Wrexham AFC are hugely saddened to learn of the passing of legendary former defender, Alan Fox, at the age of 85.
Our eighth-highest post-war appearance holder who played for the club from 1954 until 1965, Fox made a total of 412 appearances - 350 of which came in the league.
Born in Holywell, Fox showed promise within the Flintshire schools system before taking up work as a painter and decorator and continuing to play football with local side Carmel United.
Eventually, Fox was recommended to Wrexham by former player Gib Bellis and signed initially on amateur terms. After coming through the youth ranks he would make his debut against Crewe Alexandra aged just 17 in 1954.
In September of 1957 Fox was called up for his National Service but was stationed in Chester, meaning he missed just a handful of matches over the next two years. In 1958 he played in our most famous match of the era and highest ever attendance at the Racecourse Ground as Wrexham faced Manchester United's Busby Babes. He was also part of the promotion-winning side in Division Four during the 1962 campaign.
Of his 350 appearances for the club, a remarkable 198 of them occurred consecutively from 1958 to 1963 as he did not miss a match across those five years. Despite being a Fourth Division defender at the time, he was named in Wales’ preliminary squad for their lone World Cup campaign in 1958 and earned under-23 caps. He eventually left the club in 1964, going on to play for Hartlepool, Bradford, and Dundalk before retiring.
Since retiring, Fox settled in the north-east but maintained a very keen interest in Wrexham, regularly attending matches both home and away and kept very much involved with the Former Players Association.
Our thoughts are with Alan's family, friends and supporters.
Thank you for your esteemed service, Alan.