MEDWIN, Terence Cameron (1956-63)
Position: Winger
Height: 5ft 9ins
Weight: 11st.8lbs
Born: Swansea, 25 September, 1932
Died: 1 May, 2024
Signed from Swansea Town Apr 1956
Retired 1964
Spurs Record:
Debut: 18 August, 1956 v Preston North End (FL) (a) (scored twice)
Appearances: League 197, FA Cup 13, Europe 5
Goals: League 65, FA Cup 7
Born in Swansea Prison where his father was a warden, Terry Medwin proved himself a very versatile forward with Swansea Town, occupying all the front line positions. Regarded by most as at his best on the wing, Swansea’s needs dictated that he played where he could best serve the team and that frequently meant playing at centre-forward. When transferred to Spurs on the last day of the 1955-56 season he was Swansea's leading scorer with 16 goals which just went to prove that central strikers did not have to be brawny, battering rams to score goals.
We had Bobby Smith filling the number nine shirt and manager Jimmy Anderson always saw Medwin as a man to supply the ammunition for Smith knowing full well that he would always chip in with more than his fair share of goals.
Medwin was an immediate success, contributing 14 goals and creating countless more as we finished his first season of 1956-57 as runners-up to Manchester United. Quick and direct he could outpace most defenders and it did not matter which wing he was on, he could cross the ball precisely with either foot. Good as he was as a winger, there was more to Medwin’s game. Often he would make headway straight for goal before unleashing a fearful shot and he was always ready to get on the end of a cross from the opposite wing, frequently surprising with his ability to reach high crosses and get a powerful, accurate header on target.
Medwin had three Welsh caps to his name when he joined us, but had not played for his country for three years. His First Division form soon earned a recall and he made the first of his 27 international appearances as a Spurs player against Scotland in October, 1956. He was then a member of the squad - alongside Spurs team-mates Mel Hopkins and Cliff Jones - that reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup. Indeed, he scored the winner against Hungary in a play-off that took Wales into the last eight, where they were narrowly beaten by Pele's Brazil.
A regular for four years, Medwin was unfortunate to lose his place to Terry Dyson in the dramatic 1960 61 ‘Double’ season but, with 15 outings, still played an important role as deputy for either Dyson or Cliff Jones.
Some consolation for missing the club's greatest triumph came in 1962 when he was a member of the team that retained the FA Cup, but only 12 months later he suffered a broken leg playing for us against a NSAFL Invitation XI on a tour to South Africa. After a long fight to regain full fitness he eventually had to admit defeat and retired to take up the manager's post at Athenian League Enfield. Terry also had management, coaching and scouting roles at the likes of Cardiff City, Fulham, Norwich City and back home at Swansea, where he was assistant manager from 1978-81.