Jack Charlton – An obituary
Jack Charlton passed away yesterday at the age of 85. His is best known for being part of the England team who won the World Cup back in 1966, but he also had a successful career in management.
In his playing days, Jack was an imposing centre half, who was both feared and respected by opposing forwards. He played tough and battled hard, using strength and force over the course of his 21 years in the game to win 12 major honours for England and Leeds United.
Charlton spent his entire playing career at Elland Road, making 762 appearances for the Yorkshire club. He scored an impressive 95 times, a fantastic record for a defender.
He was capped 35 times by England and scored six goals, playing alongside Bobby Moore in the centre of England’s defence.
His brother Bobby played alongside Jack in the England team but played for Manchester United. He was one of the Busby Babes and survived the awful air crash in 1958. The footballing world took on Manchester United as their second team in the aftermath of the disaster that claimed eight of Bobby’s team mates.
Bobby scored 49 times for England, a record that stood for 45 years until Wayne Rooney overtook him and ended his international career with 53 goals to his name.
Bobby took the limelight, as his job on the field was to put the ball in the back of the net. Standing at an imposing 6 foot 3 inches tall, Jack was the perfect size to play as a centre back and so he made a living out of stopping opponents from scoring.
Charlton retired from playing in 1973 and soon took up the manager’s job at Middlesbrough, winning the Second Division title in his first season at Ayresome Park. He kept the club in the First Division for three season before resigning shortly before the end of the 1976/77 season.
Six months later, Charlton became manager of Sheffield Wednesday, then of the Third Division. He guided the Owls to the Third Division championship in the 1979/80 season before going back to Middlesbrough for a short spell. His last job in club management came at Newcastle United, where he spent a season in charge of the club near where he was born in Ashington.
In February 1986, he was offered the job of the Republic of Ireland manager and he would spend the next ten years in this role.
It was a hugely successful time as Charlton guided the Republic to the 1988 European Championships and the two World Cups. This was the first time that the country qualified for a major championship.
The Republic didn’t make it out of the group stage at Euro ’88, despite winning their opening game of the tournament against England.
They went on a great run at the 1990 World Cup, reaching the Quarter Final before losing by a single goal to hosts Italy.
At USA ’94, the Republic reached the Second Round before losing to Holland. The Dutch knocked Ireland out in a Play Off qualifier for Euro ’96 and Charlton resigned shortly after, staying that he had taken the squad as far as he could.
My Dad told me a great story of how Jack Charlton went into a bar in Ireland after the 1990 World Cup and bought everyone a drink. He paid for the round by cheque and told the landlord that it was the first round he had bought since coming home from the World Cup. The cheque was promptly framed and never cashed in as the landlord thought that it would be an amazing bit of memorabilia. He could tell visitors that it was his pub that Charlton decided to buy his first round after taking Ireland all the way to the Quarter Final. What a great way to not have to pay for a round of drinks!
One stand out memory that I have of Charlton is from his time in charge of the Republic of Ireland’s national team.
A large number of troublemakers had come across with the England fans to Lansdowne Road for a friendly between the two nations prior to Euro ’96. Midway through the first half, England were losing 1-0 thanks to a goal from Niall Quinn and the so-called ‘fans’ started ripping up sections of the Main Stand at Lansdowne Road and throwing missiles on to the home fans in the tier below.
Some of the fans from both teams went on to the pitch, the Irish to seek refuge from the falling missiles. Charlton had gone on to the pitch to restore order and was angrily trying to get rid of fans who had caused the game to be stopped due to the moronic England ‘fans’.
The sadness and frustration was evident in his eyes and he was also visibly angry as he walked on the pitch, confronting the hooligans. He jabbed his finger at them, firmly shouting “Go home!” at the England supporters, standing out due to his height and also with the flat cap that he was wearing!
His exasperation and embarrassment was all too apparent. He just wanted to see his Ireland team play against his home nation at a game of football and these moronic fans were spoiling it, not only for him, but for the country that he had adopted as if it were his own.
Jack Charlton is the sixth member of the 1966 World Cup winning team to pass away. Being part of that team made him a big name in English football, but it was he who brought the success and good times to the Republic of Ireland. No one will ever forget that and he will be sorely missed.
About Author
