The club is sad to learn of the death at the weekend of our former centre forward Jimmy Lawton.

Jimmy, who was 76, made his debut for us in November 1961 after signing from Middlesbrough, and scored in his second game for us at Millwall in the old Fourth Division. He went on to score 71 goals in his 155 appearances over two spells.

His most fruitful season was season 1964-65, when he scored 25 league goals for us as we finished 17^th in the league that season, plus another three in the FA Cup and another in the League Cup. He scored twice in the 4-1 home win over Hartlepool in a second round FA Cup replay that set us up for a home third round FA Cup tie against Arsenal.

In season 1965-66, he scored in the great 2-1 home win over Swindon in the League Cup, and was transferred to Swindon soon after the game, with midfielder Alan Sproates and £8,000 coming to us in exchange. Manager Lol Morgan then used the money to sign Bobby Cummings from Newcastle United.

Jimmy stayed at Swindon for 18 months and then had a brief spell at Watford before he returned to Feethams in March 1968. Once again, he scored in his second game for us, this time in the 2-0 home win over Swansea.

However, he struggled with injuries in his second spell, and was forced to retire after 23 games, scoring five times.

The club would like to send its sincere condolences to his family.