Len Shackleton never won a thing—not a League Championship medal, not an FA Cup medal, not even a medal for topping the old Second Division. It follows, then, that he did not play for an outstanding club side during his seventeen-year career with Bradford Park Avenue, Newcastle United and Sunderland. The nearest he got was with the so-called ‘Bank of England’ team at Roker Park in the 1950's. Not only that, but ‘Shack’, as he was known affectionately, collected only five England caps—six if you include one of the Victory Internationals at the end of the Second World War. His legion of admirers regard that as an insult to the outstanding ability of this unusual footballer, but many will have to take their word for it because little or no film exists of the great man in action. Yet, nearly half a century after he stopped playing, Len Shackleton remains a legend in Bradford, the North-East of England and wherever in the world supporters of Park Avenue, Newcastle and Sunderland preserve precious memories of his magical ball control and outrageous showmanship. With those gifts, they insist, he would have been a sensation in today's football.
But would he? That is one of the intriguing questions Colin Malam attempts to answer in this fascinating biography. They dubbed ‘Shack’ the ‘Clown Prince of Soccer’, but was he really more prince than clown? This after all, was a footballer intelligent enough to have become a successful journalist after he finished playing. A journalist, moreover, who got Brian Clough his first two jobs in management.
The book includes a marketing card signed three times by Len Shackleton and a letter to a friend written by him.
Published by Highdown in 2004 With 256 pages, the book and dust jacket are in very good condition. £27.50 + Royal Mail Postage: £2.50 Total to Pay £30.00
