Ronnie Allen Dies

11 June 2001

West Bromwich Albion legend Ronnie Allen has died after a long struggle against Alzheimer's Disease. Allen, aged 72, passed away at a nursing home at the weekend with his second wife Cynthia, to whom he was married for 30 years, at his side.

Allen won five England caps during an 11 year career at the Hawthorns between 1950-61 before later serving as a manager at Wolves, Walsall and ultimately back at Albion. But it was as the kingpin of Albion's wonderful attack of the 1950s that Allen will be most fondly remembered. He displayed powerful shooting ability in both feet as well as becoming a renowned penalty taker. Allen's 208 goals in 415 league appearances - all in the top flight - was a club record until passed by Tony Brown in 1978.

Allen's finest moment came in 1954 when his two goals helped Albion beat Preston at Wembley to win the FA Cup. He started his management career at arch rivals Wolves where, moving up from coach at Molineux, he led a team inspired by Mike Bailey and Peter Knowles back to the First Division in 1967 and was the man who brought Derek Dougan to the club. Allen also worked successfully abroad and in Spain managed both Athletic Bilbao and Sporting Lisbon, guiding Bilbao to the Spanish Cup in 1969. After coming back to England to manage Walsall briefly in 1973, he returned to the Hawthorns in 1977, first as a scouting advisor, and then manager and general manager before leaving in 1983. Despite deteriorating health, Allen remained a regular and popular figure at the Hawthorns and at the club's training ground.

Previous Stories:

  06 June 2001:  Hughes for sale....?

  04 June 2001:  Moore interest confirmed

  24 May 2001:  Transfer funds question?

Back to the News Index