Page 14 - Oundle Life April 2022

POSH LEGEND
On the wing...
disease
Tommy Robson, was dubbed “Sir Tommy” by fans of Peterborough United after becoming probably the greatest Posh ‘Legend’. His illustrious career saw him playing in the old First Division (now the Premier League) before he took a step down, to join Fourth Division Posh, in 1968.
Tommy fell in love with Peterborough and
in 13 seasons at London Road, he won the Fourth Division championship title and made an all-time record 559 appearances, he also scored an incredible 128 goals. He was twice voted ‘Player of the Season’. When Tommy finally left Posh at 37 years of age, he played non-league football at Stamford. Tommy’s
Posh connection continued for over 50 years and he had spells as manager of the youth team, he was part of the commentary team
on BBC local radio, he set up the ‘Posh Legends’ - a team of ex-players who raised money for local charities and he was a sponsors’ matchday host giving guided-
tours of the London Road ground. He did
all this in addition to his ‘daytime’ time jobs. Tommy became the first inductee into the ‘Posh Hall of Fame’ and was also later awarded the high honour of the ‘Freedom of the City of Peterborough’.
In 2019, following the devastating news
that, Tommy had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, Posh fans Dene Butler and Ray Cole, approached Tommy to ask if he would be interested in writing a book, in which he could tell the many stories and anecdotes, for which he was well-known. Whenever Tommy was in front of an audience, he had a never- ending supply of hilarious football-related tales. The resulting book, ‘Tommy Robson On The Wing’ tells Tommy’s story from childhood, through his football career and his life after he hung up his boots. It also features some rarely- seen photographs from Tommy’s personal albums.
Tommy fought his battle with this horrible
with the same tenacity that he
always showed on the pitch, but he always knew he was fighting a losing battle and in October 2020, Tommy sadly died.
It quickly emerged that a such a ‘legend’, deserved a lasting memorial, in the form of a life-size bronze statue, to stand alongside that of his great friend Chris Turner. So, with the support of the Posh Supporters Trust it was decided to go ahead with publishing the book and donate all profits to the Tommy Robson Statue Fund and the MND Association.
Peterborough United agreed to stock and sell the book for free. It is available from the Posh Club Shop or online at www.theposhonlinestore.com
at £9.99 (plus p&p where applicable).
It is also available on eBay or you can email inposhwetrust@gmail.com to order a copy.
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