Legacy of Swan was tarnished by scandal

IF one regret lingered to the end for Peter Swan, who died this week aged 84, it was that so many people believed he fixed a football match. There was never any fixing, according to Swan or his Sheffield Wednesday team-mates Tony Kay and David Layne. One time only, the three of them bet on their team to lose, alerted by Layne to the opportunities of gambling on football. They were trying to be smart and cover their win bonuses because they always seemed to lose at Ipswich. None of them scored an own goal or conceded a penalty in the game in December 1962. Kay was named man of the match in the same Sunday newspaper that later exposed them. They tried to beat Ipswich, defending champions at the time, but lost. Each made a £100 profit on a £50 bet at odds of 2-1 and were found guilty in a betting scandal that shocked the nation. Sentenced to four months in prison, they were banned from football for life. Swan was an established England international. ‘The best centre-half in England at the time,’ said Kay yesterday from his home in Southport. ‘He could head a ball, nothing got past him in the air, and he could play a bit. Hard as well.’ Wednesday were a fabulous side in those days, runners-up behind Spurs’ Double winners in 1960-61. Swan (pictured) was one of their stars, winning his first cap at 23 and playing 19 internationals in a row until falling ill on the eve of the 1962 World Cup. Many expected him to partner Bobby Moore at the 1966 edition but, by then, he was engulfed by scandal. Swan served ten weeks of a four-month jail sentence. ‘Money is the root of all evil,’ he said in his book Setting the Record Straight. ‘The only thing I had done — and I knew I had done it and done wrong — was the bet.’ The life bans were lifted in 1972. At 36, he returned to Wednesday for a season. He went on to play for Bury and, as player-boss, led Matlock Town to FA Trophy glory at Wembley. After his career ended he lived for many years with Alzheimer’s, reinforcing the connection between dementia and heading the ball.