William John Charles CBE (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back.

[3] John Charles began his career at Leeds United, having moved there in 1949 from his hometown club, Swansea Town.

He was equally adept as a defender or a forward, due to his strength, pace, technique, vision, ability in the air and eye for goal.

In the summer of 1957, Charles joined Juventus, where he partnered Giampiero Boniperti and Omar Sívori, with the trio becoming known as The Holy Trident.

In 1962, Charles returned to Leeds, but his time there proved unsuccessful as he was accustomed to the style of play in Italy, and by the end of the year, he had joined Roma.

Charles moved back to his native country to play for Cardiff City, and ended his career in non-league football in player-manager roles at Hereford United and Merthyr Tydfil.

[7] The brothers grew up on Alice Street in Swansea, being neighbours of fellow future Welsh internationals Ernie Jones, Mel Nurse, and Jackie Roberts.

Charles made his first team debut as a centre back for Leeds in a friendly versus Dumfries club Queen of the South on 19 April 1949.

Charles was tasked with marking the incumbent Scotland centre forward Billy Houliston, who ten days previously at Wembley, had run the England defence ragged as the Scots won 3–1.

His influence on Leeds' success during his final season was so strong, reporters nicknamed the club "John Charles United".

The transfer was notable as Charles became one of the first British professional players to be signed for an overseas team after John Fox Watson led the way moving from Fulham to Real Madrid in 1948.

He played in Turin for five years, scoring 108 goals in 155 matches, winning the scudetto (Italian league championship) three times, and the Coppa Italia twice.

[12] Following his time at Juventus, Don Revie paid a club record £53,000 to secure the return of Charles to Yorkshire.

Initially, the move was a success and Charles scored within fifteen minutes of his first game for Roma, in a match against Bologna.

It was also the only time all four of the Home Nations qualified for the same World Cup, though only Wales and Northern Ireland made it past the group stage.

[14] Wales remained undefeated in the group stage, battling to draws with Hungary (thanks to a Charles goal), Mexico, and eventual runners-up Sweden.

Wales were eventually knocked out by Brazil in the quarter-finals thanks to a goal by Pelé in the 66th minute: the Brazilians went on to win the competition.

Despite his size, he was also a fast player, with good technical skills and passing ability, which allowed him both to score and create goals.

In addition to his ability, he was also known for his correct behaviour on the pitch, which along with his stature, earned him the nickname Il Gigante Buono (The Gentle Giant).

Giampiero Boniperti, the captain of Juventus when Charles had joined the Bianconeri, spoke of the Welshman's nature as a person: "I would say he was from another world because of his human qualities.

[23] In August 2019, a social housing complex named "Clos John Charles" was opened on the site of a former primary school in Cwmbwrla, Swansea.

[26] On 16 June 2001, as part of that year's Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire "for services to Association Football".

In January 2004, he suffered a heart attack shortly before an interview for Italian television, and required the partial amputation of one foot for circulation reasons before he was returned to Britain.