A coal miner from Treorchy, outside half Billy Cleaver was to earn fame as a Wales and British Lions international, and as was so often the case with young talent from the Rhondda, played but one game for Pontypridd before establishing himself with Cardiff.
His solitary Ponty appearance came in May 1947, the year that he also won his first of fourteen Wales caps, going on to gain three caps for the Lions on their 1950 tour of New Zealand and Australia.
A cultured playmaker, Billy was also a keen patron of the arts, in later life becoming secretary of the Contemporary Arts Society for Wales and vice chairman of the Welsh Arts Council.
Billy Cleaver: Outside Half 1 appearance 1947
