Kenford Keith Ian Walwyn (17 February 1956 — 15 April 2003), more commonly known as Keith Walwyn, was a Kittitian

Saint Kitts and Nevis

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population....

 footballer who played as a striker.

Career

Born in Nevis

Nevis

Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...

, Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population....

, Walwyn had trials for Barnsley

Barnsley F.C.

Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

 and Preston North End

Preston North End F.C.

Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

 before playing for Guiseley

Guiseley A.F.C.

Guiseley A.F.C. are an English football club from Guiseley, West Yorkshire, England.-History:Founded in 1909 by a local group of enthusiasts, the club’s first success came in 1913 when they won the local Wharfedale League...

 from 1977 to 1978. Following a trial with Bradford City

Bradford City A.F.C.

Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

 he joined Winterton Rangers

Winterton Rangers F.C.

Winterton Rangers F.C. are a football club based in Winterton, England. They play in the Northern Counties East Football League Premier Division.-History:...

 in 1979 before signing for Chesterfield

Chesterfield F.C.

Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...

 in November 1979 for a fee of £5,000. He appeared only three times for the club's first team, scoring two goals, despite being a regular scorer in the reserve team

Reserve team

Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...

. He was signed by York City

York City F.C.

York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...

 for a fee of £4,000 in July 1981. During his time with the club, Walwyn played 291 games and scored 140 goals (119 in the league), becoming the club's second all-time top scorer behind Norman Wilkinson

Norman Wilkinson (footballer born 1931)

Norman Francis Wilkinson was an English footballer. He started his career with non-League Crook Town before joining Football League team Hull City in 1953. He joined York City in 1954 and is the club's leading goalscorer with 143 goals...

. This tally included 25 goals in City's historic 1983–84 Fourth Division

Football League Fourth Division

The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...

 championship-winning side. He won the Clubman of the Year trophy for the 1981–82 and 1986–87 seasons.

He was transferred to Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

 for a transfer tribunal-set fee of £35,000 in July 1987, and scored 16 league goals in 69 appearances for the club. He moved next, in July 1989, to Carlisle United

Carlisle United F.C.

Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

, who would prove to be his last League club. The final club he played for was non-League

Non-league football

Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...

 side Kettering Town

Kettering Town F.C.

Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...

, who he signed for in February 1991. He made seven appearances and scored one goal for Kettering in the Football Conference

Conference National

Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

. He was forced to quit playing in March after he collapsed in a match against Altrincham

Altrincham F.C.

Altrincham Football Club is an English association football club from Altrincham, Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Conference North, having been relegated from the Conference National at the end of the 2010–11 season.-History:...

. He later had a pacemaker

Pacemaker

An artificial pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.Pacemaker may also refer to:-Medicine:...

 fitted.

Post-football and death

After his footballing career ended, Walwyn opened a sports store in the Preston area.

In August 2002, he was guest of honour

Guest of Honour

Guest of Honour is a 1934 British comedy film directed by George King and starring Henry Kendall, Micki Hood, Edward Chapman and Joan Playfair. An aristocrat unmasks a blackmailer. Based on F. Anstey's 1903 play The Man from Blankley's which had been made as a 1920 Paramount silent The Fourteenth...

 at the opening of Blackpool's new £7 million West Stand when Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

 visited Bloomfield Road

Bloomfield Road

Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...

.

Walwyn died at 47 years of age, on 15 April 2003 while undergoing a heart operation. He is survived by his wife, Liz, and two children, James and Matthew. His memory lives on at York's Bootham Crescent, where one of the hospitality suites, the "Keith Walwyn Vice Presidents' Lounge", bears his name. It was officially opened by his widow in August 2006.

On 7 March 2004, a fundraising match was played at the ground of York featuring a "Past Players Festival". Players from the promotion winning 1983/84 team played the players from the play-off winning side of 1993. Taking Keith Walwyn's place in the squad was Keith's son, Matthew, who went on to score two goals. On 11 May 2008, Matthew was on the bench for Kirkham & Wesham for the FA Vase

FA Vase

The Football Association Challenge Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing below Step 4 of the English National League System...

 final at Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium

The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

 against Lowestoft Town

Lowestoft Town F.C.

Lowestoft Town F.C. is an English football club based in Lowestoft, Suffolk. The club are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division and play at Crown Meadow.-History:...

. He was introduced in the 79th minute with his team losing 1-0, and subsequently struck an 84th-minute equaliser, and then an injury-time second, to win the game and the trophy for his side.