Baggies great Barlow dead at 85

14 March 2012 14:17

West Bromwich Albion paid tribute Wednesday to club great Ray Barlow following his death aged 85 on Tuesday.

Barlow, a left half, joined the Baggies as an 18 year old in 1944 and went on to make 482 appearances for the Midlands club, although he was capped just once by England.

He was the last surviving member of the Baggies team that won the 1954 FA Cup final, beating Preston 3-2, and in 2004 was named as one of West Brom's 16 greatest players in a poll organised to mark the club's 125th anniversary.

A statement on Albion's website said: "The great Ray Barlow stands at the pinnacle of the club's story, one of a handful of truly world-class footballers that Albion have produced over 130 years and more of existence.

"Ray Barlow will forever be a cornerstone of the football club, one of its true legends, one of the foundations upon which Albion are built. We will never see his like again. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."

Source: AFP