Biography
Goalkeeper Len Round joined City in June 1957 following his release by Ayr United. He spent a season at Boothferry Park and vied with Billy Bly and Bernard Fisher for the goalie’s shirt. For the first half of the season Len was the more regular choice of manager Bob Brocklebank, but after Christmas Fisher was given a handful of games then Bly was restored, re-establishing himself as first choice as he did so many times during his 21 year City career. In the 1958 close season Round left the Tigers.
Leonard Frederick Round was born in Wall Heath, a suburban village in the Black Country between Dudley, the main local town, and the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. In 1944 he started playing football for Wall Heath Old Boys, a local league club managed by his father, right from the start Len was a goalkeeper. In June 1946 Len was called up for National Service, joining Royal Scots Fusiliers and ending up at an Ayrshire camp. In October 1946 Len was given a trial by Scottish League side Ayr United and was immediately signed. His service took him to India in 1947 but when he returned in January 1948 he returned to Ayr United and made his senior debut a month later. Round had signed semi-professional terms for The Honest Men and took work during the week at Prestwick St Nicholas Golf Club, then for the parks department of the local council. By the time Round left Ayr United in the 1957 close season he had been Ayr’s first choice goalkeeper for eight years, only being dropped in the latter stages of the 1956/57 season, and had made over 300 senior appearances.
In July 1958 Round headed south to sign for Kent-based Southern League side Sittingbourne. He remained in Kent for eight years, returning to the Black Country in 1966. He played local football into his early 40s and settled back in Wall Heath, working as a pattern maker. He died in nearby Dudley in December 2005.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 21 May 1928, Wall Heath
Hull City First Game: 31 August 1957, Stockport County A (Division Three North), 29 years, 102 days old
Hull City Final Game: 26 December 1957, Gateshead A (Division Three North), 29 years, 219 days old
Clubs
Ayr United (1946-1957), Hull City (1957-1958), Sittingbourne (1958-1966), Lower Gornal Athletic (1966-1969)
Hull City Record
Career: 17 apps, 0 goals
Len Round| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957/58 | 17 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |