Halesowen Town legend Colin Brookes was a humble giant and friend to all

In this one he didn't, yet you never suspected that made his life or the seven decades he spent in football any less fulfilling.

Brookes' death at the age of 83 has prompted an outpouring of tributes befitting a man who became a humble giant of Midlands non-league football and a legend at his beloved Halesowen Town.

“It’s been overwhelming,” daughter Karen, told the Express & Star. “I’ve had messages from players, managers, referees, officials, you name it.

“He made such a big impression on people.”

Many people who spoke about Brookes after his passing was announced on Wednesday morning described him as a “great football man” but in truth the middle of those words aren't really required. 

"Brilliant bloke. Probably the best person I've ever met through football," messaged a fellow journalist, a sentiment which will be shared by many.

Brookes has been such a constant presence at Halesowen since first joining them in 1994 it is difficult to imagine him being anywhere else, yet his journey through football and life had already been remarkable long before he arrived at the Grove.  

Born in Barnsley, Brookes was among the brightest teenage players of the 1950s. Selected for England Schoolboys, he scored at Wembley in front of 90,000 and in 1957 joined Manchester United on the same day as his team-mate, Nobby Stiles.

But his time at Old Trafford lasted only three months as he grew homesick and such was his eagerness to play for his hometown club, he even turned down an offer from then Huddersfield Town boss Bill Shankly.

“I’ve got another young lad and the pair of you are going to turn Huddersfield into a top side,” Shankly told Brookes and his father.

“The other boy was Denis Law!” Brookes would later reveal in a newspaper interview. “What an idiot I was!”

He would go on to make more than 50 appearances for Barnsley and toured Europe with an England youth team captained by Bobby Moore.

But a serious ankle injury sustained during an FA Cup tie against Reading hampered his progress and though he joined Albion in the early 1960s, he never made a first-team appearance.

Spells at Peterborough, Southport and non-league Yeovil followed but by the age of 24, Brookes was struggling to make a living through football and a career-change beckoned. Wife Jayne was insistent on it.

“Mom was quite firm with him and told him he had to go and get a proper job,” said Karen.

“Initially he tried to join Yorkshire police but he wasn’t tall enough. So we ended up moving to the Midlands.”

Brookes served as an officer in Netherton and Brierley Hill but remained a keen sportsman, first playing and then managing with the West Midlands Police team, winning promotion and the National Police Cup with the latter. He was also a regular in the British Police squad.

Neither were Brookes' talents confined to football. A more than handy cricketer, he regularly topped the batting averages for Netherton despite always cutting his season short to return to football. He was also a national table tennis champion with the police.  

“They had a clubhouse at Barnsley and the players would go in there to have a drink or smoke,” says Karen.

“Dad didn’t do either of those things, so he just played table tennis. He always told me that was how he became so good! He was just a natural sportsman.”

It was when Brookes was leaving the police in he joined Halesowen, initially as assistant to manager Stuart Hall.

The following year former Albion and Shrewsbury winger Gary Hackett among their signings.

“That was my first meeting with Colin,” recalls Hackett. “He was just so passionate about football.

“The first year we got over 90 points and finished second to Rushden and Diamonds.

“I always got on well with Colin. He was just a real football man and had a very caustic sense of humour, which I loved.

“He was great for Stuart, who could be a bit volatile. Colin was the one who could calm him down and they made a very good pair.

“He will be a big loss, not just at Halesowen but across non-league circles. Everyone knew him.”

Brookes would go on to be the club’s general manager but went on to take on just every role you could name, more than once returning to the dugout as caretaker boss.

A constant and dependable presence, he was always on hand to offer words of advice.

“He was like a second dad to everyone,” said John Hill, who managed the club between 2012 and 2018. “We all looked at him as a father figure. Even when he took the mickey out of you, it was with a smile on his face.

“He was always the voice of reason. When things weren’t going well, not going to plan, he was always there as a sounding board. He was great for that.”

In 2017, Brookes became Halesowen’s saviour when he bought the club off struggling owner Steve Lynch for £50,000. Karen became chairman.

“His favourite song was My Way," says Karen. "His whole life, he certainly did that."