Glyn James: My Champagne Blackpool moment with Jimmy Armfield

They played together in the famous Tangerine strip for many years but one Champagne moment will always be Glyn James' lasting memory of Jimmy Armfield as the town mourns the loss of the Blackpool legend.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Jan 2018, 12:59 GMT
Updated 23rd Jan 2018, 13:05 GMT
Blackpool team from 1970Blackpool team from 1970
Blackpool team from 1970

James took over the captaincy from Armfield on his retirement in 1971, after they had played together for 11 years.The highlight of that time was the 1969-70 promotion season, when they also relegated local rivals Preston North End in the process of returning to the top-flight.And it was a moment in the 3-0 win over North End at Deepdale on April 13 1970 that first springs to the mind of James, 76, when asked for his memories of Armfield.Fred Pickering scored a hat-trick but Welshman James remembers Armfield calling for the Champagne to be opened on that April day.James, like Armfield a one-club man, said: “The one that sticks in my mind is the night we beat Preston at Preston to win promotion back to what was the first division and it relegated Preston ... not that I’m rubbing that in!“But we were winning 3-0 and with about 10 minutes to go Jim, who was 100 per cent professional, shouted across to get the Champagne opened!”But most of all James remembers the man, not the footballer, as he paid tribute to England World Cup winner Armfield. The Walses international said: “It is very sad, isn’t it? It doesn’t seem two minutes since I went to his 80th birthday party at the Tower.“Apart from being a wonderful player he was a really nice guy as well and I was glad to play with him for all those years.“He meant an awful lot (to the town), playing over 600 games and he was very popular.“In every game he was all heart. You only had the best efforts off Jim.“I came to Blackpool straight from school and I finished at Blackpool, the same as Jim.“My first game was against Preston 1960 but it was about 1962 before I became a regular.“I took over the captaincy from Jim when he left in 1971 and I played for another three seasons.“Following him, I was the most experienced in the team. He taught everybody a lot by his discipline, including myself.“Above all, he was a great guy and a good player. He did everything – he was the captain of England and captain of Blackpool. What more could you ask for?”

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