Stan Crowther 1935-2014

From the official site:

Stan Crowther 1935-2014

Everybody at Chelsea Football Club is saddened to learn of the passing of our former player Stan Crowther.

A wing-half, Crowther made 58 appearances for the Blues between 1958 and 1961, having previously lifted the FA Cup with Aston Villa in 1957 before a short spell with Manchester United prior to arriving at Stamford Bridge for a fee of £10,000.

An England Under-23 international, he went on to play for Brighton & Hove Albion after leaving us, before short spells in non-league with Hednesford Town and Rugby Town.

Chelsea Football Club wishes to send our deepest condolences to Stan's family and friends.

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And a little more info from Wikipedia:

Crowther was born in Bilston, Staffordshire. A wing half, he signed for Aston Villa from non-league club Bilston Town for a fee of £750 in 1955. He was part of the Villa team that beat Manchester United 2–1 to win the 1957 FA Cup Final. Less than a year later, in February 1958, Crowther was hastily signed by United for £18,000 in the wake of the Munich air disaster. The transfer was completed around an hour before their match against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup was due to kick off.

Having already played for Villa in the competition that year, Crowther would normally have been cup-tied, but United's squad had been ravaged by Munich and were therefore given special dispensation by the Football Association to field him. United won the match 3–0, and Crowther and United went on to reach a second consecutive final, though they lost 2–0 to Bolton Wanderers.

His time at Old Trafford was short-lived, however, and in December that year he joined Chelsea for £10,000; coincidentally, his debut for the Pensioners was against United. Crowther stayed with the west London side for two seasons, making 58 appearances in all competitions, before having brief spells with Brighton & Hove Albion, where his contract was terminated apparently because of the player's refusal to appear for the club's third team, and non-league sides Hednesford Town and Rugby Town. Crowther announced his retirement at the age of 27, citing his disillusionment with the game.

RIP