Taffy O'Callaghan
{{short description|Welsh footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Taffy O'Callaghan
| fullname = Eugene O'Callaghan
| birth_date = {{birth date|1906|10|6|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1956|07|4|1906|10|6|df=y}}
| death_place =
| position = Forward
| years1 = 1925
| clubs1 = Ebbw Vale
| totalcaps =
| totalgoals =
| nationalyears1 = 1929–1934
| nationalteam1 = Wales
| nationalcaps1 = 11
| nationalgoals1 = 3
| clubs2 = Tottenham Hotspur Reserves
| years2 = 1925–1926
| clubs3 = Tottenham Hotspur
| clubs4 = Leicester City
| years3 = 1927–1935
| years4 = 1935–1937
| years5 = 1937–1939
| clubs5 = Fulham
| caps3 = 252
| goals3 = 92
| caps4 = 84
| goals4 = 30
| caps5 = 41
| goals5 = 6
}}
Eugene "Taffy" O'Callaghan (6 October 1906 – 4 July 1956) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a forward for Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Fulham and Wales during the 1920s and 1930s.
Career
=Club career=
Taffy was born in Ebbw Vale, Wales and joined Tottenham Hotspur from Ebbw Vale in 1925, making his debut for the first team in January 1927 against Everton, having impressed with his two-footed play and accurate passing. Again in 1928 he impressed against Everton, scoring four goals in February of that year.{{cite news|url=http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/history/great_games/spursveverton1928.html|title=Taffy O'Callaghan Spurs v Everton 1928 on THFC site}}
Taffy helped the team achieve promotion back to Football League First Division at the end of the 1932–33 season and in the following year was a key member of the side known as the 'greyhounds' as they played with speed and style. During his time at Spurs he made 252 league appearances scoring 93 goals and a further six in eleven FA Cup matches for the club.{{cite news|url=http://www.topspurs.com/thfc-july.htm |title=Taffy O'Callaghan Biog and Stats on Top Spurs site}}
He was transferred to Leicester City in March 1935 although playing once again for Tottenham as a 'guest' during the war years at the time when the Football League had been suspended. After the war he went on to a coaching role at Fulham.
=International career=
His first cap for Wales was won in May 1929 and he went on to play a further ten times at International level.{{cite news |title=Taffy O'Callaghan THFC Legends site |url=http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/history/legends/taffyocallaghan.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123042858/http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/history/legends/taffyocallaghan.html |archive-date=23 January 2012 }}
Career statistics
=International=
{{updated|match played 16 January 2023}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="5" |Wales
|1929 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1931 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1932 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1933 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1934 | 1 | 0 | |
| colspan="2" |Total||11||3 |
{{updated|match played 16 January 2023}}
Wales score listed first, score column indicates score after each O'Callaghan goal
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Taffy O'Callaghan | ||||||||
| scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Cap !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition !scope="col" class="unsortable"|{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="text-align: center;"|1 | 26 October 1929 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Wales | style="text-align: center;" |2 | {{fb|SCO}} | style="text-align: center;" |1–2 | style="text-align: center;" |2–4 | 1929–30 British Home Championship | style="text-align: center;" |{{cite web |title=Wales vs. Scotland 2–4: Summary |url=https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=5371 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=EU Football |publisher=}} |
| style="text-align: center;"|2 | rowspan="2" |26 October 1932 | rowspan="2" |Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh, Scotland | rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |5 | rowspan="2" |{{fb|SCO}} | style="text-align: center;" |3–0 | rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |5–2 | rowspan="2" |1932–33 British Home Championship | rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |{{cite web |title=Scotland vs. Wales 2–5: Summary |url=https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=5613 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=EU Football |publisher=}} |
| style="text-align: center;"|3 | style="text-align: center;" |5–0 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocallaghan, Taffy}}
Category:Sportspeople from Ebbw Vale
Category:Welsh men's footballers
Category:Men's association football forwards
Category:Wales men's international footballers
Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
Category:Leicester City F.C. players
Category:Welsh people of Irish descent
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