Hundreds say farewell to ex-Blue Big John
HUNDREDS of mourners - including many former team-mates - paid tribute to Ipswich Town legend John Elsworthy at his funeral yesterday.
Jonathan Barnes
HUNDREDS of mourners - including many former team-mates - paid tribute to Ipswich Town legend John Elsworthy at his funeral yesterday.
The former Blues star, who died earlier this month at the age of 77, was remembered at a service at St Andrew's Church, Rushmere St Andrew.
He was part of the Ipswich Town team that won the First Division championship under Sir Alf Ramsey in 1961-62 and enjoyed a long and distinguished career at Portman Road.
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Several members of the championship winning side - including Ray Crawford, Ted Phillips and Larry Carberry - were at yesterday's service.
They were joined by players from different Ipswich eras, including Roger Osborne, Allan Hunter and Simon Milton, former Town chairmen John Kerr and David Sheepshanks, and long-serving manager's secretary Pat Godbold.
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Elsworthy, who was nicknamed “Big John”, was regarded as the best uncapped Welshman of his era.
He achieved the remarkable feat of two championship medals in Division Three (South), one in Division Two and the First Division championship, in 1961-62.
He was originally signed by Town manager Scott Duncan in May 1949 after playing as an amateur for Newport County, but it was not until the 1952-53 season that he became established as a first team regular in attack at Portman Road.
In 1955, Elsworthy made the switch to left-half and became a dominant force in the side over the following years.
Overall, he made 435 appearances for the club between 1949 and 1965, scoring 53 goals, and was inducted into the Ipswich Town Hall of Fame.
Following his playing days, the father-of-two, who was married to Ann, ran a post office in Ipswich and was a governor at Murrayfield Primary School.
