Stan Lynn

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Seasons

Age*

Division

Appearances

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Substitute

Unused

Goals

From

Played Under

George Martin |
Eric Houghton |
Joe Mercer |

First Squad Appearance

Debut Appearance

First Goal

Saturday, 23 December 1950

Final Appearance

Saturday, 16 September 1961

Blackburn Rovers (a), Division One

Final Squad Appearance

Saturday, 16 September 1961

Stan Lynn

Player #426 for Aston Villa, Stanley Lynn known as Stan Lynn, and nicknamed Stan the Wham and Lynn the Lash, played as a right back for the club.

Stan played for Villa between 1950-51 and 1961-62 making 324 appearances and scoring 38 goals.

Stan was born in Bolton on 18 June 1928 and made his debut appearance for Villa on Saturday, 14 October 1950 at the age of 22.

Villa had signed Stan from Accrington Stanley for a fee of £10,000 in March 1950 and he went on to play 10 times, scoring 3 goals in his first season with the club.

Stan was described as “a well built defender, arrived at Villa having made a name for himself at Accrington Stanley as a right back who knew the art of position and who possessed a first rate shot. With Villa that talent developed and Stan’s strong kicking blossomed into his becoming a specialist in scoring goals form free kicks as well as an excellent penalty taker.”

Indeed goalscoring became a particular feature of Stan’s game, hitting 7 goals in 1954-55 and 1959-60 and a career best 9 in 1957-58.

Stan possessed a powerful right foot shot and was said to have “Booming Boots” so much so that one of his trademark shots knocked out an unfortunate Cardiff City goalie.

Stan was mainly used as a back up over his first four seasons with Villa, making 59 appearances in total however he became a fully established first team regular from 1954-55 through to 1959-60 striking up a strong partnership on the opposite flank with Peter Aldis.

During his time with Villa, Stan helped the club secure their record seventh FA Cup in 1957, and following relegation he led Villa to the Second Division championship in 1959-60, as well as helping the club win the inagural 1960-61 League Cup - although he had left Villa by the time the two legged final was played - in 1961-62.

Stan’s goalscoring prowess saw him become the first recognised full-back to score a hat-trick in a top-flight game in English football.

Stan’s achievement came in the 5-2 home win over Sunderland on Saturday, 11 January 1958. Indeed Stan was a groundbreaking player - a marauding full back with a fierce shot and a taste for adventure - in an era when discipline and defense were the hallmarks of the average full back.

Stan’s 9 goals from right back in 1957-58 also equalled Villa’s goalscoring record for a full back.

Stan’s talent however wasn’t limited to forceful shooting, his defensive talent could be typified by his trademark ploy of standing off his opponent - normally a winger - lying in wait until the ball reached his target and then execute a sliding tackle to carry ball and man into touch and out of danger.

Despite his obvious worth to the team Stan’s relationship with his final Villa boss Joe Mercer was a tense one and the latter made the erroneous decision to part company with Stan in 1960, aged 33, and arguably with years of football still in him.

Indeed Stan went on to play for a further 8 season albeit at a lower level.

Stan played his final game for Villa on Saturday, 16 September 1961 after 11 seasons with the club before moving on to Villa’s neighbours Birmingham for a fee of £15,000.

Stan had played under Villa managers George Martin, Eric Houghton and Joe Mercer.

After finally retiring from football Stan owned and ran a local newsagents by the Villa ground before taking up a role at local employer Lucas whilst still turning out for the Aston Villa All Stars team until 1985 aged 58.

Stan passed away in Bromsgrove on 28 April 2002 aged 73.