City President Gwyn Pierce Owen remembers Manchester United great George Best

Former top-flight referee and linesman—and now Bangor City President—Gwyn Pierce Owen has been recalling his memories of Manchester United legend George Best , who was died recently. (This article was originally published in December 2005).

Gwyn was an official in the Football League between 1967 and 1976 when Best was dazzling defences with his mesmerising dribbling skills, including a performance at Farrar Road in July 1969 when United took on a Wales XI in a match to commemorate the Investiture of Prince Charles at Caernarfon.  Apart from Best, icons such as Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, Mike England and Terry Hennessey took part in the match. 

Reports suggest that between 10,000—16,000 squeezed into Farrar Road for that game—unthinkable with today's safety regulations in force.

Gwyn also came face to face with Best  in the US soccer league —and admits in his autobiography C’Mon Reff that on that particular occasion, he had to show the United legend the yellow card.

Gwyn recalls, “Many times I have been asked who is the best player I have seen, and every time in the last 40 years I have answered George Best, and I have seen some very good players.  He was amazing though and his ball control incredible. He was tough too—and had to be as all the hard-men wanted to kick him off the field.

The skills he was showing were on terrible pitches with mud up to the knees but he seemed to float over the pitch like a fairy. “

Gwyn continued, “The first time I spoke to him was when I was talking in Welsh to his team-mate Wyn Davies outside the dressing room. He heard us and came over. He was interested in the language and talked about what a shame it was that Gaelic was not so strong in Ireland.

He was always charming, apart from when had lost, but that just showed that he was a competitor keen to win”

A minute’s silence for Best was observed at football grounds around the nation on 26 November (2005) —including at Farrar Road, before Bangor City's match against Cardiff Grange Quins. 

(Interview by Owen Hughes. Match picture by Gwyn Roberts. With thanks to the Bangor and Anglesey Mail.)