Jeff Astle
Long live the King
| Full name: | Jeffrey Astle |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: | May 13th 1942 |
| Date of death: | January 19th 2002 |
| Clubs played for: | Notts County, West Brom |
Club Career
Astle is probably the most popular player to have ever donned the West Brom jersey. After signing for £25,000 from Notts County, the powerful centre-forward broke numerous scoring records in a memorable decade at the club, helped his side reach three major domestic cup finals and became the First Division's top marksman in the 1969-70 season.
Injuries eventually took their toll on the combative striker, who moved to South African side Hellenic before teaming up with George Best for a brief stint at Dunstable Town. Spells at Weymouth, Atherstone Town and Hillingdon Borough brought his career to a close.
Club Stats
| Years | Clubs | App | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959-64 | Notts County | 103 | 31 |
| 1964-74 | West Brom | 292 | 137 |
International Career
Astle will always be remembered for missing a sitter in the 1-0 defeat to Brazil at the 1970 World Cup but he was rewarded for an otherwise impressive all-round performance in Guadalajara with a place in the line-up for the following group match - a 1-0 win against Czechoslovakia. Astle, however, won only three other caps and the only goal he scored for his country - against Wales - was disallowed.
International Career Stats
| Years | Clubs | App | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-70 | England | 5 | 0 |
Key Games
West Brom 1-0 Everton (FA Cup final, May 18, 1986)
Astle had scored in every round of the Baggies' unexpected march to Wembley and it seemed as though his sequence had ended when it most mattered as this match ended goalless after 90 minutes. However, just three minutes into extra-time, the King struck again to square the circle and clinch the Cup for West Brom.
West Brom 1-2 Manchester City (League Cup final, March 7, 1970)
Astle made history when he scored the opening goal against Manchester City after just five minutes. He had already scored at Upton Park in the first leg of the same competition four years earlier but this goal saw him become the first player to score in the finals of both of the major English cup competitions at Wembley. Unfortunately for West Brom, though, Mike Doyle equalised for City and Glyn Pardoe grabbed the winner in extra time.
England 0-1 Brazil (World Cup group match, June 7, 1970)
Sir Alf Ramsey's men had just gone 1-0 down to Jairzinho's strike when Astle and Colin Bell came on for Francis Lee and Bobby Charlton respectively, charged with turning England's fortunes around. Though Astle's aerial power wreaked havoc in the Brazilian back line and he immediately set up a chance which Alan Ball mis-cued, Astle would be remembered for infamously missing an open goal from close range, which could have changed the course of events in Mexico.
Honours
| Club | Competition | Year |
|---|---|---|
| West Brom | League Cup | 1966 |
| FA Cup | 1968 |
Did You Know...?
Astle was born in the same street as the author D H Lawrence.
The Astle Gates at the Hawthorns were unveiled in his honour in 2003.
Astle died of a degenerative brain disease, which the coroner found to have been caused by the repeated heading of footballs.
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