OF all the boys playing in an under-18 match in a Swansea park, one stood head and shoulders above the rest.

A blond 16-year-old called Ivor Allchurch was about to go onto the pitch shortly after playing 90 minutes in an under-16s match.

Swans scout Joe Sykes knew he had stumbled across something special. Allchurch had plenty of pace, deadly finishing ability and incredible stamina.

But little did Sykes know that he had discovered the boy who would go on to be the club's best ever player and all-time top scorer.

Four years after being spotted at Cwm Level Park, Allchurch made his Swans debut.

It was far from perfect — the Swans lost 3-0 to West Ham and Allchurch hardly featured in the game — but it was just the beginning for a player who would become a Swans and Wales legend.

After making 18 appearances and scoring three goals in his first season for Swansea, he became a first-team regular.

In the next eight seasons Allchurch's goal tally would be in double figures and his Midas touch earned him the nickname Golden Boy.

Not only was Allchurch a natural goalscorer, but he had great vision — his passes seldom went anywhere but to the feet of his team-mates.

His performances for Wales gained him many plaudits as well, and at one time he was the country's all-time leading scorer.

Midway through the 1958-9 season, Newcastle United paid Swansea £28,000 plus Port Talbot-born hitman Reg Davies in exchange for Allchurch's services. He soon became a legend on Tyneside.

But after seven years and a stint at Cardiff City, Allchurch returned to his hometown club a few months shy of his 36th birthday.

His age did not matter as he banged in 17 goals in his first season back.

In his last season, aged 38, he finished top-scorer for the Swans with 21 and featured in a narrow FA Cup defeat by Arsenal in front of a record-breaking 32,786 crowd at Vetch Field.

He passed away in 1997, aged 67, but Allchurch has not been forgotten.

A life-size bronze statue of the legendary player stands proudly outside the Liberty Stadium reminding fans of his memory — and showing today's affluent footballers who is still the Golden Boy after all these years.