Tributes pour in for former West Brom hero Graham Lovett
Tributes have been paid to former Albion FA Cup hero Graham Lovett, who has died at the age of 70 following a short illness.
Lovett played alongside Jeff Astle in the Baggies side that beat Everton in the 1968 Cup final at Wembley, where he successfully shackled Everton’s world class attacking left-back Ray Wilson.
After his retirement Lovett carved out a second career at the Express & Star, working for the newspaper’s advertising department for more than 14 years.
Former colleagues remember him as a fun-loving character who will be greatly missed.
Express & Star regional sales manager, Pete Hazel, said: “Everyone has been very sad and shocked to hear of Graham’s death.
“He was one the funniest people and one of the biggest characters you could ever meet. He was loved to bits.
“Graham is not only a legend with Albion fans, he is a legend with his former colleagues at the Express & Star.”
MNA print managing director Graeme Clifford remembers Lovett as ‘a great motivator of his staff and a big character across the company’.
“He had this uncanny knack of getting all of us to do things that we didn’t necessarily want to do, maybe because he was so sincere,” he added.
Lovett made 157 appearances for Albion, scoring nine goals, but saw his career hampered through injuries sustained off the pitch in two serious car crashes.
Joining the Baggies straight from school, wing-half Lovett his debut aged 17 in 1964.
He properly established himself in the Baggies team the following season, scoring four goals in 47 games.
His good form continued into the following campaign, but his season ended just before Christmas when a serious car accident left him in hospital with a broken neck and fears that he would never play again.
Lovett watched the 1967 FA Cup final in his hospital bed, but 12 months later he was at Wembley.
He was given the key role of marshalling Everton’s Wilson, as Albion recorded a 1-0 win to lift the cup through Astle’s famous strike.
The following summer he was involved in another car crash and suffered a collapsed lung, broken ribs and a broken thighbone.
Bravely he fought back again. But he couldn’t quite recapture his previous form. He was released in 1972.
He dropped into non-league and eventual retirement. After spells living abroad, Lovett returned to the UK and became a regular at The Hawthorns and at various club dinners and functions.
