At the age of nearly 100, Stanley Hyde has to be one of the Baggies’ most loyal fans.
He went to his first game in 1915 when he was five and still follows his favourite team. He knows every player, how much they are worth, and their performances in every match – they help keep him young, he says.
On Saturday his loyalty was rewarded as he was brought onto The Hawthorns pitch and given a personalised team shirt. He was even able to hold the Championship trophy.
His daughter, and fellow Albion fan Helen Fitch, said: “He hasn’t been to a match for a while because he hasn’t been very well, but he had the VIP treatment on Saturday, it was wonderful.
“I wanted to do something to surprise him and mentioned it to my friend John O’Hara, who organised it all. We told him he was going for a walk so he got all dressed up in his walking boots, and when we got there he was so excited.”
Stanley, from Smethwick, will celebrate his birthday tomorrow with a party at the St Joseph’s Care Home in Harborne, Birmingham, where he now lives. The former resident of Regent Street, Smethwick, said: “I said last year when I was 99, if I live to be 100 it’s going to be with my friends here, so my family will come here for lunch tomorrow.”
Stanley, who had to stop going to matches after he had treatment for bowel cancer 20 years ago, said his favourite Baggies player of all time was Ronnie Allen, adding: “He was wonderful, he was my favourite player, he was everyone’s favourite player.”
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