Jeff Astle - Football Career

Football Career

Born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire (in the same street, or so he claimed, as D. H. Lawrence), Astle turned professional with Notts County F.C. when he was 17. His style was that of a classic centre forward; he was a protégé of the great Tommy Lawton. In 1964 he signed for West Brom for a fee of £25,000. Of his 174 goals for the Baggies, the most notable was probably the only goal in the 1968 FA Cup final, with which he completed the feat of scoring in every round of the competition.

Two years later, Astle scored in Albion's 2-1 defeat by Manchester City in the League Cup final, becoming the first player to score in the finals of both of the major English cup competitions at Wembley. He had already scored in the first leg of the 1966 League Cup Final four years previously, however that was at West Ham United's Boleyn Ground.

At the height of Astle's Albion career - some say on the evening of the 1968 FA Cup Final triumph - the words "ASTLE IS THE KING" appeared in large white letters on the brickwork of Primrose Bridge, which carries Cradley Road over a canal in Netherton, in the heart of the Black Country. The bridge quickly became known locally as "the Astle Bridge". When the council removed the letters, they re-appeared a few days later. Following Astle's death in 2002, a campaign was launched to have the bridge officially named in his honour, but this has so far been rejected over fears of vandal attacks by supporters of rival teams, as the area also has a high percentage of Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers fans.

In 1969–1970 Astle was the leading scorer in Division One with 25 goals. In 1970, he was called up to the England squad for the World Cup finals tournament in Mexico. He won the first of his five caps, as a substitute, when England were a goal down against eventual champions Brazil. Many English supporters will remember his missing a relatively easy scoring chance that could have turned the outcome of the tournament in England's favour. Astle himself, in his characteristic self-effacing way, would in later years turn this famous mistake into the punchline of a rather ribald anecdote.

In subsequent years his fitness deteriorated through repeated injuries, and in 1974 he left Albion to join the South African club Hellenic. His final bow came with a brief spell at the English non-league side Dunstable Town F.C., where he teamed up with the legendary former Manchester United star George Best.