Biography
Right sided half back and forward Alan Jarvis signed for Hull City in May 1964 on a free transfer after his release from Everton, and was soon scoring regular goals for the Tigers Reserves in the Central League. However as the 1964/65 season progressed Jarvis struggled to maintain form and it wasn’t until October 1965 that he was handed his senior debut against Workington, coming in to the team after the departure of experienced right half Gerry Summers. This timing of his introduction to the first team was nothing short of ideal – manager Cliff Britton had assembled a squad of players that exuded quality and Jarvis was able to shine in a strong team that was soon sweeping all before them as they won the 1965/66 Division Three title and reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup. Jarvis clung to his first team shirt with an iron grip, playing in every game for the rest of the season and scoring his first goal for the club in the January 1966 return fixture against Workington.
Jarvis remained a first team regular in the 1966/67 season as City competed strongly in Division Two, but his game time during the 1967/68 season was curtailed by a mid-season knee injury sustained against Bristol City in September 1967. He returned to first team action in March 1968 and started regularly during the 1968/69 season. Jarvis was used less regularly in the early months of the 1969/70 season but was restored to the first eleven when Cliff Britton was removed from the first team manager’s role and moved to an executive position. When new manager Terry Neill took over at the start of the 1970/71 season he used Alan less frequently and he left the Tigers in March 1971.
Alan Leslie Jarvis was born in Wrexham and attended Grove Park Grammar School. In July 1958 he began his career at Everton, signing as an amateur apprentice while still studying at school, and was quickly selected for Wales youth team training squads. By November 1960 he was being talked about as a contender for a senior debut and in April 1961 he played in the FA Youth cup final, a tie lost to Chelsea youngsters. he signed professional terms for Everton in July 1961 and over the next four years he served the Toffees’ Juniors and Reserves sides but was unable to break into the Goodison Park first team – by the time he was 21 he was looking for pastures new, precipitating the move to Hull City after being handed a free transfer in May 1964.
Jarvis signed for Division Three side Mansfield Town in March 1971 for a £10,000 fee, at the time a record fee paid by the Stags. He made his debut in March 1971 against Torquay United and served the Field Mill primarily in the inside right position. Despite his more advanced role he failed to score a goal for Mansfield Town during the next two seasons and left the club in May 1973 having made 90 senior appearances.
Alan retired from football later in 1973 due to a series of eye injuries damaging his sight and he began working as a chartered surveyor, initially in Mansfield then later back in North Wales homeland where he worked for many years. In 2014 Jarvis moved to a care home in Mold suffering from dementia thought to be related to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which could well have been caused by the trauma of repeatedly heading footballs. He died of this chronic illness in December 2019.
Jarvis won three international youth team caps for Wales during the 1959/60 season and captained the side in February 1961 against Ireland. During the 1960/61 season he also played twice for the Wales amateur international side – in November 1960 against England, a match played at Brighton’s Goldstone Ground, and in March 1961 against Scotland. Six years later he won three full senior international caps for Wales whilst at Hull City, against Scotland in October 1966, England in March 1967 and Northern Ireland in April 1967.
Details
Nationality: Wales
Date/Place of Birth: 4 August 1943, Wrexham
Hull City First Game: 22 October 1965, Workington A (Division Three), 22 years, 79 days old
Hull City Final Game: 27 February 1971, Cardiff City H (Division Two), 27 years, 207 days old
Clubs
Everton (1961-1964), Hull City (1964-1971), Mansfield Town (1971-1973)
Hull City Record
Career: 177 apps, 12 goals
Alan Jarvis| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964/65 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1965/66 | 33 (0) | 3 | 7 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1966/67 | 38 (0) | 4 | 3 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 1967/68 | 19 (0) | 0 | – | – | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 1968/69 | 30 (4) | 5 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 1969/70 | 23 (2) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 1970/71 | 5 (5) | 0 | – | – | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
Classy mid field player for Hull City. 100% every game.