John Tudor – All our best and keep on fighting | OneFootball

I can still remember an emotional man with voluminous blonde hair and sideburns running towards the massed Newcastle United hordes at the Hawthorns in 1974.

His head was tilted backwards and his mouth was wide open as he sucked in the acclaim, after his killer strike in our FA Cup 5th Round tie against West Brom.

Our fans were invading the pitch with scarves tied around their wrists as John Tudor eventually rested on his knees and thumped the air with clenched fists.

“Hallelujah John Tudor, John Tudor” rang out, as our alternative hero to Supermac took the centre stage.

I paid homage to John in an article over two years ago on The Mag.

Everyone loved John Tudor.

He was quiet, polite and didn’t mind playing the straight guy, running the proverbial and unselfish miles in his double act, playing up front with Supermac.

What was the point in having another ‘Jack the Lad’ in a team that had Jinky Smith, Terry Hibbitt and Macdonald, I think John would have reasoned back in the day.

Well folks, I have just received the sad news that our former hero John, who has been suffering from dementia, has now been admitted into full-time care.

His wife Anne has shared this devastating news with my brothers and friends.

I love John and went to watch him play in Len White’s belated testimonial in 1986.

I just missed out on Big Wyn Davies, but was privileged to witness the greatest header of a football in the the 1970s and he also played for Newcastle United.

John Tudor is now paying the price for his ultimate prowess, what was once viewed as an art form.