Born: Clerkenwell, 19 October 1927
Died: Alton, 21 May 2005
Position: Centre forward
International caps: 2
International goals: 0
Signed: 1 July 1948 from Watford
Fulham debut: Cardiff City 2-1 Fulham, 25 September 1948
Fulham appearances: 306
Fulham goals: 154
Fulham honours: Second Division champions (1948/49)
Sold: 1 August 1957 (retired)
MANAGERIAL RECORD
Appointed: 1 July 1958
Resigned: 20 October 1964
Games managed: 306
Won: 114 (37%)
Drawn: 70
Lost: 122
Goals For: 494
Goals Against: 534
Honours: Second Division runners-up (1958/59)
The brilliant Bedford Jezzard joined Fulham from Watford in 1948, scoring nine goals as the Whites reached the top flight for the first time at the end of that season. He struggled to find the net regularly in the First Division, but formed an outstanding forward line with Bobby Robson and Johnny Haynes, scoring for fun in the second tier. His 38 goal haul in 1953/54 was only eclipsed by Aleksandar Mitrovic in 2022.
He scored more than twenty goals a season between 1953 and 1956 and famously hit four goals against Derby in 1953 and Barnsley in 1955 before scoring five against Hull City in October 1955. He won two England caps, but his career was cut short when he broke his leg when on an FA tour of South Africa in 1956. He finished his Fulham career with an astonishing 154 goals in 306 appearances.
He managed Fulham between 1958 and 1964, leading the club back to the top flight. He later became disillusioned with the game after the abolition of the maximum wage – spearheaded by team-mates Jimmy Hill and Haynes – and retired to run a pub in Stamford Bridge. Jezzard suffered from multi-infarct dementia in his later life and sadly died aged 77 in May 2005.
