
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
































































































































































































































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