Former England and Middlesbrough star Wilf Mannion has died at the age of 81 after a prolonged illness.
Nicknamed "the Golden Boy" and described as arguably the best player in Middlesbrough's history, the inside-right scored 110 goals in 368 league and Cup appearances for Boro and was capped 26 times by his country, scoring 11 times.
Current Middlesbrough manager Bryan Robson led the tributes to a man who maintained an involvement with his home-town club to the end.
"It is a sad day for Middlesbrough Football Club," Robson said. "Wilf was a smashing bloke.
"He was always, right to the end, attending charity events and will be a sad loss to the area.
"When I was speaking to Bobby Charlton and Paddy Crerand when I was at Manchester United, they were schoolboys when he was playing and they spoke very highly of him.
"There were many great players around that time, and Wilf was certainly one of them."
Like Sir Stanley Matthews, who died in February, Mannion made little money from his career, but Robson said he was never bitter about the huge wages today's top stars can command.
"When I spoke to him, there was never any remorse about playing when he did," he said. Mannion joined Middlesbrough in September 1936 and made his debut the following year.
Just as he seemed set for a glittering career, World War II started and Mannion lost six seasons of top flight football. He nonetheless earned his first international recognition in 1941 when he played in an unofficial international between England and Scotland.
Once the league programme resumed for the 1946-47 season, Mannion was back in his rightful place in the Boro side. He earned his first official England cap against Scotland at Wembley in April 1947.
His 26 caps included playing in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. He also represented Great Britain in a famous 7-2 win over the Rest of Europe.
Mannion played for Middlesbrough until the age of 36, but later decided to play on for Hull City, Poole Town, King's Lynn, Haverhill Rovers and Earltown before finally drawing the curtain on his illustrious career, aged 44, in 1962.
