Ahead of today’s game, players and supporters will join together to remember those members of the Wrexham AFC community who are no longer with us with a minute’s applause.
Along with the supporters and members of our wider community listed below, the Football Club has also been saddened to learn of the passing of some iconic former players since our last memorial game.
Dai Davies, aged 72
One of Wrexham’s greatest goalkeepers, Dai Davies played for Swansea and then Everton before moving to the Racecourse Ground in 1977.
The Welsh international stopper was in goal as Wrexham stormed to the Division Three title during our most successful season. Alongside promotion to the second tier, Davies and Wrexham also won the Welsh Cup and reached the quarter-finals of both the FA Cup and League Cup.
Davies remained between the sticks as we played at our highest ever level – the second tier – before leaving for Swansea in 1981, and then moving to Tranmere.
He would return in 1985-86, winning another Welsh Cup title, before finishing his career with 199 Wrexham appearances and 63 clean sheets. Davies also won 28 of his 52 Wales caps while with Wrexham.
After retiring, Dai remained a hugely popular figure at the Racecourse Ground.
Ken Roberts, aged 84
Though perhaps better remembered for his time in charge of Chester City, Roberts’ football career started at Wrexham and he remains in the Club’s record books today.
Aged just 15 years and 158 days old, he was drafted into the first team as an apprentice after a team-mate missed the train to Bradford Park Avenue.
Roberts played in Wrexham’s 5-0 defeat, becoming the youngest ever Football League player in the process, but never played for the Club again.
He eventually left to join Aston Villa, where he played 38 games in five years, but was to go on and make his name as a manager at Chester between 1968-1976.
Roberts remains Wrexham’s youngest ever player, and his Football League record also stood for 57 years before finally being broken by Barnsley’s Reuben Noble-Lazarus in 2008.
Alan Fox, aged 85
Alan Fox is one of Wrexham’s highest ever post-war appearance holders – sitting eighth on the record list with 412 between 1954-1965, including 350 in the league.
Incredibly, defender Fox’s record includes a remarkable 198 in a row between 1958 and 1963. During this time, he was named in Wales’ preliminary squad for their 1958 World Cup squad – despite being a Fourth Division player – and helped Wrexham to promotion in 1962.
Although he never played for the full national team, the Holywell-born centre half did earn Under-23 caps.
He eventually left Wrexham and played for Hartlepools, Bradford City and Dundalk before settling in the North East – from where he kept a very keen interest in Wrexham.
Christian Gyan, aged 43
Ghanaian international Christian Gyan signed briefly for Wrexham in 2009, where he made two FA Trophy appearances in our maiden appearance in the competition.
The bulk of his career was spent in the Netherlands with Feyenoord, with whom he won the Eredivisie and the UEFA Cup.
He joined TPS in Finland after leaving Feyenoord, before his brief spell at the Racecourse, and finished his career with RoPS.
He was diagnosed with terminal cancer in November 2021, and sadly passed away in December.
Our Wrexham AFC family remembered
We also remember the following members of the Wrexham AFC family today.
John Elfyn Gittins, aged 89
Olive Clements
Gillian Caldecott-Pattison, aged 83
John Garrett, aged 74
Matthew Garrett, aged 34
Noel Parsonage, aged 76
Kingsley Hughes
Alistair McDonald, aged 62
Ronald Price, aged 90
Ken Griffiths, aged 82
Paul Thomas, aged 54
Mark Harrison, aged 54
Phil Davies, aged 92
Alan Davies, aged 69
Gareth Powell Jones, aged 50
Chris Pearson, aged 68
Peter Storey, aged 74
Glenda Williams, aged 82
Brian Christopher Davies, aged 69
Jill Davies
Andrew Maggs, aged 50
Gary Fleet, aged 81
William John Roberts, aged 75
Phil Whitley, aged 69
Gareth Phillips, aged 82
Craig Lewis, aged 38
Phil Leech, aged 66
Carl Williams, aged 56
David Cledwyn “Cleds” Evans, aged 75
John Lovett, aged 41
Fred Williams, aged 85
Ken Dolan, aged 66
Aled Rhys Roberts, aged 59
Jeff Davies, aged 80
Brian Evans, aged 82
Neville Cooke, aged 94
Kris Bolton, aged 49
Geraint Wyn Pierce, aged 47
Paul William Edwards, aged 55