Former Town assistant manager Sammy Chung died on Sunday, aged 90.

Manager Bill McGarry brought Chung to Ipswich in the summer of 1965 having previously worked with him at Watford.

The duo saw Town to the 1967/68 Second Division title but soon after promotion left Portman Road for Wolverhampton Wanderers, where they won the 1974 League Cup having been 1972 UEFA Cup finalists, losing to Spurs.

After McGarry’s departure in 1976, Chung took over as manager at Molineux and in his first season saw them to the Second Division title and then kept them in the top flight the following year, before moving on in November 1978.

Born to an English mother and Chinese father, Chung, whose given name was Cyril but was always known as Sammy, was Britain’s second Anglo-Chinese professional footballer after England wartime international Frank Soo.

A wing-half or centre-forward, Chung started his career with hometown club Abingdon Town, before moving on to Headington United, Reading, Norwich City and Watford.

Following a spell working in the UAE, he spent five years as former Blues skipper Mick Mills’s assistant manager at Stoke City from 1985, then later had stints in charge at Tamworth and Doncaster, as well as a period as director of football in Barbados and a stint on the coaching staff at Minehead.

Chung worked in a children’s home having retired from football and latterly lived on the Somerset coast.

He died in his sleep in a nursing home on Sunday following a long illness.


There will be a minute's applause ahead of tonight's match against Northampton in the EFL Trophy, in tribute to Sammy.