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Bobby Hope has passed away, aged 78.
In my mind - and most others' - he was the best Albion player of the 60s (and most other decades), an absolute gem to watch, no exaggeration.
Jeff will give him a big welcome.
He should do, as he created half of his goals. An absolute gentleman on and off the pitch, and we'll struggle to see a better skill down The Hawthorns.
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Totally agree with talksaft and Drewks. I saw my first match in 1962 and whilst those early years had goal scorers like Kevan, Astle and Brown, it was Bobby Hope who, for me, was the complete player. Drop the ball on a sixpence with either foot, never seemed hurried but never seemed to misplace a pass. Bill Shankly once said that to stop Albion, you had to stop Bobby Hope, and he was absolutely right. One of the greatest players I’ve ever seen in a Baggies shirt. Just magnificent.
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Oh dear.
A truly wonderful player who never got the recognition he deserved north of the border.
People rightly praise the contributions of 'The King' and 'Bomber' but this lad was the engine room of Albion's 60's team.
I remember him chipping golf style a ball down the left wing for 'Chippy' to run on to. The opposition full back like me thought 'too hard that's a goal kick'. But Bobby had put so much back spin on it it stopped dead after first bounce.
A very sad day and I would just like to wish Bobby's family my sincere condolences on their sad loss.
R.I.P Bobby on your reunion with the King.
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Bill Shankley paid him several compliments including :-
"He can pass the ball on a sixpence"
"Stop Bobby Hope and you stop WBA"
RIP Bobby you were indeed one of our Legends.
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Younger readers should also realise that he made his debut, and was a regular, as a 16 y-o.
And he commanded every game, outplaying Alan Ball/Bobby Charlton etc, and I don't recall him ever having a bad game. At his peak he was still only 23/24/25.
Why Scotland preferred Jim Baxter, or whoever, was a total mystery. He only got 7 Caps - it didn't make any sense.
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(13-06-2022, 09:14)talkSAFT Wrote: Younger readers should also realise that he made his debut, and was a regular, as a 16 y-o.
And he commanded every game, outplaying Alan Ball/Bobby Charlton etc, and I don't recall him ever having a bad game. At his peak he was still only 23/24/25.
Why Scotland preferred Jim Baxter, or whoever, was a total mystery. He only got 7 Caps - it didn't make any sense.
To some extent in those days if you played south of the border in an English league you just weren't considered by the Scottish FA. That began to change when the likes of Dennis Law moved south and the Scots realised that most of their best players had gone to England which left them with a much weakened team.
In fact, until fairly recently, Bobby Hope was credited with only 2 caps for Scotland but the Scottish FA have I think now included some appearances in friendly's as worthy of a cap. Even so, considering the wonderful talent that he was, his number of caps for Scotland just doesn't do him justice.
Some days I'm top dog, most days I'm just the lamp post.
