Newcastle Under 18s 14 NBFC 0
These stories sound very similar to my own experience of Neil Baldwin. I,
too, was roped in to play for his team, beguiled by the stories of Kevin Keegan
and the like. I played once for his team, at left back (and I'm a hopeless
defender), against Newcastle Town Under-18s, and we lost 14-0.
He could never remember my name, so he just called me "Stoke fan", as he knew I was a Stoke City supporter. My mate Rob, from Nottingham, was known to him as "Forest". Neil used to come 'round to try to scrounge food off me, too, though he didn't succeed - I used to tell him I was just on my way out. I remember once seeing him sat on the wall on the Union concourse and, seeing me, he called me over to tell me that Stoke had just signed a new goalkeeper - Michel Preud'homme, the Belgian national 'keeper, or so I thought. I'd misheard him - he actually said Mark Prudhoe, of Darlington. He then gave me a pound to go and buy him an ice lolly from the newsagents.
However, my favourite memory of him was when I was stood on the Boothen End
at a Stoke match, and he was paraded around the edge of the pitch. He'd just
lost several stone in weight for charity, which was announced over the tannoy
as he walked before us, waving. Everyone applauded and cheered. There was
then a moment's pause, before someone behind me shouted, "He's still
a fat b*****d though." (Sorry Neil!)
Matt Braithwaite (International Relations, 91-94)
Neil Flattens Bus
Dunno if this is a Keele urban legend, but ISTR the story was that Neil was
once knocked down by a bus? on campus and the University discovered that they
were not properly insured. So instead of a being sued for loadsamoney, they
gave Neil free accommodation and a job for life. Can anyone confirm this story
?
Dom.
NBFC All-Stars
>>Needless to say we never saw Brian Robson or Kevin Keegan turn up
although every single game Neil was convinced they would and was genuinely
disappointed when they didn't.<<
Nope, I never saw any of his superstar pals either (John Rudge presenting the prizes at the five-a-side finals night doesn't really count, does it??) but I did see some evidence that he wasn't making it all up... I once visited the house of Ken & Marion Strachan, free church ministers on campus for a while. Their little boy produced a match programme from a recent England game, signed by most of England's 1986 world cup squad, including Gary Lineker and Peter Shilton. Apparently Neil had given it to him, although the story of him walking into the England dressing room after a game and saying "Oi, Gary, can yer get yer mates to sign this?" was probably a bit far-fetched!
Does anyone else remember the unofficial NBFC T-shirts? I still have mine
- it says NBFC on the back, and on the front it simply says "Cool as..."
and then has a sketch of Neil's face! Brilliant. Other memories of Neil including
his astonishing appetite for toast, his cameo appearance in "The Best
Little Whorehouse In Texas" and his attempts to sign me up for the Red
Roses. Nostalgia baldwinia indeed.
Chris Hadley. (87-91).
