For Albion fans, indeed football fans everywhere, waking up on Saturday morning to the ‘numbing’ news of the very sad passing of former club captain Kevin Campbell, the weekend could not have got off to a more depressing start.
Kevin was enlisted by Albion’s management team of Bryan Robson and Nigel Pearson in Albion’s well documented survival campaign of 2005, famously dubbed the ‘Great Escape’.
As captain, Kevin headed the battle against the drop with his dressing room comradery which manifested itself in that final amazing day at The Hawthorns against Portsmouth in 2005, when the dream of survival was finally realised.
Tributes from all of his playing colleagues have flooded in and have shown what a hugely popular figure he was in that dressing room and although he made just 46 first team appearances scoring six goals, his commitment, contribution and influence was truly inspirational.
His passing after a short illness, at just 54 years of age, has left us all desperately saddened, and the Former Players Association sends it’s profound condolences to Kevin’s friends and family.
On a happier note, later on Saturday (15th June), on behalf of the club and the Association, Laurie Rampling presented cap number 342 to the family of William Bethwaite Elliott, better know as ‘Billy’ at the family home in Debenham, Suffolk, Billy’s Daughter Carol, widow of another Albion player Brian Wood, a junior player at The Hawthorns from 1957, receiving the cap on behalf of her family and indeed the ‘Albion family’.
Billy Elliott, scored 157 goals in an amazing 303 game career at The Hawthorns, that stretched from 1938 to 1951, when he finally retired. He was a pivotal member of the Albion promotion side of 1949, providing so many of the opportunities for Dave Walsh and Jack Haines.
Lest we forget gentlemen. Thankyou for the memories.