- 1931: John Charles is born at 19 Alice Street, Cwmbwrla, Swansea.
- 1945: He leaves school at 14-years-old and joins Swansea Town Football Club.
- 1948: He joins Leeds United at 17 years of age. He scored 150 goals in 9 seasons for the club.
- 1950: He plays for Wales for the first time.
- 1957: He joins Italian club Juventus for £65,000, a record British transfer fee at the time.
- 1958: He played a leading role for Wales in the World Cup. Due to an injury, he couldn’t play in the quarter final, which Wales lost to Brazil – due to a goal by Pelé.
- 1959: He came third in the Ballon d’Or (European Footballer of the Year).
- 1962: He leaves Juventus as a hero after scoring 108 goals in 155 games.
- 1962: He played for Leeds, Roma and Cardiff over four years.
- 1966: He played his last professional game.
- He was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, the Hall of Fame of International Footballers in 1998, and the Hall of Fame of Italian Football in 2001.
- 2004: He died at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield
‘John Charles was a remarkably gifted footballer. He was blessed with an extremely powerful body. He was 6′ 2″ in height and weighed 14 stone. He could kick the ball powerfully and accurately with both feet, dribble nimbly, leap like a salmon and tackle forcefully. Throughout his glittering career he never received a yellow or red card, and was known by everyone as “the Gentle Giant” (Il Buon Gigante).’ – Geraint Jenkins