Product Description

It's the great pub debate. Who is West Brom's greatest cult hero? Jeff Astle, Bob Taylor, Willie Johnston, Darren Moore? Or is it one of the less obvious Baggies icons, such as Bob Roberts, Tommy 'Mighty Atom' Magee, John Osborne or Richard Sneekes? Author Simon Wright, former editor of "Grorty Dick" fanzine, has spent a year assessing who the 20 greatest heroes in Albion's history are, tracing the reasons for their rise to cult status and in the process rediscovered the heart and soul of West Bromich Albion FC. "West Brom's Cult Heroes" is the result of his efforts, and a plethora of researchers, including renowned Albion folk Terry Wills, Steve Carr, Laurie Rampling, Colin McKenzie, Dave Hewitt, Glynis Wright and Adrian Goldberg, who, along with many Baggies fans, have helped put together a fascinating and inspirational book. Along the way, Simon discovered the incredible stories of the goalscoring legend who stole his fans' beer, the forward who signed for Albion whilst serving in a First World War trench, the goalkeeper who accepted cigarettes from the crowd during matches and the winger with a penchant for streaking. Including chapters on players, such as Don Goodman, Ray Barlow, Cyrille Regis, Derek Kevan and Joe Kennedy, the book features fans' views, examines controversial talking points and raises a huge debate about who is the ultimate Albion Cult Hero. The research has unearthed a plethora of new stories about legends, such as Jeff Astle and Tony Brown, while never before published details on the careers of such early luminaries as Bob Roberts, Harold Bache, Tommy Magee, John Osborne and Billy Bassett feature heavily. There are also plenty of hitherto unpublished photographs and in Simon's efforts to leave no stone unturned in his quest to explain the iconic status of these 20 greats, the book even features a contribution by George Bush's speechwriter!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #137795 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
This tome is essential reading for fans of the Albion. --- Nathan Davies, The Association of Football Statisticians

Customer Reviews

Boing Boing Baggies Baggies
If you've been a baggies fan for a short or a long while then this book by Simon Wright (one of the prime movers of the now defunct fanzine "Grorty Dick") will be an invaluable addition to your library. Newer fans have the opportunity to look back over the clubs past and find out about the illustrious players who have graced us with their ability and skills. Older fans will probably remember a fair few of the Albion ex's that Simon has selected for this book. Any controversial choices or ommissions - I don't personally think so, but it's down to personal choice, so some of you may, understandably disagree. Most of my Heroes of the last 41 years are here and I welcomed the opportunity to find out about some the other players who have turned out over the previous 90 odd years or so, that I didn't have opportunity of seeing play. The real pleasure of this book comes simply from the memories it re-ignites - especially the 2 - 0 victory over Crystal Palace that saw the Baggies promoted to the Premier at the expense of near neighbours Wolves - and the goalscorers on that memoriable afternoon Super Bob Taylor (he was always better than Stevie Bull) and Darren "Big Dave" Moore are both featured.