Find out which Wrexham FC legend scored his first ever goal for the club at Coventry City on Christmas Day 1959

Yes, they did play football on Christmas Day in the old days and they were back in action the next day too.

Griffiths was just 17-years-old and had only a handful of first team appearances under his belt when he and his Wrexham team-mates were sent to Coventry and a festive fixture at Highfield Road. And that’s where this blond-haired teenager from Hightown would score the first of 142 goals in his record-breaking 721 appearances for his home-town club.

“I remember playing Coventry home and away on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. That’s what they did in those years. But I don’t remember the goal,” said Griffiths, who would also have to forsake a traditional turkey dinner in the build-up to the game.

Griffiths scored in front of 17,500 fans in a 5-3 Sky Blues win that day before also lining up in the 3-1 home defeat 24 hours later.

“Christmas was crazy and it was the same at Easter. I remember playing on the Friday, Saturday and Monday. Plus the pitches were so heavy too. I honestly couldn’t walk when I got out of bed on the Tuesday!” added Griffiths, who missed only a handful games after that in his breakthrough season.

Griffiths had turned down trials with Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday before signing for Wrexham where he first combined playing while working in the Coal Board’s wages department.

“I remember my wage. £5 a week and £12 a week if I was in the first team. Playing for your home town club was what I wanted to do.

“I’d bike back from work to Hightown which took me about 20 minutes. Have something to eat. Get on the bus to to the ground and play the game. It was about that time that floodlights started to be used.”

It only took 42 first team appearances before Griffiths earned a dream move to Arsenal, who paid £15,500 for the up-and-coming inside forward.

“It was great at Arsenal. I really enjoyed my time there,” added Griffiths.

“They had under-floor heating in the dressing rooms, we all had our own white robes to wear and I remember every afternoon I’d go in to have training in finishing. I didn’t score many goals in my early days.”

Griffiths’ first goal for The Gunners was a memorable one though.

“It was a header,” he recalled. “I rose about an inch off the floor and beat the great Bert Trautmann, the Manchester City goalkeeper.

“But shortly afterwards at West Brom, Chuck Drury - he was their hatchet man - got me and I was out for four months with ankle ligament damage.

“At that time Billy Wright replaced the man who’d bought me, George Swindin, and he more or less told me I didn’t have a future at Arsenal.

“That was very disappointing because I still felt I had a lot to offer.

“Hull City and Man City were showing an interest but as soon as I heard Ken Barnes wanted me back at Wrexham, I was back.

“Ken was a real character. He was brilliant for me. He couldn’t run, he couldn’t tackle, he couldn’t shoot but what a passer of the ball.

“So I returned and stayed there for, how many years was it? Another 18 as a player.”

Griffiths played under seven different bosses during that period before succeeding John Neal in The Racecourse hotseat in 1977 - and celebrated his first season in control by winning the Division Three title in what was arguably Wrexham’s greatest team of all-time.

“John was the brains as far as the football was concerned and he had a great deal of patience with the younger players, a policy that was to produce major dividends for the club,” added Griffiths. “The list of players coming through was endless - Joey Jones, Dave Smallman, Mickey Thomas. You could go on and on.

“It hurts me now when I don’t see young lads coming through the ranks at Wrexham.”

With Neal as manager and Griffiths running the show in midfield, Wrexham won promotion from the old Division Four in 1970.

Their Welsh Cup win in 1972 saw them qualify to play in the European Cup Winners Cup for the first time in their history.

They went out on away goals to Hadjuk Split, denying them a place in the quarter-finals.

Four years later they did reach the last eight of the competition, beating Djurgardens and Stal Rzezsow before losing 2-1 on aggregate to Anderlecht.

In between they had reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, losing 1-0 at Burnley where Griffiths gets constant reminders of the great chance he had to score at Turf Moor.

Griffiths, who was now becoming a regular in Mike Smith’s Welsh team, scored his only European goal for The Reds against Djurgardens.

But working as Neal’s right hand man, he was starting to lay the foundations to build a team he says will never be bettered as Wrexham’s greatest ever team.

“John Neal went to Middlesbrough and I took over as player-manager,” said Griffiths. “It was a pleasure to manage that team - a team that will never be bettered in my eyes.

“Teams were frightened of playing us. Not only did we win the league, we reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and the League Cup. They were great days.”

Griffiths may have stuck religiously to toast of the buttered variety but looking at Wrexham’s results on Christmas Day there wasn’t much glass-raising to toast Reds’ victories.

Wrexham have celebrated wins only twice since the war with both successes at The Racecourse.

They beat Rochdale 4-1 in 1956 and Lincoln City were despatched 4-2 in 1951. The good news is that during the war, they remained unbeaten in their three derby battles with Chester City, winning two matches on the same day in 1940.

Tommy Bamford scored twice in a 3-1 win that attracted a 3,000 crowd across the border - almost double the one that had earlier seen the Reds triumph 2-1 at The Racecourse. In 1944, the war-time hat-trick was completed with a 4-2 victory, Ronnie Dix and Peter Baines bagging doubles.

CHRISTMAS DAY RECORD: P 27; W 8; D 2; L 17.