Name Mel Nurse Years Team Role Football player | 1955–1962 Swansea City | |
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Full name Melvyn Tudor George Nurse Date of birth (1937-10-11) 11 October 1937 (age 78) | ||
Mel Nurse - Tribute
Melvyn Tudor George Nurse (born 11 October 1937 in Swansea, Wales) is a former Wales international football player. A centre-half, he played for Swansea City, Middlesbrough and Swindon Town.
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Playing career
Nurse joined Swansea City, his hometown club, from Manselton Secondary Modern school, at a time when he had already won Schoolboy caps for Wales. At over 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall, he quickly made it to Swansea's first team and into the national under-23 side.
Shortly after the Munich air disaster, Manchester United offered a fee of £35,000 for him, but Swansea turned the offer down. Two years later, Middlesbrough came along, and their offer of £25,000, a club record fee, was accepted. Nurse wanted to remain in Wales, but the club made it clear he had no future there if he refused to move.
After signing for Middlesbrough on a wage of £25 a week, he made his debut against Grimsby Town in a 4–3 victory. Within a week of joining, he was made captain.
In 1965, Nurse became unsettled after the appointment of new manager Raich Carter and, with his wife homesick, Middlesbrough placed him on the transfer list. He moved back to the West Country, joining Swindon Town.
Nurse played a dozen games for the Welsh national team, limited by the players of the side, including John Charles and Mike England.
Non-playing career
His playing days ended when he broke a leg playing for Merthyr Tydfil. He later joined the board of Swansea City, and ran a country club hotel in the city as part of a property empire.
At the start of the 21st century, Swansea was in crisis, and was seeking a new owner. The difficult times saw 7 players sacked, and in November 2001, Nurse resigned from the board. The following day, he bought the club's £801,000 debt from former owners Ninth Floor plc. On 19 January 2002, Swansea was finally sold, after a bitter stand-off with a consortium headed by Nurse which was supported by the majority of the club's fans.
Mel now runs a B&B Hotel in Swansea called Seahaven Hotel