[7] After leaving, Allchurch worked in an office at Baldwin's Foundry, a company that manufactured bomb casings, but grew frustrated in the role and quickly looked to move on.

[13] Allchurch was playing local youth football at under-18 Cwm Level Park when he was spotted by Joe Sykes,[3] a scout who worked for Swansea Town under the management of Haydn Green.

[15] His performances for the teams in November 1948 attracted the attention of Shrewsbury Town manager Leslie Knighton who signed Allchurch to represent the side in the Midland Football League during his military service, describing him as "a future star".

[16] During his time at the club, Knighton turned down numerous offers from Football League sides for Allchurch, as he was still registered to play for Swansea Town, and described him as a "second Charlie Buchan.

[7] Although the Swans lost, Allchurch impressed enough to be handed a second start on 7 January 1950, scoring his first senior goal for the club in a 3–0 victory over First Division side Birmingham City in the third round of the FA Cup.

[22] During this period, Swansea suffered from financial difficulties which saw the sale of several first team players such as McCrory, Jim Feeney and Roy Paul.

[29] Allchurch's decision to leave the Swans saw a large amount of interest, with Liverpool offering to fly a private plane to South Wales and meet any valuation Swansea placed on him.

Liverpool chairman Tom Williams and manager Phil Taylor also travelled to meet Allchurch, but were rejected as he wished to move to a team in the First Division.

[42] Taking a £20 per week pay cut to join the Bluebirds, Allchurch made his debut on the opening day of the 1962–63 season, captaining the side and scoring in a 4–4 draw with his former club Newcastle United.

[44] But despite this and a prolific forward partnership formed between Allchurch and Peter Hooper, who scored 34 league goals between them, the club eventually faded into a mid-table place, finishing in tenth position.

The signing of fellow Welsh international John Charles had raised hopes of improvement but the side struggled throughout the season, winning just 14 league matches out of 42.

[46] The club's struggles saw George Swindin dismissed as manager and replaced by Jimmy Scoular, who had captained Newcastle during Allchurch's spell in the North-East.

[47] He did not return to the first team until February, during which time he stated his desire to leave the club, when Scoular was forced to recall him after the Bluebirds had suffered a severe decline during his absence.

[47] Scoular had introduced a new youth policy within the squad, handing regular places to players such as King, George Johnston and Don Murray.

Murray later commented that he regarded it as a privilege to play alongside Allchurch and Charles and stated "There was a saying among the players, if you are in trouble give it to Ivor".

[48] He scored nine times following his return to the first team, including a hat-trick against his former side Swansea which condemned them to relegation into the Third Division, to finish as the club's top goalscorer for the second consecutive season.

However, early season form was poor as the side struggled to adapt to a new "modern" gameplan adopted by manager Glyn Davies, losing 3 of their first 4 matches.

[57] He remained with the club, entering the final year of his contract, but was switched to playing as a striker by manager Billy Lucas in order to lessen the amount of running required of Allchurch who had turned 38 during the opening months of the season.

Approaching the end of the season, he was offered a one-year extension to his contract with the club, with a £5 per week pay cut, but eventually decided to retire from professional football, making his final appearance on 6 May 1968 against Hartlepools United.

[20] He later spent time playing non-league football with Worcester City and had a spell as player-manager of Haverfordwest County before ending his career at Pontardawe Athletic at the age of 50.

[5][62] He would remain a regular fixture in the Wales side, making a further 26 consecutive appearances for his country after his debut over the following six years,[61] and was part of the squad that qualified for the 1958 FIFA World Cup by defeating Israel in a play-off match, scoring in both legs of the tie.

[67][68] Following the tournament, Wales international Dave Bowen commented that they had "surprised a lot of people" with their performance and also praised Allchurch, stating "they looked at Ivor and wondered where he had been hiding.

[70] His caps record stood for nearly twenty years until it was beaten by Joey Jones and his 23 goals tied Trevor Ford as Wales' highest scoring player until Ian Rush later overtook the pair.

[75] He was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 1962 and, in 1966, he was awarded a Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to Welsh football.

[76][77][74] Allchurch and his wife moved to a bungalow in Bishopston, Swansea after his retirement from professional football and he worked as a storeman for a stationery company.