My first ever Albion match - Anybody else there?

[mickd1961]

The first FA cup final I can remember as a kid was in 1968 Albion v Everton .

I remember asking my old man who he thought would win and he said Everton so I shouted for Albion as you do as a 6 year old lad .

After the game we replayed it in our small back garden and I was Jeff Astle , he had an old trophy in the shed for something or other and I ran round the garden with it celebrating like the Albion players had done .

We once were walking towards the away turnstiles at the Hawthorns , probably late 80's .

Driving past us was the man himself Jeff Astle in a white escort van , the only reason I knew it was him was because it has the name of his business on the side of it , could have been a cleaning business or something like that .

I thought even though I'm not an Albion fan you've no idea that you were my first football hero and I thought about shaking his hand and telling him but I bottled it for some reason .

Amazing the early impressions football has on you from such a young age .

I reckon if my old man wasn't such a Barnsley fanatic and took me to Oakwell I reckon I could easily have been an Albion fan .

Astle had a window cleaning round.

Unbelievable Jeff!

[animallittle3]

Astle had a window cleaning round.

Unbelievable Jeff!

I thought it was something like that Mick , defiantly late 80's because I remember we were stood up on those terraces probably exactly where the away fans sit today .

[soulman101]

Astle had a window cleaning round.

Unbelievable Jeff!

On Jeffs van it said I never miss the corners

[soulman101]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-eng...ngham-29127835

[Dubbag]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-eng...ngham-29127835

That is just crazy. This guy was before my time but heard so much about him.
Breaks my heart to see players like that, who after a playing career had to then think about getting a job to pay the bills.
This clip makes me even madder with the amount of money that circulates in the top 1% of clubs.
Think an 18 year old probably made more in two years then Geoff did in his whole life in football on today's money.
Quite sad really but such is the value we give to things today.