PAST PIRATE – FRANKIE PRINCE
By Darren Stobbs
Midfielder Frankie Prince joined Rovers as an apprentice in 1965 and signed his first professional contract in December 1967.
He made his Rovers league debut in a 2-1 home defeat against Swindon Town on 4th May 1968 when he became the 392nd player to appear in league football for Rovers; it was the first of his 362 league appearances in a Rovers shirt.
Guile, strength and determination were amongst the many qualities he brought to Rovers midfield and his combative, and competitive, attitude saw him play in 13 consecutive seasons in the Football League for the club; only nine players have bettered the length of his League career with us and he is one of only nine players who have represented Rovers in the League in three separate decades.
He was capped four times for Wales at U-23 level and played in eight games as a Wales XI toured Asia and Oceania in 1971; in addition, he was an unused substitute when Wales played England in a World Cup qualifier at Ninian Park in 1972, but that elusive full cap never materialised.
A member of the Watney Cup winning side of 1972, Prince was also a vital member of Don Megson’s side that clinched promotion from the old Third Division in 1974, a season when he took part in the 8-2 demolition of Brian Clough’s Brighton & Hove Albion side on his 25th birthday.
He was awarded a testimonial match against Bristol City in November 1978 and went on to play for Exeter City, Gloucester City; Taunton Town, Ottery St Mary, Bideford Town and Clyst Rovers before working as a greengrocer in Taunton, as a window cleaner, an odd job man and as a nursing assistant in a forensic and psychiatric hospital in Dawlish
In 1992 he became Torquay United’s Community Officer, a position he held for 22 years until his retirement in November 2014.
Frankie still lives in Devon but travels up to attend the occasional Rovers game at The Memorial Stadium. A keen supporter of the club’s Former Players Association, he attended this year’s Annual Dinner in May.
