| Roy Summersby | |
| Fullname: | Roy Donald Summersby |
| Birth Date: | 19 March 1935 |
| Birth Place: | Lambeth, Greater London |
| Death Place: | Bury St Edmunds, England |
| Position: | Inside forward |
| Youthyears1: | ?–1952 |
| Youthclubs1: | Millwall |
| Years1: | 1951–1958 |
| Clubs1: | Millwall |
| Caps1: | 87 |
| Goals1: | 13 |
| Years2: | 1958–1963 |
| Clubs2: | Crystal Palace |
| Caps2: | 176 |
| Goals2: | 59 |
| Years3: | 1963–1965 |
| Clubs3: | Portsmouth |
| Caps3: | 12 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 1965–? |
| Clubs4: | Chelmsford City |
| Caps4: | ? |
| Goals4: | ? |
| Years5: | ? |
| Clubs5: | Hillingdon Borough |
| Caps5: | ? |
| Goals5: | ? |
Roy Donald Summersby (19 March 1935 – 7 August 2016)[1] was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward. He appeared 275 times in the English Football League for Millwall, Crystal Palace, and Portsmouth, before moving into non-league football with Chelmsford City and Hillingdon Borough.[2]
Summersby began his playing career at Millwall, initially as a junior before signing as a professional in March 1952, but did not fully establish himself in the first team until 1957.[2] In December 1958,[1] he signed for Crystal Palace then playing in the Fourth Division in its inaugural season. He quickly became a first team regular and put together a sequence of 126 consecutive appearances, many of them alongside Johnny Byrne.[2] In October 1959, Summersby scored four goals in Crystal Palace's biggest-ever league win; a 9–0 home victory over Barrow.[3]
In the 1960–61 season, Palace achieved promotion to the third tier and Summersby was ever present, making 46 appearances, scoring 25 goals,[4] which is still (as of September 2014) the fourth highest seasonal goals total in Crystal Palace Post-War history. Only Byrne the same season (30), Andrew Johnson in 2003–04 (28) and Glenn Murray in 2012–13 (30) have scored more goals.[5] The next season, Summersby made 42 appearances, scoring eight times,[6] but in 1962–63 only appeared 17 times (in the first half of the season) and scored twice.[7] At the end of that season, in May 1963, he transferred to Portsmouth, rejoining former Palace manager George Smith.[2] However, after only 12 games for Portsmouth, over two seasons,[8] Summersby moved on to non–league football with Chelmsford City and later Hillingdon Borough.[2]
Summersby died on 7 August 2016, in Bury St Edmunds, aged 81.