Reg Flewin

Jun 24 2008 by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post

WHEN all footballers looked old, smiling from those vividly coloured cigarette cards which now fetch fancy prices, he was the captain and defensive stalwart of the finest team in the land.

No, it was not Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United nor Arsenal, but Portsmouth, to whom that accolade rightly belonged.

And the man was Reg Flewin.

Reg, suggesting a solid, no-frills England, was a fine name for this oak of a man, who was a heavyweight boxing champion with the Royal Marines during the war.

In the mood of the times, he was a true gentleman with quiet, unassuming manners and a respect for the people who supported Portsmouth at their famous Fratton Park ground and, therefore, paid his modest wages.

In 1949, when Pompey were the League champions, four nervous teenage boys knocked on his front-door, hoping that he might give them an autograph.

Frewin signed each one personally and then went into the house for a football, so that he could have a half-hour kick around with them.

The year before that, Flewin had been able to oblige a grander supporter. Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, the club’s president, fondly remembered as the victor over Axis forces in the North African campaign, wrote to him, hoping that Pompey would hit Chelsea “for six” in their forthcoming match.

“My last team was two million men,” wrote the great soldier, who was rarely humble, likening his own experiences to that of a football captain.

Portsmouth were almost able to follow orders, winning 5-2.

Flewin, a tall, strongly built centre-half with a high forehead, captained Portsmouth schoolboys, then signed for Pompey, making his League debut against Grimsby in 1939, shortly before they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup final.

During his war service with the Royal Marines, Flewin remained locally based, adding to his boxing trophies.

He captained the Portsmouth teams which won the League championship in 1948-49 and 1949-50.

In 1953, after 173 matches, Portsmouth made him a coach. He also edited the programme.

Flewin left Portsmouth in 1960 and had an unremarkable period in football management, before settling in the Isle of Wight, where he was entertainment manager at a holiday camp.

In May, he watched Portsmouth beat Cardiff in the FA Cup final from his bed in a home.

Reg Flewin, Footballer; born November 28, 1920; died May 24, 2008