I was saddened, earlier this week, to read that a boyhood hero of mine, Chris Nicholl, had passed away, aged seventy-seven.
Nicholl played for the Hatters during an era when my first real interest in football was awakened.
I can remember standing in the Bobbers Stand, face pressed against the two rails that topped the advertising hoardings, watching Chris play for Halifax Town, against Luton.
My late father reckoned the Hatters could do themselves a favour and sign the central defender and, lo and behold, a matter of days later, they did.
Chris was a non-nonsense defender who was destined for greater things and, much to my disappointment, he was sold to Aston Villa after making 97 league appearances for Luton and scoring 6 goals.
My affection for the Northern Ireland defender can be gauged by the fact that, during my tenure as editor of this site, I’ve already written two article about Chris, which can be accessed below:
Legends Series – Chris Nicholl and The Chris Nicholl Story
Although Chris left Luton Town, I still followed his progress and was absolutely delighted when he helped the Birmingham based club lift the league Cup with this cracking effort against Everton, in a replay of the original game, held at Old Trafford:
RIP – Chris Nicholl.
