10 Greatest West Bromwich Albion Strikers Ever
3. Jeff Astle (1964-1974)
Jeff Astle was a thunderous header of the ball, and supreme leader of the line. He joined West Brom in 1964 for £25,000. He scored 174 goals in 361 games for the Baggies, including the only goal in the 1968 FA Cup Final, in which he completed the feat of scoring in every round of the competition.
Astle also scored in the 1970 League Cup Final and became the first man to score in both Cup finals. At the height of Astle’s Albion career, the words “ASTLE IS THE KING” appeared in large white letters on the brickwork of Primrose Bridge, which carries Cradley Road over a canal in Netherton, in the heart of the Black Country.
Only won five England caps. Astle joined Albion from Notts County and eventually left the club to finish his career in non-league football, playing for DunstableTown, Weymouth and Hillingdon Borough.
2. Ronnie Allen (1950-1961)
Allen was perhaps the most complete forward to represent the club. A complete footballer. The Puskas-like forward helped Albion emulate the inspirational football of the great Hungarian side of the 1950s.
Two great feet played all along the forward line, reinventing the centre-forward role by dropping deep, a footballing intellect which won him five England caps. He scored twice in the 1954 FA Cup Final win. A visionary and a true giant of the club. Allen joined Albion from Port Vale in March 1950 and left for Crystal Palace in May 1961.
Subsequently, he returned to act as scouting advisor from January to May 1977 then as manager from June 1977 to December 1977 before leaving to act as advisor to the Saudi Arabian national team. He returned as manager between July 1981 and May 1982 and was general manager after that until June 1983, later acting as coach and scout at the club.
1. W.G. Richardson (1929-1945)
William ‘Ginger’ Richardson served the club with distinction for 16 years, scoring 202 in 320 appearances. He was the first to 200 league goals (202 in total), scored ten hat-tricks, four goals four times, and won one England cap.
Richardson, primarily playing as a centre forward, scored four goals in five minutes for the Baggies against West Ham United at Upton Park on 7 November 1931, a record that is still in Guinness World Records. He scored both of West Brom’s goals when they won the 1931 FA Cup Final, beating Midlands rivals Birmingham 2–1.
In the 1935-36 season, he scored 39 goals, which is still the West Brom record for top scorer in the top division of the English football league system.