By Terry Phillips
John Toshack has paid this tribute to former Merthyr Town defender Frankie Collins, who passed away earlier this month.
Cardiff-born former Wales, Swansea City and Real Madrid manager Toshack was a teenage centre-forward when he played for the Bluebirds against Merthyr’s Collins in a Welsh League fixture during the later 1960s.
It was a learning experience for the young striker, who recalled: “In my early days playing for Cardiff City in Welsh League football, I had earned a bit of a reputation for myself as a young goal-scoring centre-forward.
“Most teams in those days had their own hard man at the heart of defence ready to cut me down to size.
“Merthyr were no exception and I remember a ginger-haired, crew-cut giant who frightened me to death.
“They called him Frankie Collins.
“He had magazines stuffed down his socks for shin-pads and big boots over his ankles. I used to move out to the wings quite a lot at Penydarren Park.”
Collins, born in February 1940, was 80-years-old when he passed away. He had two children, Simon and Ceri, who were both boxers.
He attended Gellifaelog School and lived in Gurnos, Merthyr Tydfil.
Collins played for Wales in a schoolboy international against England at Wembley Stadium.
His playing career for the Martyrs started in the late 1950s and he was a regular member of the promotion winning side in 1960-61, making 48 appearances and scoring once.
Collins was renowned as a tough, rugged wing-half, who possessed an extremely long throw-in and excelled in sliding tackles.
In a game against Cambridge City, who had already secured the Southern League title, Ken Tucker scored twice in a 3-1 win and both goals were scored directly from Collins’ long throw-ins launched into the penalty area.
Former Martyrs’ director of football Les Barlow talked about Collins, saying: “Frankie was an excellent trainer who was always the first player to finish our cross country runs.