Melchester Rovers promotion to the top flight in the 1940s. And they finished runners-up in 1949, losing the title to North Ham just in the last game of the season. In 1954, however, the first "Roy of the Rovers" strip appeared, telling the story of the club and its star striker Roy Race (whose grandfather, Billy Race, had played for the club in the early part of the 20th century). Melchester finally became League Champions in 1958, and won the FA Cup the following season, by which time Race was captain. It was in the 1960s, however, that Rovers became a footballing
Roy of the Rovers Roy of the Rovers creative team. The film was shown at The End of the Pier International Film Festival in 2009, where it won the prize for Best Documentary Short. The phrase "Roy of the Rovers" has become a trope familiar to generations of British football fans and sports commentators, used to describe a memorable sporting achievement such as winning against the odds, or an unexpected comeback. "The Guardian" newspaper of 10 April 1995, for instance, described future England captain Alan Shearer as "the classic working class sporting hero ... everything legend demands an English centre-forward should be ... As