FIFTY years ago Saints broke their transfer record to sign a striker who would become a club legend.

Welsh international centre-forward Ron Davies, 23, signed from Norwich City for £50,000, the Daily Echo reported on August 5, 1966.

The club had been searching for a centre-forward since they won promotion to the First Division and the signing of Davies was the culmination of weeks of work by manager Ted Bates.

The manager had even stayed behind while Saints completed a short pre-season tour of Germany, their first venture of the kind.

Davies, who was 6ft tall, had been with Norwich since September 1963 when he was signed from Luton Town for about £35,000. Before joining Luton he was at Chester City.

At Norwich he made more than 100 League appearances and scored 60 goals.

He was sought by several First Division clubs and Mr Bates secured his signature in the face of keen competition.

Born at Holywell, Flintshire, Davies had already been capped by Wales as an under-23 and full international. He went with the Welsh team on their close-season tour of Brazil that summer.

Mr Bates said after the signing: "Davies will give added strength to our forward line and will, I am sure, fit in well with our present set-up. He is particularly good in the air and I am sure he will turn out to be just the player we need.”

History would prove this to be a shrewd assessment as Davies went on to score 153 goals over seven years in the red and white stripes.

In that first season he netted 43 times, 37 in the League, and nobody has scored more in a single season since. Only Jimmy Greaves in 1960-61 has bettered that tally.

His finest hour would come at Old Trafford in 1969-70 when he scored all four Saints goals in a 4-1 rout of Manchester United.

Even the fact he left Saints for arch rivals Portsmouth has not dented his legendary status.

Eventually he headed for America where he settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He died there in 2013 on the eve of his 71st birthday.