No matter where he went, Sir Jack's heart was in Wolverhampton says tearful pal Rachael Heyhoe Flint

Long-time friend and colleague of Sir Jack, Rachael Heyhoe Flint, wept as she paid a heartfelt tribute to Sir Jack Hayward.

The Wolves vice president, now Baroness Heyhoe Flint, fought back tears as she said: "You could fill your whole newspaper with the legacy he has given to this city, and he was so proud that it was a city.

"He was thrilled to bits when that title was bestowed.

"Look around Wolverhampton and he is everywhere. There is Jack Hayward Way by the stadium and his involvement with so many local charities.

"I used to say that with all the statues around Molineux that the one person who really deserved one in his memory was Sir Jack.

"He was really proud of his honorary degree. He used to say that it was a great achievement for a person who failed to get into Tettenhall College and failed all his maths exams to end up with a Wolverhampton University degree.

"He was a very dear friend and colleague for 45 years.

"He was an honest, devoted, dedicated, caring person who demanded the same qualities from those who worked around him.

"He also had a quixotic nature that was displayed on occasions such as the time he wanted to give money back to the fans who had travelled to watch Wolves play at Chesterfield in the pouring rain and had got absolutely drenched there.

"For him that was the obvious thing to do.

"Others were not so certain because it was not the kind of gesture that was in the business plan. He was a very, very dear chap who will be sadly missed. It won't be quite the same at Molineux without him but we must carry on and do it for him.

"He was so proud of his links with Wolverhampton. He used to live round the corner from the ground.

"It did not matter where he was in the world, his heart was in Wolverhampton.

"His favourite piece of clothing was the navy blue blazer he wore to all the Wolves matches with the crest on the breast pocket and its motto 'Out of darkness cometh light.'"

Former Wolverhampton Girls High School pupil Baroness Heyhoe Flint, aged 75, always kept Sir Jack in touch with Wolves games when he was in the Caribbean.

He was the first person she phoned after they won promotion to the Championship last season. She recalled: "He was thrilled to bits.

"His only regret was that he could not be at Crewe himself. I had also phoned him at half time, he was listening to the game through some kind of peculiar contraption on the other side of the Atlantic.

"He has never lost his love for Wolves."

She added last night: "I will always remember when we were playing the play-off match at the Millennium Stadium in 2003 and after 69 minutes of the match he smiled at the video wall and but his thumbs up to the camera.

"He got told off for celebrating too early but the tens of thousands of Wolves fans in the ground went crazy when they saw him on the giant screens.

"Many of the pictures of him celebrating on the pitch afterwards show my arms because I was chasing around after him to ensure all was well. Tears were streaming down his face.

"It was one of the happiest days of his life and it is nice to remember it on what is one of the saddest days of my life."

Baroness Heyhoe Flint, who is still a familiar welcoming face at Molineux matches, added: "When I was captain of the England Ladies Cricket Team we were due to play the West Indies in the Caribbean but had no money.

"I was looking for financial assistance for the team and somebody suggested trying the Hayward family.

"I had never met Jack but wrote a cheeky letter out of the blue to him asking for his support.

"He gave us the money to make the trip. That was the kind of man he was.

"One thing led to another and he ended up sponsoring the first World Cup of women's cricket.

"I owe him a huge vote of thanks for a lot of what I have achieved in life.

"He invited me to join the Wolves board in 1997, a post I filled until 2003.

"When I needed supporters for my application to become the first lady member of the MCC he gave me his backing.

"When I was made a Baroness I phoned him and playfully said: 'I am awfully sorry but I have got another award.

"I had the OBE and he assumed it was a CBE.

"When I said 'no, I've been offered a peerage' he replied in his usual joshing way: 'Oh my god, I think I am going to be sick.'

"He was joking of course, he was really so pleased."