Charlie Daw: The man who dedicated his life to Wolves as he racked up almost 2,000 consecutive games

Gone are the days when managers are given the sort of time which Cullis was, quite rightly, afforded during an incredible 16-year spell at the helm during which Wolves won the only three top-flight titles in their history, as well as two FA Cups.

And gone are the days when players spend the sort of time which Cullis had in the Wolves’ dressing room prior to becoming boss, 13 years during which he captained the team to twice being league runners-up and the final of another FA Cup.

That just doesn’t happen anymore.  But what does happen, what is always a constant, is the loyalty and devotion of supporters. Through the good and bad, and the whole rollercoaster of emotions which following a football team inescapably has to offer.

‘Football fans share a universal language that cuts across many cultures and many personality types,’ wrote famous American sports journalist Hunter S Thompson.

‘A serious football fan is never alone. We are legion, and football is often the only thing we have in common.’

The Molineux legion consists of many Wolves fans who have gone above and beyond in their devoted following of their favourite and beloved club.

Who have followed the team over earth, land and sea, through the thick and the thin, in support of the gold and black.

Sadly, one of those loyal devotees, regarded by many as THE most loyal devotee, Charlie Daw, passed away recently at the age of 66.

News of Charlie’s loss had reached many of his friends on the morning of the funeral of former Wolves favourite Terry Wharton. Their sense of shock and sadness dovetailing with their desire to pay tribute to the talents and contribution of Wharton.  

Love and respect for a Wolves playing hero and a Wolves supporter in equal measure and in perfect unison. As it should be. And just as it was during half time of Wolves’ game against Bournemouth last Saturday when fulsome tribute was paid to Charlie’s incredible loyalty.

His commitment to his football team was truly magnificent.

With the exception of when stadiums were closed during Covid, Charlie attended a staggering 1,986 consecutive Wolves games, a run which started with the 4-1 defeat against Bolton in Division Three in 1985, and finished with the 1-1 draw at Everton on January 7th.

In the preceding ten years he had only missed seven games, mainly for attending the World Speedway Finals, and his total tally, from his first game against Bury in 1967, was 2, 576.

“I used to laugh and joke when I saw him and call him the number one,” says Peter Abbott, himself an incredible Wolves devotee who lives in Suffolk and yet has only missed one game – home and away - in almost 50 years.

Steve Bishop is another Wolves fan of legendary status, who had been on the longest run of games before missing out against Besiktas in the Europa League.

“I think Steve was ahead of me but after he missed that game, Charlie became the number one,” Abbott continues.

“I’d often see him before games, particularly in the Great Western before home games, and the thing I will always remember about the number one, he was always smiling.

“I think everyone would say that about him, always smiling – as soon as he walked in the room, he had a big grin on his face, as if to say: ‘We’re watching the Wolves…we’re happy.’

“He’d have a beer in one hand, betting slip in the other, and that is what you can always say about him.  He was a happy boy!”

The betting slip shows that Wolves wasn’t the only sporting love of Charlie’s life.  Far from it.

He enjoyed horseracing, and had visited all 59 UK racecourses with wife Jo, his partner for 21 years, or ’21 seasons’, as he would say. They had first met, appropriately enough, in the bookies, where Jo worked.  

“Definitely not the most traditional setting for romance,” she recalls. “But it makes it more special and unique.

“I had known Charlie for a couple of years, so I knew all about Wolves and his other hobbies, as well as not to back the same horse as him after frequently taking his money at the bookies!

Another hobby was darts. Charlie was captain of the team at the Moreton Arms and in charge of the Wednesday night Tettenhall Darts League. Which is to continue in his memory.

Family, too, was always of paramount importance.

Charlie’s two children Joanne and Robert came into Jo’s life when they got together, and, so too, her children Liz, Thomas, Harry and Lucy. Between them they also had six grandchildren, with another on the way in April.

And football was something they could all share.

“I had a season ticket next to him at home for about 15 years,” says Jo.