Jeff ASTLE

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. [edit]Retirement, death and legacy The Astle Gates at the Hawthorns After his retirement Astle launched an industrial cleaning business, working around the Burton upon Trent area; 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.

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, as the leather footballs used in Astle's playing days were considerably heavier than the plastic ones of today, especially when wet. This was not the first case of a footballer's illness or death (particularly in the form of Alzheimer's or dementia type symptoms) being connected to heading old fashioned footballs, a notable example being the former Tottenham Hotspur captain Danny Blanchflower who died of Alzheimer's disease in December 1993.

A verdict of death by industrial injury was recorded.

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                               JEFF ASTLE'S ENGLAND FOOTBALL CAREER.

An absolute hero to West Bromwich Albion fans, and yet Jeff Astle's international standing generally boils down to underachievement, a glut of equally deserving goalscorers making their case, and one infamous miss at the 1970 World Cup. Astle was a few days' shy of his 27th birthday when Alf Ramsey, having lost Jimmy Greaves and Roger Hunt to a mixture of disagreement, shattered confidence and ageing, began his search for burgeoning strikers who could clinch a bench place in the World Cup squad a year later. Astle played in the 2-1 win over Wales  and was then shunted aside for six months as England went on a friendly tour of the Americas, a year before they'd return for the main event, and Astle was not picked. He returned, thanks to his phenomenal Albion form, for the last England game of the 1960s - a 1-0 win over Portugal at Wembley in December 1969 - and stuck around with little hope of more than a cursory squad place and a chance to turn a game as a sub. Geoff Hurst, Francis Lee, Peter Osgood and a certain Bobby Charlton were all ahead of him in the rankings by the time Ramsey announced his squad for Mexico.