Price: Ioan Haydn (Haydn)

1909-1910 (Leeds City Player Details)

Wing Half

Born: Mardy Nr Abergevenny, Wales: 1883

Debut: v Derby County (a): 11-09-1909

5’8” 11st 6lb (1909)

Price commenced his career with his local club Mardy Corinthians, before playing for Riverside, and then Aberdare Town in 1902, where he played in the 1904 Welsh Cup Final against Druid’s. He joined First Division Aston Villa in December 1904, and though he never played for their team, he received his first Welsh Cap while still playing for their third team. It came at Left Half on 4th March 1907 against Scotland in a 0-1 defeat at Wrexham. In 1906/07 he moved to Second Division Burton United where he played just one League game, in Burton’s final match before they lost their League status, but was selected for his second Welsh Cap on 11th April 1908 at Aberdare in a 0-1 defeat by Ireland. The match was part of the International Championship and was played at the Athletic Grounds. It was the final game in what had been a low-key season for Wales. Defeats had come in Dundee to the Scots 2-1 and at Wrexham to England 7-1. For the final match, it had been decided to continue spreading the football word to the South of Wales with the match with Ireland. So, on 11th April 1908, some 6,000 fans saw the Welsh team run-out, including local debutant Tommy Daniel Jones from Aberaman, a forward who had already played for the Welsh amateur side that season. It also contained ex-Leeds City player Dickie Morris at Inside Right. Sadly for him and Wales, he was not able to reverse the trend of the season, and the Irish went home with a 1-0 win and gave Wales the wooden spoon. He stayed with Burton United after they were relegated to the Birmingham League. He joined Wrexham, who were playing in the Birmingham and District League at the time, at the start of the 1908-09 season. A schoolteacher by profession, Price won a Welsh Cup winners’ medal with Wrexham before joining Leeds City the next season. He also picked up the last three of his five Welsh Caps. They came on 1st March 1909 at Wrexham in a 3-2 victory over Scotland, 15th March 1909 at the City Ground, Nottingham, in a 0-2 defeat by England and 20th March 1909 in Belfast in a 3-2 Victory over Northern Ireland. He was a sprinter and gave good passes and he moved to Second Division Leeds City in May 1909, but found it hard to force his way into the first team and after just eight League appearances he left Elland Road at the end of the season to join Birmingham League Shrewsbury Town. He moved on to Walsall in 1911 and stayed there for four years until he retired and became the club’s Secretary. He recruited Centre Forward Arthur Campey, who was later to become the trainer of Leeds City and Leeds United. During World War One he occasionally played for Tottenham Hotspur as a guest. He became Secretary-Manager of Mid Rhondda, who were based in Tonypandy, and rescued Jimmy Seed’s football career when he offered Seed a chance to play for the South Wales club which was accepted and he signed for them in July 1919. Seed joined former England international Joe Bache and ex-team mate from Sunderland Frank Pattison in the Mid-Rhondda side and they had a successful time in the seven months that Seed was with them, winning both the Southern League Division Two and the Welsh League titles. Seed’s good form attracted the attention of Tottenham Hotspur Manager Peter McWilliam and in January 1920 he signed for the North London side for a fee of £250, a move which caused some antagonism amongst supporters in Tonypandy. Price became Manager of Grimsby Town from July to November1920 and his four month spell ended in acrimony when he resigned publicly in a letter to the Grimsby Evening Telegraph and returned to one of his previous jobs as Manager of Mid-Rhondda from 1921-22. Further controversy ensued as players were not paid and other debts were not honoured, which led the club to be suspended by the Welsh F.A. He then returned to being Secretary of Walsall. He died in Portsmouth on 7th March 1964.