Alan Sealey

Alan Sealey
Personal information
Full name Alan William Sealey
Date of birth 24 February 1942
Place of birth Hampton, England
Date of death February 1996 (aged 53)
Position(s) Outside right
Youth career
Memorial Sports
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1960 Leyton Orient 4 (1)
1961—1967 West Ham United 107 (22)
1967 Plymouth Argyle 4 (0)
1968—1969 Bedford Town 15 (2)
1969—1970 Romford 19 (4)
1971 Ashford Town
Total 149 (29)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alan William Sealey (born Hampton, London, UK, 24 February 1942[1] – died February 1996) was an English footballer. Sealey, an outside right, initially played for Leyton Orient in 1960, before moving to West Ham United, in a player exchange for Dave Dunmore, where he played from 1961 to 1967.[2]

Sealey celebrated getting married in May 1965 just one week before he would go on to score both goals in West Ham's 2–0 win against TSV 1860 Munich in the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup final at Wembley Stadium.[3] He had previously scored just three goals for the east London club that season.

Sealey's top flight career virtually ended within a year of this. He was playing cricket with teammates during a rest in pre-season training, and broke his leg while falling over a wooden bench.[3] He ended his league career playing for Plymouth Argyle in 1967, but continued playing with non-league sides Bedford Town,[3] Romford and Ashford Town.[4]

His family maintained its close connection to West Ham United, with his nephew, Les,[5] and grand-nephews signing for the team between 1994 and 2001. Sealey died suddenly at his home in Collier Row, Romford in February 1996 from a heart attack,[5] aged 53, just over five years before the same condition would claim the life of his nephew, Les at age 43. The older Sealey was survived by his wife Barbara and his son Anthony.

  1. ^ Hugman, Barry (1981). Football League Players Records (1946–1981). Aylesbury: Rothmans Publications. p. 302. ISBN 0-907574-08-4.
  2. ^ "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United statistics Alan Sealey". Westhamstats.info. 22 April 1942. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  3. ^ a b c "1965 European Cup Winners Cup 50 years on". www.whufc.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Official Programme, Club Editorial". Ashford Town F.C. 14 August 1971.
  5. ^ a b "Where are they now? - Leyton Orient". www.where-are-they-now.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.