Jasper Yeuell - reliable back up
Posted on 24th Jan 2025 by David Taylor
Jasper Yeuell visited Fratton Park in 2000 and gave an interview to Richard Owen the Club Historian.
He played only 35 games for Pompey between 1946 and 1952 but he had a key role as the back up to the two Full Backs Harry Ferrier and Phil Rookes, thus winning himself a Championship medal something of which he was extremely and rightfully proud.
Born in Bilston on 23 March 1925 he had spells with Wolves and West Brom before joining Pompey in 1946. He worked way up to the first team making his debut at left back on Boxing Day 1946 at home to Arsenal replacing Harry Ferrier who had picked up a knock at Highbury on Christmas Day.
It would be over a year before Jasper pulled on a first team shirt again on New Years Day 1948 against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. This time Yeuell wore the number two shirt with Phil Rookes absent and would go on to play sixteen times in the second half of the season.
Of course, 1948/49 was the momentous season when Pompey would win the first of consecutive Football League 
Championships and Jasper would play just eight league games but it was one of the four FA Cup games that gave him his finest hour.
It came in the Cup sixth round meeting with Derby County when in front of Fratton Park’s largest ever attendance 51,385. Crowd packers were used to get the supporters into the stadium with a police estimate of 10,000 locked out! Ike Clarke netted twice including a late winner but Pompey had to dig deep to repel the Rams something Jasper was proud of. Ranger’s match report in the Football Mail reported that ‘ Flewin and his full backs did some great work under pressure’.
Jasper would play just four times the next season which Pompey again finished top of the league. He picked up a cartilage injury and although he tried to make a comeback playing twice at the start of the 1951/52 campaign his career at the top level was over and played nineteen time for Barnsley before playing non-league for Weymouth, Hastings and Tunbridge Wells.
Jasper kept a scrapbook of his memories and remembered fondly the deafening roar and the spine-tingling atmosphere of Fratton Park.
He sadly passed away in 2003.
