Swansea City great Dudley Lewis has died at the age of 62.
The former defender, who was capped once by Wales, made 300 appearances for the Swans, scoring two goals, and was part of the side that famously beat Preston North End on 2 May, 1981 to earn promotion to the top flight.
Lewis played for hometown club Swansea from 1980 to 1989 before leaving for Huddersfield Town.
He also played for Wrexham, Halifax Town, Torquay United, Inter Cardiff and Carmarthen Town.
Having signed apprenticeship forms at Vetch Field, Lewis captained Wales at the European Youth Championships in Germany in 1981.
His talent was recognised by then Swansea manager John Toshack, who handed Lewis his first-team debut in February 1981 in an away fixture at Notts County and the youngster established himself in the first-team squad for the remainder of the season.
Club folklore says that after the final whistle went against Preston, Toshack ran on to the pitch and made a beeline to hug Lewis after the then teenager’s composed performance.
In Swansea’s inaugural season in the old First Division, Lewis found his first-team opportunities restricted following the signing of Colin Irwin from Liverpool and he featured only once, playing in the final game of the season against European Cup winners Aston Villa.
But with financial problems besetting the club’s second season in the top flight forcing the departure of a host of senior players, Lewis became a Swansea mainstay.
Although he represented Wales Under-21s nine times, Lewis was capped just once at senior level – in Wales’ 1-1 draw against Brazil at Cardiff’s Ninian Park in June 1983.
“The Football Association of Wales (FAW) is sad to learn about the recent passing of former Cymru defender Dudley Lewis,” an FAW statement said.
“The thoughts of everyone at the FAW are with the family and friends of Dudley Lewis.”
After finishing his playing career, Lewis worked as a postman in and around the Sketty area of Swansea.
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