RHYL FC HEROES - No2:JIMMY CARDNO JR
ONE of the greatest players ever to wear the colours of Rhyl FC is Jimmy Cardno Jr.
Cardno is probably best remembered at Belle Vue for his exploits during the 1971/72 season when his 50 goals helped the Lilywhites lift the Cheshire League championship.
He also holds the unique distinction of being a Welsh and Scottish international and played football as far afield as Australia, Canada, USA, Singapore and Holland in a much-travelled career.
Born on May 23, 1946, Jimmy is the son of Jimmy Cardno Sr, who played in the first ever Rhyl side to win the Welsh Cup in 1952.
Jimmy Jr was a pupil at Rhyl Grammar School and represented Wales as a schoolboy.
By the age of 17 he was a regular in Rhyl's first team and was attracting attention of several football league giants - at one time six first division clubs were checking him out. He spent time on Liverpool and Everton's books and while still a teenager represented Welsh Universities in 1964.
Jimmy also loved travelling and with him having several relatives in Toronto he emigrated to Canada in 1967/68.
He spent three seasons playing for Toronto Royals and later Santa-Monica in the North American League.
Jimmy returned to Rhyl and had his best ever season with them in 1971/72 as the Lilies romped to the Cheshire League title and Cardno scored a magnificent 50 goals (35 in the league).
That season Jimmy netted five goals in a 7-0 victory at Llay Welfare in the Welsh Cup and notched two more against Chester in the quarter final in a 2-1 win. Rhyl eventually lost in the semis to Cardiff City.
On April 28, 1972, Jimmy became a Scottish amateur international when he played against Ireland at Paisley.
This uniquely made him a Welsh and Scottish international following his earlier schoolboy honours.
In 1972/73 Jimmy moved to Australia and played for Sydney-Prague for a few months before the club ran into administrative difficulties and merged with Yugal.
He was released from his contract and spent a few weeks playing in Singapore before returning home to North Wales.
Despite interest from numerous clubs Cardno wanted to rejoin his beloved Rhyl but his re-registration was held up because of clearance difficulties involving FIFA. He was eventually reinstated at Belle Vue and continued to bang in the goals for the Lilywhites.
But Jimmy soon got the travel bug again and joined Dutch First Division club AC Haarle/Haarlem, managed by Welshman Barry Hughes, in 1973/74. However, he had difficulties settling into life in Holland, and returned to Rhyl again.
Jimmy finished his career playing locally and retired in the 1980s. He still lives in Rhyl and is recognised as one of the finest players ever to represent the Lilywhites.
Picture - Rhyl FC line-up before an FA Challenge Trophy match against Oswestry Town in 1971/72. Rhyl won 3-2 and Jimmy Cardno netted two, including a late winner. Pictured (back row - left to right): Howard Smart, David Evans, John Evans, Grenville Millington, Dave Congerton, Jim Curran, Stephen Edwards. Front row (left to right): Laurie Davies, Percy Allen, Stan Bennion, Darryl Ward, Jimmy Cardno.
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Dave Jones - For all the latest news from Rhyl Football Club, including match reports, news, views and features log on to Lilywhites On-Line hosted by Visitor sports editor Dave Jones.
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Jimmy Cardno was always my favourite player from that era; although we had had some superb players right through the squad, as the photo shows.
Big Jim on his day was one of the best forwards outside league football; he deserved to play League football, and would have been a real handful for many full time professional defenders to cope with.
What sort of a player was he Dave? Did he score spectacular goals a la Lee Trundle? Was he a goal poacher like Ian Rush? What were his biggest strengths? Did the fans ever get frustrated he went abroad a lot to play? To score 50 goals in a season at that level was a bit special.
Jimmy was a big lad (about 6'2" at a guess) and broad with it. I don't remember him being spectacularly quick, but he had great strength and was thus was very hard to push off the ball.
Brilliant with his head, he was, if I recall correctly best with his left peg; and most of his goals were either from headers or left footed shots, often scoring after shrugging off repeated challenges from defenders as he ran in on goal.
Some of my most memorable games were those against Oswestry Town who had a 6'5" centre half called Bob Davies who was a bit useful and very cute with his off the ball antics, especially when defending corners. I don't think he ever really got the better of Jimmy Cardno, although there were some very dubious goings on between them when the ref wasn't looking.
There will be others who will remember Jim in more detail possibly; and I hope my memory serves me correctly with these brief recollections.
It was a great shame that he didn't have more years with Rhyl when he was in his prime, he was a tremendous asset to any side.
Being too young to remember The Don in his prime, Jimmy Cardno was probably my all time favourite Rhyl player; even above such legends as John Evans, Laurie Davies and Davy Dodds.