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Reginald Derrick Matthews (20 December 1933 – 7 October 2001) was an
English football goalkeeper.
In a playing career spanning almost 20 years, Matthews turned out for
Coventry City (1952-56), Chelsea (1956-61) and Derby County (1961-68),
making over 100 league appearances for each.
He won five caps for the England national team, all of which came in 1956.
Match Statistics
Type Caps Goals Capt Mins
Friendly 3 0 0 270 0 0
Home Champ 2 0 0 180 0 0
Competitive 2 0 0 180 0 0
Total 5 0 0 450 0 0
Career Statistics
Debut v Scotland, 14 April 1956 aged 23 years, 115 days
Last Cap v Northern Ireland, 6 October 1956 aged 23 years, 289 days
Career 174 days
Starts 5
Substitute 0
Withdrawn 0
Full Games 5
Reg Matthews was a pupil at Barkers' Butts school, and one of many who made their mark in the sporting world. Matthews played his early football for City’s nursery club, Modern Machines. He signed full terms for Coventry in 1950 but such was the consistency of goalkeeper Alf Wood and his successor Peter Taylor, that it was not until 1953, at the age of 21 that Matthews made his debut.
The next three years were like a dream for him. After less than 30 league games he was selected for the Football League side and England Under 23’s and full caps quickly followed. In April 1956 he became the first City player to play for England, and the first Division 3 player, when he appeared at Hampden Park against Scotland. In his five international appearances he was never on the losing side, but after being dropped from the side early the next season the pressure was on him to move from lowly City.
Financially stretched City resisted the pressure until Chelsea offered £22,500, a world record fee for a goalkeeper. In retrospect it was not a great move for Matthews. He was never chosen for England again and in five years at Stamford Bridge no trophies were won. He moved to Derby County and made almost 250 appearances for the Rams before becoming player-manager for Rugby Town in 1968. He lived in Kenilworth until his death, after a short illness, in October 2001.
