LEN SAWARD
To be inducted into the Cambridge United Hall of Fame, an individual has to have made an outstanding contribution to the club’s history on or off the pitch. Those who have done both are as rare as midsummer snow.
It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that without Len Saward’s contributions in both spheres, our beloved U’s might still be languishing in regional football.
Len was both a brilliant player – one whom the great Wilf Mannion called the cleverest he ever played with – and an exceptional off-pitch employee who was instrumental in turning United into a non-League powerhouse in the 1960s.
First as an elusive inside forward in the 1950s team that brought FA Cup glory to Newmarket Road, then playing a leading role in the enormously successful pools team that provided the funds to enable the club to join the Football League, Len simply shone.
Supporters with long memories remember a player of infinite talent – and one who could have played at the very top of the game.
Less driven than his younger brother Pat, who played for Millwall, Aston Villa and Huddersfield and won 18 caps for the Republic of Ireland, Len was nevertheless probably the better player of the two.
Born in Aldershot in 1927 and growing up in south London, he attracted the attention of Crystal Palace, for whom he played nine League games between 1948 and 1950. After a spell with Tonbridge, he joined the U’s in 1952, and scored on his debut. Fans found themselves watching an exciting, creative player with a fierce shot and considerable ability in the air.
The following season Len played a prominent part in the thrilling FA Cup run that included a 2-1 away win over Division Three South’s Newport County, in which he headed United’s first goal.
Newport were so impressed that they paid £750 for Len on the first day of 1954. The big time beckoned again, but he was soon regretting the move and, after 25 League games, five goals and a trial with Brentford, he rejoined the U’s in March 1955.
Len’s devotion to the amber cause soon attracted supporters’ admiration and gratitude. Granted a benefit match against Aston Villa in October 1957, he used some of his testimonial fund to buy the club its first floodlights: lamps mounted on telegraph poles that cost £14 each.
Having played 170 games and scored 43 goals for the U’s, he joined Sudbury Town in 1958, later moving on to Newmarket Town. In 1965, when he was Soham Town Rangers’ player-manager, he took on the job of assistant admin secretary at United.
As a vital part of Dudley Arliss’s massively successful pools team, Len helped to provide the funds that supported the club’s 1960s applications for Football League membership. His unstinting contribution to United’s prosperity went a long way towards making a success of the 1970 bid.
He stayed at United until 1987, and in later life worked as a porter at Magdalene College. He lived in Cambridge until his death in 2017.
His all-round contribution to Cambridge United will never be forgotten.
To be inducted into the Cambridge United Hall of Fame, an individual has to have made an outstanding contribution to the club’s history on or off the pitch. Those who have done both are as rare as midsummer snow.
It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that without Len Saward’s contributions in both spheres, our beloved U’s might still be languishing in regional football.
Len was both a brilliant player – one whom the great Wilf Mannion called the cleverest he ever played with – and an exceptional off-pitch employee who was instrumental in turning United into a non-League powerhouse in the 1960s.
First as an elusive inside forward in the 1950s team that brought FA Cup glory to Newmarket Road, then playing a leading role in the enormously successful pools team that provided the funds to enable the club to join the Football League, Len simply shone.
Supporters with long memories remember a player of infinite talent – and one who could have played at the very top of the game.
Less driven than his younger brother Pat, who played for Millwall, Aston Villa and Huddersfield and won 18 caps for the Republic of Ireland, Len was nevertheless probably the better player of the two.
Born in Aldershot in 1927 and growing up in south London, he attracted the attention of Crystal Palace, for whom he played nine League games between 1948 and 1950. After a spell with Tonbridge, he joined the U’s in 1952, and scored on his debut. Fans found themselves watching an exciting, creative player with a fierce shot and considerable ability in the air.
The following season Len played a prominent part in the thrilling FA Cup run that included a 2-1 away win over Division Three South’s Newport County, in which he headed United’s first goal.
Newport were so impressed that they paid £750 for Len on the first day of 1954. The big time beckoned again, but he was soon regretting the move and, after 25 League games, five goals and a trial with Brentford, he rejoined the U’s in March 1955.
Len’s devotion to the amber cause soon attracted supporters’ admiration and gratitude. Granted a benefit match against Aston Villa in October 1957, he used some of his testimonial fund to buy the club its first floodlights: lamps mounted on telegraph poles that cost £14 each.
Having played 170 games and scored 43 goals for the U’s, he joined Sudbury Town in 1958, later moving on to Newmarket Town. In 1965, when he was Soham Town Rangers’ player-manager, he took on the job of assistant admin secretary at United.
As a vital part of Dudley Arliss’s massively successful pools team, Len helped to provide the funds that supported the club’s 1960s applications for Football League membership. His unstinting contribution to United’s prosperity went a long way towards making a success of the 1970 bid.
He stayed at United until 1987, and in later life worked as a porter at Magdalene College. He lived in Cambridge until his death in 2017.
His all-round contribution to Cambridge United will never be forgotten.
