1954: Andy Graver, £27,500 (£673,500)
Destination: Leicester City
There are record transfers, and then there are deals which completely alter what a club believes one of its players might be worth. Andy Graver’s move to Leicester City in December 1954 was firmly in the latter category. City had never previously received more than £3,250 for a player, but Leicester paid £27,500 and also sent Eric Littler to Sincil Bank, with Littler valued at £600. Graver had more than earned that valuation. Signed from Newcastle United for £5,000 in 1950, he scored 106 league goals in 170 appearances during his first spell with the Imps, including an extraordinary 36 in 35 league matches as City won the Third Division North title in 1951/52. His six goals in the 11-1 demolition of Crewe Alexandra that season remain part of his legend, and by the time Leicester came calling he had established himself as one of the outstanding goalscorers in the club’s history.
His time at Leicester was surprisingly brief. Graver scored three times in 11 league appearances as they were relegated from the First Division, and City brought him back the following year for £14,000, itself a club-record purchase at the time. He later moved to Stoke City, spent time with Boston United and then returned to Sincil Bank for a third spell in 1958, eventually finishing with 150 goals in 289 appearances in all competitions for City, a total which still makes him the club’s record goalscorer.
After leaving in 1961 he played for Skegness Town and Ilkeston Town before injury ended his career, but his place in City history had long since been secured. The £27,500 Leicester paid for him was equally enduring, remaining Lincoln City’s record transfer receipt for a quarter of a century.
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