Legend honoured by commemorative envelope to mark 50th anniversary of Albion debut
TONY ‘Bomber’ Brown has been given the seal of approval by Sandwell’s Mayor.
The Albion legend will feature on a limited edition commemorative envelope to mark the 50th anniversary of his Baggies debut.
Known as a First Day Cover, it is due to be issued tomorrow – half a century to the day he lined up for Albion at Ipswich.
Mayor of Sandwell, Councillor Linda Horton, was on hand to congratulate ‘Bomber’ on his honour when he visited Sandwell Council House in Oldbury on Tuesday.
She said: “As a Baggies fan I am very pleased that Tony Brown, who is a Freeman of the Borough of Sandwell, is being honoured in this way and particularly delighted that the postmark on the envelope will be West Bromwich.”
Brown added: “It is smashing.
“I think it looks superb and am very grateful that it has been released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of my debut.
“All the proceeds will go towards The Celebration statue which is a fantastic cause.”
Tony scored on his debut which was a 2-1 victory against the Tractor Boys.
His captain that day was Graham Williams, who joined him at Sandwell Council House to meet the mayor.
Bomber went on to score a record breaking 279 goals in 720 games for the Baggies.
All proceeds raised from the sale of the First Day Covers will go towards The Celebration statue which will mark the achievements of Cyrille Regis, Brendon Batson and Laurie Cunningham. The trio blazed a trail for future generations of black players in English football when they stared for the Baggies in the late 1970s.
There will be a run of 75 first edition envelopes signed by Bomber and teammates Graham Williams, Stan Jones and Alec Jackson – who played alongside him on his debut.
A run of 75 second edition envelopes will be personally signed by Bomber and his former Albion team-mate Bryan Robson, whose official Royal Mail Stamp will be included on all envelopes.
The Celebration Statue project is being lead by Black Country businessman Jim Cadman.
To find out more visit www.celebrationstatue1979.com or call Jim on 07971 624627.