Jeff Astle

Infobox Football biography
playername = Jeff Astle


fullname = Jeffrey Astle
dateofbirth = birth date|1942|5|13|df=y
cityofbirth = Eastwood
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath = death date and age|2002|1|19|1942|5|13|df=y
height =
position = Forward
years = 1959–1964
1964–1974
1974
1974
1975–1976
1976–1977
1977
clubs = Notts County
West Bromwich Albion
Hellenic FC
Dunstable
Weymouth
Atherstone Town
→ Hillingdon Borough (loan)
Career
caps(goals) = 103 0(31)
292 (137)
00? 00(?)
00? 00(?)
00? 00(?)
00? 00(?)
00? 00(?)
395 (168)
nationalyears =
nationalteam = England
nationalcaps(goals) = 005 00(0)

Jeffrey (Jeff) Astle (13 May 1942 – 19 January 2002) was an English footballer. He played 361 games for West Bromwich Albion, scoring 174 goals, and was one of the most iconic players in the history of the club. He also won five caps for England, but did not score any goals.

He was an iconic figure among Albion fans, who nicknamed him 'The King'.

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 protegé of the great Tommy Lawton. In 1965 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 the height of Astle's Albion career - some say on the evening of the 1968 FA Cup Final triumph [http://westbromwichalbion.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=933&p=2&stid=8037680] - 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". 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 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. [cite web | title=English League Leading Goalscorers 1889-2007 | url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engtops.html | publisher=RSSSF | date=2007-06-14 | accessdate=2007-09-02] 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.

Retirement, death and legacy

After his retirement he launched an industrial cleaning business; latterly he also made TV comedy appearances with Frank Skinner and David Baddiel on "Fantasy Football League".

On 19 January, 2002 Astle collapsed at his daughter's home and was taken to Queen's Hospital Burton upon Trent, where he died, aged 59. [cite news
title=Former England star Astle dies
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1771021.stm
publisher=BBC News
date=2002-01-20
accessdate=2007-10-28] The cause of death was a degenerative brain disease; failing mental ability had first become apparent as much as five years earlier. He had been an exceptional header of the ball, and the coroner found that the repeated minor trauma had been the cause of his death. (It should be noted that the leather footballs used in Astle's playing days were considerably heavier than the plastic ones of today, especially when wet). A verdict of "death by industrial injury" was recorded.

On the day after his death, West Bromwich Albion held a minute's silence in honour of Astle, prior to their home match against Walsall. Albion striker Jason Roberts scored the only goal of the game and celebrated by removing his jersey to reveal a t-shirt bearing Astle's image. [cite news
title=Albion 1 Walsall 0 - FULL MATCH REPORT
url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~158510,00.html
publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.
date=2002-01-20
accessdate=2008-05-21]

His funeral in Derbyshire was attended by hundreds of football fans. [cite news
title=Fond farewell for football hero
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1790990.stm
publisher=BBC News
date=2002-01-30
accessdate=2007-10-28] Fantasy Football League returned for a number of special editions after Astle's death; the first program being preceded by a minutes silence, in the style of those held at football matches. In November 2002, Astle's widow Lorraine said that she would take legal action over his death. [cite news
title=Widow to sue over Astle's death
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2502421.stm
publisher=BBC News
date=2002-11-22
accessdate=2007-10-28]

Astle had been worshipped as a hero by the Albion fans, who would often sing (to the tune of "Camptown Races"):"Astle is the king, Astle is the king, the Brummie Roaders sing this song, Astle is the king".The chant is still heard at The Hawthorns to this day. Following his death, a campaign was launched to fund a set of gates dedicated to his memory at the ground (see picture above). The gates, which are situated on the Birmingham Road, close to the Woodman Corner, were unveiled on 11 July 2003. [cite web
date=2003-07-11
url=http://www.baggies.com/gallery/?gallery=3
title=Astle Gates
publisher=BOING
accessdate=2007-08-07] In April 2003 Astle came the first person to have a Midland Metro tram named after him. [cite news
title=Tram named for Baggies hero
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/2928427.stm
publisher=BBC News
date=2003-04-08
accessdate=2007-10-28] [cite news
title=Comic unveils Astle tram
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/2942197.stm
publisher=BBC News
date=2003-04-12
accessdate=2007-10-28]

In 2004 he was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations. [cite news
date=2004-08-04
url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~547701,00.html
title=The wraps come off 125th anniversary mural
publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.
accessdate=2008-04-27] Astle was also voted as one of Albion's five "FA Cup heroes", receiving the most votes for a striker in the poll organised by the club's official website in 2006. [cite news
date=2006-02-18
url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~783625,00.html
title=Albion's all-time FA Cup heroes
publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.
accessdate=2008-04-27]

References

Bibliography

*Astle, J (ed. Philip Osborn) (1970) "Striker!" ISBN 0-7207-0106-6
*Willmore, G and Homer, J (2002) "King of the Hawthorns: The Jeff Astle Story" ISBN 0-9534626-5-X

External links

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,636739,00.html Obituary from "The Guardian"]
* [http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1257582002 Report on coroner's verdict]
* [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2002/story/0,11031,738570,00.html Brazil "v." England retrospective]
*FIFA player|45887|Jeff Astle
* [http://www.englandstats.com/playerreport.php?pid=33 Englandstats.com profile]

Persondata
NAME=Astle, Jeff
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=English footballer
DATE OF BIRTH=13 May 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH=Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England
DATE OF DEATH=19 January 2002
PLACE OF DEATH=Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England