Jimmy Conway, who starred for Fulham from 1966-76 and was a member of the 1975 FA Cup Final side, is being honoured in Oregon with a series of Testimonial events. Conway was recently diagnosed with trauma-induced dementia. The Jimmy Conway Testimonial is being organised by Jimmy’s former teammates from the Portland Timbers Soccer Club as well as local amateur football organisations.
Conway, a native of Dublin and product of the famed Stella Maris FC schoolboy program, came to Fulham’s attention when he broke into the League of Ireland’s Bohemians starting line-up while still in his mid-teens. Fulham signed him shortly before his 20th birthday and he went straight to the first team at the start of the 1966-67 season. That same autumn, he made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland and would go on to make 20 appearances in 11 years for the Irish, scoring three goals.
Upon his arrival, Fulham’s front line of Les Barrett, Steve Earle and Jimmy was dubbed the “Three Musketeers.” Playing as a right winger (or, occasionally, midfielder), he continued his consistent playmaking and, over a 10 year-period, scored 67 goals in 316 League games. In his third year with the club, Jimmy scored a career-high 23 goals, including 21 in the League.
At that time, that ranked as the sixth best League goal total in Fulham’s 90 prior seasons and was only four fewer than the club record. In 1971, Jimmy was joined by his brother, John, in Fulham’s lineup. John eventually left Fulham after the club’s 1975 FA Cup campaign, playing most of the remainder of his career in Switzerland.
At a time when drawn games resulted in a replay rather than extra time and penalties, Fulham made the longest run (11 games) in 1975 in FA Cup history - including five away wins - but lost 2-0 to West Ham at Wembley. Jimmy’s appearance in the Final made him the only non-English participant (including referees and substitutes) on the field. During the summer of 1975, Fulham played in the inaugural Anglo-Scotland Cup tournament, a competition for English and Scottish clubs; Fulham finished runner-up in that final, also, losing 1-0 to Middlesbrough. Conway’s skilful play and pinpoint crosses earned him the fan chant of “Jimmy on the Wing” and he remains as one of the Whites’ all-time favourite players.
The events comprising the “Jimmy Conway Testimonial” include a golf toutnament in suburban Portland on August 25 and, that evening, a banquet at Nike Inc.’s headquarters, featuring soccer dignitaries from throughout the world. Former goalkeeper Peter Mellor will represent Fulham FC at the proceedings. Master of Ceremonies for that evening is Bobby Howe, the former West Ham and Bournemouth player who later coached in the U.S., including with the Timbers. Keynote speaker is C. Cliff McCrath, one of the most honoured U.S. college coaches, who guided Seattle Pacific University to five national championship titles. All proceeds from both those sold-out events will benefit programs for Alzheimer’s Association, Oregon Chapter.
The following evening a Testimonial match will be played at Portland’s PGE Park as a preliminary to the Portland Timbers’ league game against Austin. The Testimonial match, kicking off at 5:00pm, pits Timber alumni against an “Oregon Select XI”, comprised of Conway’s former youth and college players.
“College Appreciation Days” honouring Conway at University of Portland, Oregon State University and Pacific University are scheduled for various dates in September. Conway also was honoured last month by Manchester City FC and Jimmy’s former City teammate, Brian Kidd, during an exhibition game in Portland against the Timbers.
Additional information on the Jimmy Conway Testimonial can be found on the official website at www.jimmyconway.com|. Best wishes to Jimmy can also be left at the Testimonial’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/jimmyconwayjct|.