Baggies to dedicate game to Jeff Astle
West Bromwich Albion today announced plans to dedicate a home game to club legend Jeff Astle to help his family in their bid for justice to raise awareness of head injuries in football.
The club have been holding monthly meetings during the close season with Jeff's widow Laraine and daughters Dawn and Claire, who launched the Justice for Jeff campaign earlier this year.
Mr Astle, nicknamed The King by supporters for his goalscoring exploits between 1964 and 1974, died in January 2002 from a degenerative brain disease.
The Baggies have agreed to dedicate a Hawthorns fixture in honor of the 1968 FA Cup hero.
The club has also announced that at every home game this term, a photo of Jeff will be displayed on The Hawthorns' big screens on nine minutes – Mr Astle wore the No.9 shirt – to kick-off the minute-long applause supporters have been staging since the Justice for Jeff campaign was launched in March.
Mr Astle's widow Laraine said: "We look forward to the game dedicated to Jeff and know everyone involved will make it a tremendous success."
Chairman Jeremy Peace said: " "The family have gone to extraordinary lengths to highlight the risks associated with head injuries in football. Their efforts are a fitting tribute to Jeff, who will always be a West Bromwich Albion legend."
Meanwhile, the club today confirmed the unveiling of a statue of club legend Tony 'Bomber' Brown will now take place during the first half of the 2014/15 season.
Foundation work for the statue, outside the main East Stand entrance, has already been completed and the club will announce a date for the unveiling as soon as it has been finalised.
