Tappy: From Barry Town to Arsenal, Cardiff City and Beyond - Softcover

In April 1954, Derek "Tappy" Tapscott pulled on his Arsenal shirt, made his first-team debut against Liverpool, scored two goals and signalled the start of an extraordinary career as a prolific goal scorer first at Arsenal, then Cardiff City and as a Welsh international. Written with Terry Grandlin (author of "Red Dragons in Europe"), Tappy tells his life story in an engaging style - growing up in Barry with 15 brothers and sisters, his early days as a forward with Barry Town, then a fateful journey to London, unaware that the Arsenal were keen to sign him and finally returning to South Wales to continue his career at Cardiff City. In the course of his story, Tappy relates the many highs and lows in his career, including: being signed to play for Wales 48 hours after his Arsenal debut, playing against the "Busby Babes" in their last league game before the Munich air crash, lining up with John Charles against an England side sporting Stanley Matthews and Len Shackleton, and being chased down the pitch by Real Zaragoza defenders for shoulder-charging their keeper when Cardiff City faced them in the Fairs Cup.