Jimmy Adamson an Obituary by Andrew Greaves.

But, at around 10am this morning(8th November 2011), Burnley Football Club lost one of its bona fide legends.

Former captain and manager Jimmy Adamson, the last Burnley skipper to lift the Football League Championship, died at the age of 82.

Born in Northumberland, Jimmy was discovered playing in his native Ashington and joined Burnley 's groundstaff before signing a first professional contract with the Clarets in 1947, aged 17.

However, he did not make his senior debut until 1951.

Establishing himself in the team after an appearance against Bolton Wanderers in February of that year, Adamson made himself a mainstay of the Burnley line-up for the next decade and more.

An elegant player who was comfortable anyway across the backline, Adamson was the kind of player younger fans can only dream of seeing these days.

He was an ever-present as Burnley won the 1959-60 Football League Championship and captained the side to the 1962 FA Cup final which they lost against Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite being cup runner up in 1962, he was named Footballer of the Year, pipping his Burnley teammate Jimmy McIlroy.

In a one-club career spanning 17 years, Jimmy went on to play 486 games for Burnley and is often hailed as the greatest player never to play for England .

Following his retirement in 1964, he joined the coaching staff at Turf Moor and succeeded the great Harry Potts in 1970.

He had previously coached the England team at the 1962 World Cup in Chile and was the Football Association's preferred choice of manager ahead of Alf Ramsey but declined the offer, thinking he was too inexperienced.

His self-proclaimed Team of the Seventies didn’t quite live up to their billing and were relegated to the Second Division in his first full season.

Jimmy led the Clarets to promotion in 1973, winning the Second Division title before a run to the FA Cup semi-finals and to win a point of a European place.

He left Turf Moor in 1976 and went onto to have an ill-fated spell in Holland with Sparta Rotterdam before stints at Sunderland and Leeds United, who he lead into the UEFA Cup.

Jimmy retired in October 1980 and moved back to Burnley .

He returned to Turf Moor for the first time in many years in January as the club opened the Jimmy Adamson Suite in the Jimmy McIlroy Stand.

Joined by his family, Jimmy was treated to one of the most heartfelt and emotional rounds of applause as he stepped out into the stand.

Those old enough to have seen the great man play will cherish those memories for ever. Those too young to have done will live with the regret for just as long.

Burnley Former Players Association