The word legend is thrown around rather easily these days when it comes to sportsmen and women. I'm no stranger to this word and would consider the likes of Steven Gerrard and Sir Kenny Dalglish to be up there with some of Liverpool's greatest legends. Today, however, I'd like to talk about something much closer to home and two of my all-time heroes, my grandfather and my great uncle.
Recently, my grandfather, nicknamed Fred, sadly passed away at the age of 85 after a battle with cancer. Although I am deeply upset by this, I have been spending my time thinking about the life he lived and the things he achieved. Fred, a talented footballer, had trials at Manchester United when he was young. If it weren't for military service, my grandfather may have ended up in the history books at Old Trafford.
This is something I'd have struggled with as a Liverpool supporter, but nonetheless, I would have been extremely proud. Something that struck me about Fred is that he never tried to wind me up about the fact that I supported Liverpool. Modern Manchester United and Liverpool supporters can barely stand to be in the same room, which is funny because my housemate is a die-hard Manchester United fan, but he didn't care. He'd seen it all. Born in Manchester in 1933, Fred had watched Manchester United for decades before the successes of the modern era.
Fred was sent off to Egypt by the British military and it was there that things could have been so different. A fellow guardsman was playing around with a gun that accidentally fired and shot my grandfather through the head. Miraculously, Fred survived this by a couple of millimetres at best but would struggle for the rest of his life with dreadful headaches on a daily basis. Surviving something like that at 19 years of age must have taken a great toll on him, but he went on to have two children and three grandchildren. It's strange to think that I was a couple of millimetres away from not existing at all.
My grandfather has a sister who married a man called Willie, my great uncle. Willie was a talented goalkeeper from Scotland and played for Everton in the early 1960s. I know, yet another team that doesn't align with my love for Liverpool.
Willie would go on to make 216 appearances for Crewe Alexandra, and 161 appearances for Macclesfield Town, with stints at Altrincham and Winsford United. With 377 professional appearances under his belt, Willie had the football career that many can only dream of.
Sadly, my great uncle Willie passed away from a heart attack in 1992 at the young age of 49 and my great aunt has missed him deeply ever since, never remarrying. I am not sure of the specific details of his death, but sports stars back then didn't have the luxury of high-class doctors, trainers, and nutritionists like modern stars. In fact, many footballers smoked cigarettes and cigars and also liked to drink heavily after games.
As I sift through the football history of my family tree I feel a great sense of pride. These were men who played for the love of the game, not the millions of the modern game. Written into the history books, and forever my heart. Rest in peace.
Oh wow, that is a very nice story and the narration is excellent. UPVOTED! i would love for you to give feedback on one of my posts (the one on emerging talents at AJAX). i spent quite some time writing it, but it does not seem to click as your posts do. If you dont have the time, no worries, if you do, i'd be forever thankful.
Bests,
P.
I too would feel very proud that my family had played for football clubs, even ones who I see as big rivals.
And Uncle Willie played for my hometown team! I wonder if my late Granddad would have remembered him as he would attend weekly and likely during that period.
Lovely share, thanks for this :)
Oooh, which team?
Macclesfield Town.
I'm 40 and so he was a bit before my time but my granddad would have been 92 this year. Perhaps my Uncle was old enough, (62 this year) I'll have to ask.
Ah, good old Macclesfield. I have friends from there and spent most of my younger days growing up in Crewe. Small world, huh?
Very small. There aren't many Brits on Steem, < 100 on the last rough count!
Maybe if your grandfather had been a legend at Man United you could have been supporting them. Not saying you would have but it may have been a possibility. I don't particularly like them either, but would support them if family played for them until they transferred out. Your grandfather was lucky to be around and must have been terrible to live with such headaches all the time.
Haha, not a chance sir! Liverpool runs in my blood ;)
Wow.. That's some football in the family blood.