
W 5:3
90`
3
Coventry City
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
A
W 0:1
90`
Coventry City
Newport County
H
W 3:0
90`
Coventry City
Torquay United
A
D 0:0
90`
Coventry City
Walsall
H
W 1:0
90`
Coventry City
Shrewsbury Town
H
W 2:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Southampton
A
L 3:0
90`
3
Coventry City
Brighton & Hove Albion
H
W 3:2
90`
2
Coventry City
Crystal Palace
A
L 3:0
90`
3
Coventry City
Aldershot
H
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Northampton Town
A
L 2:1
90`
2
Coventry City
Swindon Town
H
W 6:0
90`
Coventry City
Brentford
H
W 2:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Southend United
A
L 3:0
90`
3
Coventry City
Reading
A
L 1:0
90`
1
Coventry City
Exeter City
H
D 2:2
90`
2
Coventry City
Gillingham
H
W 2:0
90`
Coventry City
Leyton Orient
A
L 3:1
90`
3
Coventry City
Gillingham
A
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Colchester United
H
W 2:0
90`
Coventry City
Watford
H
W 3:0
90`
Coventry City
Norwich City
A
L 1:0
90`
1
Coventry City
Watford
A
L 2:1
90`
2
Coventry City
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
H
W 3:1
90`
1
FA Cup 1955-1956
FA Cup 1955-1956
Coventry City
Exeter City
H
L 0:1
90`
1
Football League Third Division South 1954-1955
Football League Third Division South 1954-1955
Coventry City
Brighton & Hove Albion
A
L 2:0
90`
2
Coventry City
Southend United
H
L 1:4
90`
4
Coventry City
Queens Park Rangers
H
W 5:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Norwich City
A
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Swindon Town
A
L 3:0
90`
3
Coventry City
Northampton Town
H
D 0:0
90`
Coventry City
Norwich City
H
W 4:0
90`
Coventry City
Crystal Palace
A
L 1:0
90`
1
Coventry City
Millwall
H
W 4:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Swindon Town
H
W 1:0
90`
Coventry City
Millwall
A
L 3:1
90`
3
Coventry City
Newport County
H
W 3:2
90`
2
Coventry City
Aldershot
A
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Watford
A
L 1:0
90`
1
Coventry City
Colchester United
H
D 0:0
90`
Coventry City
Exeter City
A
D 0:0
90`
Coventry City
Shrewsbury Town
A
L 1:0
90`
1
Coventry City
Walsall
H
W 5:3
90`
3
Coventry City
Bristol City
A
L 2:0
90`
2
Coventry City
Queens Park Rangers
A
L 3:2
90`
3
Coventry City
Torquay United
H
L 0:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Brentford
H
W 1:0
90`
Coventry City
Southampton
A
L 1:0
90`
1
Coventry City
Southampton
H
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
A
L 2:1
90`
2
Coventry City
Northampton Town
A
L 1:0
90`
1
Coventry City
Crystal Palace
H
W 4:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Aldershot
H
W 2:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Southend United
A
L 1:0
90`
1
Coventry City
Watford
H
W 3:2
90`
2
Coventry City
Colchester United
A
W 0:1
90`
Coventry City
Exeter City
H
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Newport County
A
D 1:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Shrewsbury Town
H
W 3:0
90`
Coventry City
Leyton Orient
A
L 1:0
90`
1
Coventry City
Walsall
A
D 1:1
90`
1
FA Cup 1954-1955
FA Cup 1954-1955
Coventry City
Huddersfield Town
H
L 1:2
120`
2
Coventry City
Huddersfield Town
A
D 3:3
90`
3
Coventry City
Scunthorpe & Lindsey United
H
W 4:0
90`
Coventry City
Northampton Town
A
W 0:1
90`
Football League Third Division South 1953-1954
Football League Third Division South 1953-1954
Coventry City
Gillingham
H
W 2:1
90`
1
Coventry City
Reading
A
L 4:3
90`
4
Coventry City
Gillingham
A
L 2:0
90`
2
Coventry City
Leyton Orient
H
W 4:0
90`
Coventry City
Aldershot
A
L 4:2
90`
4
Club Out
Club In
Transfer Date
Fee
Club Out / Club In
Transfer Date / Fee
Coventry City
Chelsea
Thu, 01 Nov, 1956
Coventry City
Chelsea
Thu, 01 Nov, 1956
Modern Machine Tools
Coventry City
Mon, 01 May, 1950
Modern Machine Tools
Coventry City
Mon, 01 May, 1950

England, 5 caps
1955-56
14 April 1956 Scotland v England, Hampden Park, British Home Championship, 1-1
9 May 1956 England v Brazil, Wembley, friendly, 4-2
16 May 1956 Sweden v England, Stockholm, friendly, 0-0
26 May 1956 West Germany v England, Berlin, friendly, 1-3
1956-57
6 October 1956 Northern Ireland v England, Belfast, British Home Championship, 1-1

England B, 3 caps
1954-55
23 March 1955 England B v West Germany B, Hillsborough, friendly, 1-1
1955-56
29 February 1956 Scotland B v England B, Dundee, friendly, 2-2
21 March 1956 England B v Switzerland B, Southampton, friendly, 4-1

England U23, 4 caps
1954-55
19 January 1955 England U23 v Italy U23, Stamford Bridge, 5-1
8 February 1955 Scotland U23 v England U23, Shawfield, Glasgow, 0-6
1955-56
28 September 1955 England U23 v Denmark U23, Portsmouth, 5-1
8 February 1956 England U23 v Scotland U23, Hillsborough, 3-1

English League Representative matches (2)
1954-55
16 March 1955 Scottish League v English League, Hampden Park, 3-2
1956-57
19 September 1956 League of Ireland v English League, Dublin, 3-3

9 November 1955 FA XI v The Army, Newcastle