Yahoo News George Baker, one of the last remaining members of Wales 1958 World Cup squad, dies
George Baker, one of the last remaining members of the Wales World Cup squad from 1958, has died at the age of 88.
Baker, previously one of only four surviving members of that famous squad, passed away on Tuesday morning after battling a short illness.
Originally from Maerdy, the forward played twice for his country at under-23 level, against both England and Scotland, but never made a senior appearance.
READ MORE: The extraordinary stories of Cliff Jones, the 87-year-old Wales legend from the 1958 World Cup
Despite being named in the initial 22-man squad for the World Cup in Sweden, Baker was one of several players left behind by the FAW, allegedly due to an insistence by some committee members on taking their wives to the tournament instead.
Graham Vearncombe, John Elsworthy and Len Allchurch were among the others to join Baker in having to wait on back home as Wales went on to the quarter-finals, eventually losing to Pele's Brazil.
Baker insisted he never received an official explanation as to why he was left behind.
He would never again be called up by Wales, but would go on to enjoy a reasonably successful club career, making nearly 80 appearances for Plymouth Argyle over a seven-year spell between 1954 and 1961, before later going on to play for Shrewsbury Town and Barry Town.
Wales, meanwhile, wouldn't qualify for a World Cup again for 64 years, and Baker's place in Welsh footballing history was largely forgotten.
Ahead of the tournament in Qatar, Baker sat down with WalesOnline to look back on his career. You can read that interview here.
As fate would have it, his home in Tylorstown, where he lived with beloved wife Moira, was literally a stone's throw away from the house where Wales boss Robert Page grew up.
After spending so long in the footballing wilderness, Baker was finally shown some recognition from the FAW shortly before the last World Cup.
Baker, along with fellow 58 heroes Cliff Jones and Terry Medwin, attended Page's squad announcement at Tylorstown Welfare Hall shortly before Wales jetted out to Qatar.
He was also due to receive a Welsh cap this year for his services to Welsh football.
