DAVE WALSH, A BAGGIE

I love social media. I wasn't stuck for something to write about today but I hadn't made my mind up whether to blog about fires in football grounds, or overhead kicks or sacked managers, then from an Old Carthusian, Julian Hill (not a star footballer but decent and a very good golfer) I get on Facebook a nudge about Dave Walsh. Ever heard of him? Not me!

Now Arthur Rowley I have heard of since he was the highest goalscorer in League history scoring 434 goals in 619 games between 1946 and 1965, but only 4 for the Albion because he moved on!

Albion (WBA) fans will be mourning Dave Walsh's passing just before his 93rd birthday. Dave was part of the post War revival of the Baggies and the building of a team that blossomed in 1953-4. if you know your football history, then WBA won the FA Cup and were Division One runners up. Albion found themselves in the top part of the Division in the late 50s, 4th, 5th and 4th between 1957-8 and 1959-60. Overall he played 165 times for Albion scoring 94 goals, a terrific return.

Playing in Ireland for Linfield, Walsh scored 73 goals in the 1945-6 season and was spotted by the evergreen scout Fred Everiss. He was signed by director Claude Jephcott and started his career in 1946. Rather like Jamie Vardy, Dave had an eye for goal and scored in his first six matches.

Apparently, he was ready to go back home as he was suffering from persistent nose bleeds, due probably to the chemically infested air in the Bromwich area. The club moved his accommodation to Droitwich and all was solved.

In 1948/9 he scored 23 goals in 41 games in Division Two, with Albion missing the title by one place and one point to Fulham, but getting promotion. Walsh had missed a few sitters at Grimsby in the run in, on the Saturday which upset him but his excuse was that the lads had won promotion by beating Leicester in the midweek and had sunk a few celebratory jars on the Thursday night, so he wasn't at his prime best.

In the top Division he amassed 100 goals in 174 games and got tapped up by Aston Villa and he gave in on December 1950, moving down the road. A bad mistake! He scored 37 times in 108 appearances for the Villa.

Walsh played for both Northern and Southern Ireland and was in the first team (the Republic) to beat England on their own soil, at Goodison in 1949.

In retirement he ended up in Devon playing golf and was full of vitality even into his late years.