LSSC legends: Bobby Stokes

Within three months of uttering the quote at the start of this piece, he was dead. He was 44. Officially his demise was due to bronchial pneumonia. Few people doubt it was alcohol that killed him. Many believe the FA Cup played its part.

Little Bobby Stokes, aged 25, could not cope with the adulation. Before his moment in the sun he had played more than 200 times for Southampton, the club he had joined as a boy. After scoring that fateful goal, he made just 11 more appearances. He spent the summer of 1977 in America with the Washington Diplomats and then played 23 times for Portsmouth. His heart was not in it and he went back to the States.

By 1981, when he should have been at his peak, he was running a pub in Portsmouth with his wife, Jan. It was not a success and they gave it up after three years. Jan, ambitious, urged Bobby to find a new career. He said he would look for a job. In the meantime his cousin, Maria, said he could help out at her greasy-spoon diner, the Harbour View Café in Portsmouth. He never left. He worked from 7am to 4pm serving fry-ups and mugs of tea. He gave freely of his time and his memories to anyone who wanted to listen.

He split from his wife his 1994 and this hit him hard. From then to his untimely death, he struggled against the temptation of alcohol.

His, and Saints, finest moment came at 4.38pm on May 1, 1976. Jim McCalliog looked up, shouted ‘go Bobby’, and threaded a pass beyond the Manchester United defence. Stokes timed his run perfectly and then, with an immortal sweep of his left foot, directed the ball past Alex Stepney.