Midland Heroes - Joe Hart, from Shrewsbury Town to the World Cup
Our Midlands Heroes series looks at the career of former Shrewsbury Town goalie Joe Hart
Joe Hart is a bit of a rarity in the football world.
A player who came up through the youth system at Shrewsbury Town and went on to compete at the absolute highest levels of the professional game.
Hart is the epitome of a local boy done good.
He was still a pupil at Meole Brace School the first time he was named as a 15-year-old substitute in a senior match-day squad for Shrewsbury Town back in 2003.
He went on to make 58 league and cup appearances between 2003 and 2006, including his debut against Gravesend & Northfleet the day after his 17th birthday, and is still revered by Shrewsbury Town fans despite playing a relatively small number of games for the first team.
Born on 19 April 1987, he grew up in Gains Park and attended Oxon Primary School and Meole Brace, helping the Shropshire Schools team reach a national final along the way.
He was also an accomplished cricketer and turned out for Shrewsbury and Worcestershire's second team aged just 14.
Just a normal kid
Speaking to the Shropshire Star last year, his former teammate and housemate Jamie Tolley remembers a "normal kid" yet someone who had "presence and confidence".
"He was just the most normal kid in the world to be honest," Tolley said.
"We knew he had a cricket route that he could have gone down but he favoured football and everyone is glad that he did. He was a level-headed young boy that came in with us lads and I think pretty early on we all said he is going to have some sort of career.
"He just had this presence and confidence in everything he was doing. At such a young age, it stands out massively.
"I have said many times to different people at maybe 17 or 18 he will play for England and I always wish, still to this day, that I put a bet on it as I would have earned a few quid."
