The Forgotten Man !

[Rev]

Amazing stuff @loweman2, and even better that you do it for no other motive than to make other Rams both happy and aware.

You deserve a medal yourself mate, for both keeping memories alive and showing what can be done if you get off your bum and try.

C'mon now Mel, get this stuff into a permanent display so we can all look at it, while making Loweman official club curator.

[loweman2]

24 minutes ago, reveldevil said:

Amazing stuff @loweman2, and even better that you do it for no other motive than to make other Rams both happy and aware.

You deserve a medal yourself mate, for both keeping memories alive and showing what can be done if you get off your bum and try.

C'mon now Mel, get this stuff into a permanent display so we can all look at it, while making Loweman official club curator.

Love that mate thank you ?

[Philmycock]

2 hours ago, loweman2 said:

As always guys thanks for all of the positive messages, it is such a shame that he couldn’t have been presented it by his captain at the time on the pitch at the first game of the season as planned but something litigious got in the way and spoiled it but just seeing Jim’s face when I handed it to him was well worth it.

he still works tirelessly now trying to put together a legal case for footballers who have been diagnosed with dementia, he has been working on it for 13 years and studied for a PhD to assist him in his research.

a top top man !

it was Jim who gave me the battered old ball from the 1968 league cup 3rd round replay versus Chelsea which in turn had been presented to him by his then captain Dave Mackay for being the man of the match, it was that game that started the Clough journey real, the night the Baseball Ground shook !

so a favour for a favour !

You know that room next to the Joseph Wright collection at Derby museum? Or better still, the extension to the East Stand? Your collection needs to be seen!

[Duracell]

This is the single best thing I’ve ever read on here. Fantastic.

I know it’s exciting with Marriott signing, but come on - a Derby player was given a medal for being a champion of England today! That’s the big news!

That’s a very special thing you’ve done, @loweman2. The Rolls Royce issues you spoke of left my grandad without a job and that side of the family never properly recovered from it. Those Derby sides came at a time in my dad’s life when he really needed it and I wish I could one day talk about Rams players the way he talks about some of those names. He’s not on here but I’ll be showing him this thread and I know it will stir up some emotions.

Really hope a few more of my generation visit this thread and appreciate history has been both made and rightfully completed this week. Doesn’t matter whether we were alive at he time or not.

Edited July 26, 2018 by Duracell

[BucksRam]

No words other than brilliant...just brilliant. 

[Ambitious]

Amazing. Truly amazing! 

I'd personally never heard of this guy until I started reading this thread & now I'm absolutely beyond words delighted that the injustice he must have felt 46* years ago has now been corrected. 

Brilliant! 

[loweman2]

34 minutes ago, Duracell said:

This is the single best thing I’ve ever read on here. Fantastic.

I know it’s exciting with Marriott signing, but come on - a Derby player was given a medal for being a champion of England today! That’s the big news!

That’s a very special thing you’ve done, @loweman2. The Rolls Royce issues you spoke of left my grandad without a job and that side of the family never properly recovered from it. Those Derby sides came at a time in my dad’s life when he really needed it and I wish I could one day talk about Rams players the way he talks about some of those names. He’s not on here but I’ll be showing him this thread and I know it will stir up some emotions.

Really hope a few more of my generation visit this thread and appreciate history has been both made and rightfully completed this week. Doesn’t matter whether we were alive at he time or not.

Excellent @Duracell, that’s just the reason I post this stuff, I admit that I do it for my dad, they are his heroes not mine the same as your grandad, when they were going through tough times personally their little old team from the town of Derby was the best team in the land and gave them something to feel great about, they had duck all money in their pockets but they shared their love and support of Derby County who had done nothing since 1946 ! 

These guys have become my footballing heroes since meeting them all, Roy McFarland said that aswell as teaching them how to play football he taught them to respect others and none more so than your own family, he made them take flowers home to their mums and he taught them how to act like gentlemen both on and off the pitch and to a man  that has stayed with them all ! 

We cant forget these men, we look at them now and see a collective of seventy something year olds but go back fifty years and they were about to become the cream of British football !

ive met hundreds of Derby players and I have got to say with every passing generation the passion for Derby County becomes a little less evident, nowadays it’s just a fantastic job open to the very few and all about money, in the seventies it was all about being the best, getting called up for your country and just daring to believe that you could be a champion ! Nothing about money or cars or big houses or the fittest girl friend, just being a winner within a band of brothers that stayed together and did it not once but twice for eight of them !

 

[Steve Bloomer's Washing]

This is great @loweman2 - these glory days were before my time but what you've done is a tremendous effort and truly commendable.

Apols if it's been asked already, but have you told the Derby Tel about this? They could/should make a big piece out of it.

[AndyinLiverpool]

That lawn's taken a bit of a hammering, hasn't it?

[GlastoEls]

18 minutes ago, Steve Bloomer's Washing said:

This is great @loweman2 - these glory days were before my time but what you've done is a tremendous effort and truly commendable.

Apols if it's been asked already, but have you told the Derby Tel about this? They could/should make a big piece out of it.

Podcast guest?

[Steve Bloomer's Washing]

4 minutes ago, GlastoEls said:

Podcast guest?

For sure! 

[loweman2]

8 hours ago, Steve Bloomer's Washing said:

This is great @loweman2 - these glory days were before my time but what you've done is a tremendous effort and truly commendable.

Apols if it's been asked already, but have you told the Derby Tel about this? They could/should make a big piece out of it.

i haven't approached the DET as im a little uncertain of just what the club is worried about if it is shown to publicly get behind the award to Jim, its all a bit mysterious ! they have assured me that all will become clearer in the forthcoming weeks !

though they are quite happy for me to place posts on here and facebook etc, Paul Tyrell the derby county head of communications actually rang me to discuss it.

Edited July 27, 2018 by loweman2

[angieram]

That story and your efforts to right a wrong are truly inspirational @loweman2. ?????

And well done to Jim Walker for his patience and being environmentally friendly and not watering his lawn!

[Gritstone Ram]

6 minutes ago, angieram said:

That story and your efforts to right a wrong are truly inspirational @loweman2. ?????

And well done to Jim Walker for his patience and being environmentally friendly and not watering his lawn!

I bet he's on a meter.

[Day]

1 hour ago, loweman2 said:

though they are quite happy for me to place posts on here and facebook etc, Paul Tyrell the derby county head of communications actually rang me to discuss it.

Gave it a push on Twitter this morning for you, hope thats alright, didn't realise you had on your own account, would have just retweeted that. Wasn't following you with the dcfcfans account and barely looked at my own personal one recently. 

[loweman2]

15 minutes ago, David said:

Gave it a push on Twitter this morning for you, hope thats alright, didn't realise you had on your own account, would have just retweeted that. Wasn't following you with the dcfcfans account and barely looked at my own personal one recently. 

That’s great Dave thanks bud, it all helps getting the message out, especially as the club are not advertising the fact ( all a bit bizzare), keep up the good work ?

[loweman2]

wow just had a phone call from Colin Todd to say well done on the Jim Medal, spent twenty five minutes chatting about stuff, some relevant to Derby and some not such as he had just made a cup of tea and was waiting for the man from British gas to come round to service the boiler !!

top man Toddy !

[CROSSWORD]

Absolutely blown away by all this,really top notch loweman2 you have my total respect.

My first away game was at Bolton Wanderers and Jim beat four guys before cracking in the winner with his only foot,the left one.

Still remember my older pal grabbing hold of me before i could jump up,we were in the home crowd end,wasnt to bright back then.

Well done again tho made my day sir.

[loweman2]

24 minutes ago, CROSSWORD said:

Absolutely blown away by all this,really top notch loweman2 you have my total respect.

My first away game was at Bolton Wanderers and Jim beat four guys before cracking in the winner with his only foot,the left one.

Still remember my older pal grabbing hold of me before i could jump up,we were in the home crowd end,wasnt to bright back then.

Well done again tho made my day sir.

fantastic @CROSSWORD, great to see that the old grey matter is stirred a little by some of my posts ! funny about the left foot, when we went up last week Jim was taking shots at my lad (who is 8) and he was smashing the ball at him with the same left foot but perhaps just a bit less gusto !!! from the response on here and twitter he was a well liked player and he really is nice guy still today !

Edited August 2, 2018 by loweman2

[ronnieronalde]

On 26/07/2018 at 15:58, loweman2 said:

Jim Walker the forgotten man

As many of you know I have been for the last 18 months meeting up with the old brigade, the proper DCFC legends, the ones that put us on the map in footballing terms, the ones that made us the best team in England and got us to the European Cup semi finals, the teams of 71/72 and 74/75.

It started off as way to spend time with my Dad who was a bit lost after the loss of my mum, he is a season ticket holder now and was back in the day so I started off out on a journey that has lead us to meet most of them, one of them remains elusive and one didn’t wish to participate.

All of them have been fantastic, eager to tell stories of the great Brian Clough and the amazing fortunes of Derby County who in those bleak years of three day weeks, power blackouts, strikes and Rolls Royce nearly going under taking thousands of local jobs with it gave the people of Derby something to be proud of.

Upon meeting one of those legends, Jim Walker I was particularly struck by how at peace he was with the world, very relaxed, very friendly and by far the best story teller of them all.

Jim had not long ago lost his wife to illness so immediately him and my dad had something in common other than the love of football, he made us very welcome and gave us an open invite to go round when ever to continue with the tales.

Now most people may remember Jim as the guy who was signed by Clough & Taylor from non league football to play for Derby County and was a major part of the team that won promotion from division two in 1968/69.

He lost his place in the team to John Mcgovern but captained the reserves and stepped in when required to cover injuries of suspensions, this meant that he played only a few games in the 1971/72 season but it was his goal in a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace in late march that gave Derby both points and if you remember we won the league and finished first above dirty Leeds who were just one point behind and had a greater goal difference, so in effect Jim scored the goal that won us the First Division Championship.

Aswell as a footballer Jim is probably better known as the Aston Villa physio, he was there for around twenty years and served under many managers including Graham Taylor, Ron Atkinson, Brian Little and John Gregory, he was also the man charged with looking after Paul McGrath for many years both on and off the pitch and is spoken of in very high regard in Pauls autobiography.

He had a private practice at the Belfry for the golfers and was also the go to man at the NEC when any pop stars suffered an injury or needed attention from a physio, he worked with George Michael, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Michael Hutchence and Kylie to name a few hence him having so many fantastic stories.

Jim has also had illnesses this however does not dampen his spirit or take a smile from his face.

One thing that I was amazed to hear that Jim did not receive a medal for winning the league title despite being only one of sixteen players in that 71/72 season to have donned the shirt and scoring such a valuable goal.

When ever you see the pictures of the team celebrating and holding up their medals jim does not have one.

I approached Andy Ellis the club historian and the writer of many Derby County books and the fount of all knowledge and he confirmed it.

So we the approached the club and asked if they would support an application to Gordon Taylor of the PFA to ask if he would inturn support an application to the football league to present Jim with the medal that he should have received 46 years ago.

The club agreed and they sent the letter to Gordon Taylor who gave it his blessing and the approach was then made to the football league, this was back in February this year after the ball was started rolling in June of 2017 so it took a while.

I am delighted to say that the agreement was given and Derby County approached the very same jewellers who had made the original ones to make one for Jim, to the exact specifications of the original medals and in the same box and made from 9ct gold with all of the hall marks.

For some reason the club at this time can not be seen to publicly present Jim with the medal which is a great sadness as I thought that he was going to be able to step out on the pitch at Pride Park on the opening home game against Leeds (quite fitting as he stopped them winning the league with his goal), it is a litigious matter so I will comment no further other than to say that they did everything that they could.

So to wrap up the story I had the great honour of going to Jims house today with my dad and my son and presenting him with his long overdue medal, he had no idea that it was coming and to say that he was over whelmed is an understatement.

It was great to see his face and to have the privilege to do something like that, I had the medal at my house for a while but obviously didn’t want to post any pictures until now as it was a secret.

Not very often that you get to present a league championship winning medal on behalf of Derby County and to one of the few from those great days and can be called the legends.

We are hoping that Jim will still be able to have amore public presentation at sometime in the season at Pride Park when what ever issues are resolved.

Up the Rams !!

 

I only read the first post of the thread, I'm sure the next few pages of comments will rightfully be glowing but I wanted to add my two pennetjh worth.

 

What a wonderful and beautiful thing you've done, to see it through to the end and actually get him his medal is superb and somerhing you should be very proud of doing.

Fair play to the decision makers as well.

Lovely story.