Mel Hopkins RIP

[severnside gull]

Saddened to hear of Mel's passing.

I guess there won't be many on here who remember him playing for the Albion. His best years were before he joined us in '65 (just after Bobby Smith if I remember right) and he was part of our best ever promotion year (subjectively) until our ascent into Division 1. A classy left back who was quick coming forward and scored a couple of useful goals he played for Wales at the '58 World Cup.

Mel was with us for a couple of great seasons and won't be forgotten by any who saw him.

Sadly, as with others who have recently passed over, the club will probably only see fit to drop a minor footnote into the matchday programme.

 

[Gwylan]

I saw that he, like Smith, was missing when the Spurs Double-winning side were paraded at WHL recently. He was described as being seriously ill so it's not unexpected.

He was before my time but I remember my dad talking about him as a good player.

RIP

 

[BLOCK F]

Cool ,calm and collected.......always felt everything would be o.k. when Mel was on the ball!
R.I.P.

 

[glasfryn]

RIP Mel
my memory of him is rather sketchy,but I do remember people round me saying he was a class player

 

[HAILSHAM SEAGULL]

RIP Mel.
Remember him at left back in the 60's, he was quite tall for a full back and i seem to remember very thin.

 

[goldstone]

Signing Mel was almost as big a coup as signing Bobby Smith.

A real class player.

 

[The French Mistress]

RIP

 

[highway61]

Signing Mel was almost as big a coup as signing Bobby Smith.

A real class player.

Spot on. Real quality signing, memories are vague now but certainly recall him at the time of Bobby Smith

 

[The Oldman]

Signing Mel was almost as big a coup as signing Bobby Smith.

A real class player.

Agree with this. He oozed class.

 

[wolfie]

During those seasons in the early to mid-sixties we had several big name players who had seen better days but who made quite an impact in the lower leagues. We also signed Jimmy Collins from Spurs - probably the most effective of the three (Mel, Bobby & Jim) I think he banged in around 20 goals from the inside right (midfield) position in the Championship season. We also had Jack Smith, Bobby Smith, Wally Gould & Johnny Goodchild weighing in with 18-20 goals out of a total for the season of 102 !

Up until the Mullery years we were a bit of a retirement home for former big-name players (Bridges, Dawson, Murray, Chivers spring to mind) In the eighties you could say the same about Worthington, Biley, Stapleton, Ferguson etc.

 

[tottenhamseagull]

Here here, he was one of the players my family used to talk about when i was growing up. RIP

 

[perseus]

Mel Hophins: A full back who played against Garrincha (Brazil) Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney etc. He broke his nose badly in one match.

He said his most troubesome opponent was a speedy winger with Sheffield United. I have forgotten his name at the moment.

First time he went to England was by steam train from Wales to Tottenham.

 

[perseus]

A quick read:

He played against George Best as well

The Argus - News, Sport, Brighton and Hove Albion and Entertainment for Brighton, Hove and Sussex - Pele broke my heart, Saint broke my nose

 

[BensGrandad]

Mel Hopikins one of the greats of Tottenham and as a full back there has hardly been any better. RIP.

 

[Storer68]

During those seasons in the early to mid-sixties we had several big name players who had seen better days but who made quite an impact in the lower leagues. We also signed Jimmy Collins from Spurs - probably the most effective of the three (Mel, Bobby & Jim) I think he banged in around 20 goals from the inside right (midfield) position in the Championship season. We also had Jack Smith, Bobby Smith, Wally Gould & Johnny Goodchild weighing in with 18-20 goals out of a total for the season of 102 !

Up until the Mullery years we were a bit of a retirement home for former big-name players (Bridges, Dawson, Murray, Chivers spring to mind) In the eighties you could say the same about Worthington, Biley, Stapleton, Ferguson etc.

Chivers was a Mullery signing.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Another chance for the club to not have a minute's silence...

 

[perseus]

Another chance for the club to not have a minute's silence...

This would be a big mistake. After leaving the Albion Mel was involved in sports activities (not football) in the Shoreham area for a greater span than his playing career.

 

[Milton Keynes Seagull]

This would be a big mistake. After leaving the Albion Mel was involved in sports activities (not football) in the Shoreham area for a greater span than his playing career.

He was also a part time sports coach at my long gone prep school, Prestonville, just off Dyke Road in the mid sixties. A great player, and part of the team I grew up watching. RIP.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Another chance for the club to not have a minute's silence...

I really hope that the club relents and organises something appropriate for saturday, otherwise perhaps the travelling fans could do something at Peterborough next week - god knows how you'd organise it though.

Whilst my first Albion game was in 1960, I didn't attend regularly until the 1964/5 season and, as others posted when Bobby Smith died, his signing was the equivalent of Michael Owen turning out for the stripes this saturday. Mel Hopkins was of the same class, but he came without the "baggage" that accompanied Smith; one of the clearer memories I have of my father is him talking about a Hopkins performance for the entire no.5 bus ride home from Sackville Road to Hangleton Way.

 

[dje shoreham]

My parents knew him and his wife better but I met him a few times in Shoreham - really nice guy. He said a few words at the Falmer presentation at Ropetackle - probably the best part of evening.
RIP