IN the heart of the South Yorkshire coalfield, footballing gold was once produced.
Those who mined the precious commodity were Wolverhampton Wanderers, one of the most historically esteemed club names in England - and once famously referred to as 'champions of the world' for a spell in the mid-Fifties.
In that decade and the next couple, a conveyor belt of young footballers, with Yorkshire accents as opposed to Black Country ones, strode out at Molineux. Their stories would begin in the all-gold jersey of Wath Wanderers, as opposed to the ones worn by the Midlands giants.
It was all thanks to a prodigious Morley-born spotter of talent raised in Wath. An ex-Wolves winger, Mark Crook ran the acclaimed junior side on behalf of his old club in Brampton from 1938 until 1970, with the aim of developing players before sending them to Wolverhampton.
Bob Hatton. Picture courtesy of Shaun Colborn.placeholder image
Bob Hatton. Picture courtesy of Shaun Colborn.
Crook, who bought a fish and chip shop in Barnsley after retiring as a player, was a trailblazer. His Wath team were the first recognised nursery club in football and one worth 'its weight in gold' according to Stan Cullis, the managerial doyen of Molineux.
Edlington lad and England 1966 World Cup squad member Ron Flowers was the most famous discovery of Crook, who died in 1977.
He and another Crook 'find' in Roy Swinbourne were in the Wolves’ team that famously beat Ferenc Puskas’ Honved outfit in 1955.
There were scores of other Crook 'signings' from across the White Rose county, spanning many years.
Bob Hatton, pictured in his time at Sheffield United.placeholder image
Bob Hatton, pictured in his time at Sheffield United.
From Barnsley, there were the likes of Steve Daley - who once transferred for a British transfer record in 1979 - and Ken Knighton alongside Geoff Sidebottom, Joe Bonson and Jack Short.
'Honved Hero' Swinbourne was from Denaby Main as was Dave Galvin. Alan Sunderland - who famously scored a last-gasp FA Cup final winner for Arsenal in 1979 - hailed from nearby Conisbrough and Barry Stobart came from Doncaster.
Peter Knowles, Jimmy Seal and Paul Walker were among those brought up in present-day West Yorkshire, while Gerry Taylor and Bob Hatton were from Hull. Others were from further afield 'up north', with Crook's catchment area being vast.
As for the ones who got away? Well, Crook famously discovered Alan Ball, Bob Wilson and Terry Cooper and recommended the Charlton brothers - only for them to be rejected or lured away by other clubs.
Paul Walker. Picture courtesy of Shaun Colborn.placeholder image
Paul Walker. Picture courtesy of Shaun Colborn.
A plaque celebrating Crook’s achievements was unveiled at Cortonwood Miners’ Welfare, where Crook’s teams played, as recently as May 30.
Among those present was Hatton, a prolific striker idolised by Birmingham City fans in the 1970s and who also enjoyed considerable success with Carlisle, Blackpool, Luton and Sheffield United.
Hatton remains hugely grateful to the contribution of Crook on his career. He told The Yorkshire Post: "Me and Gerry Taylor used to go down together from Hull to Wath every Friday after work.
"I worked in a bakery and he worked on the fish dock. Mark used to put us up in very nice digs on Friday night and the lady of the house would do us fish and chips, bread and butter and a nice-home made cake. And then we were all ready to play the game on Saturday.
"Mark used to have to work hard to get talent as teams in Sheffield and Leeds used to get ‘first grabs’.
"He had a great memory. I played for Hull City boys as a 15-year-old and we used to play Sheffield Boys as a regular fixture and I recall Mark saying that he remembered seeing me play and was surprised I’d not been picked up. He said: ‘Come and play for us.’
"I’d played on the wing and Mark said Wolves had wingers coming out of their ears, but needed someone up front to score goals and he said he thought I could play there. I said: ‘I’ve never played there, but will have a go.’
"I played about 750 games and scored 250-odd goals in 19 years. Without Mark, I think I’d have been one of the people who would have fallen through the net and wouldn’t have had much of a career. It was all down to him.”
Walker, who featured for Wolves first-team briefly in the late 60s and early 70s, was another who could attest to the influence of Crook.
From the 1960s crop like Hatton, Walker recalled: "I played at Bradford Park Avenue as an amateur and I was coming off the pitch and Mark came on and said: ‘Here, young Walker, tha' shouldn’t be playing in this team. Se'ez me in t’car park after.’ And it all went from there.
"It used to take bloody ages to get to Wath as the M1 wasn’t there then. I damaged my dad’s car on the way there once.
"I remember Mark had a fish and chip shop and a beautiful Volvo and arranged for Wolves to come up and meet my mum and dad on Tuesday tea–time because that’s when my mum and dad closed our fish and chip shop in Headingley."
A book entitled 'Feeding The Wolves: The story of Mark Crook and Wath Wanderers', by Ashley Ball and Steve Penny along with Chris Brook, is now available to pre-order with profits donated to Brampton United JFC and the Wolves Foundation. Visit dondearneschoolfootball.wordpress.com/ for details.
Wath Wanderers produced over 100 footballers
'Super scout' Mark Crook’s Wath Wanderers - originally known as Brampton Welfare up to August 1943 - was an incredibly successful nursery club who had associations with over 100 professional footballers.
A number played for Wolves, but others forged Football League careers elsewhere. They included Cyril Knowles, Keith Burkinshaw, Kevin McHale, Billy Gray, Bobby Saxton and Steve Downes. Others to have spells professionally with Wolves included John Galley, Jim Barron, Jeff Wealands, Mick Kent and Jim McVeigh.
Wolves' 'Northern Intermediate League team were based at Wath. Wanderers also played in the Sheffield Association, Barnsley Intermediate and Mexborough Youth leagues.