Joe Wojciechowicz, the manager who won Workington’s first piece of non-league silverware, has died.
A popular manager, Joe was the seventh man to be put in charge of the Reds when they lost their league status in 1977.
He was appointed in October 1981 and for the next three seasons gave the club some degree of consistency finishing 11th, 7th and finally 15th, but winning the President’s Cup.
As a player he was a mid-fielder, an apprentice at Blackpool and then joined Morecambe. He was a regular in their reserve side and also made six first team appearances before going on to play for both Lancaster City and Barrow.
After a spell as coach at Lancaster, Joe joined the Reds and when he left he joined the coaching staff at Barrow but departed after Brian Kidd took his first steps in managership by taking control there and brought in his own staff.
Joe was appointed as manager of Morecambe in early 1985 and had three very successful seasons, with the club reaching the Lancashire (ATS) Junior Cup final three times, winning it twice.
Supporters have said since that these finals restored belief amongst both fans and the club in general that the club could be a success and reach new heights although the league title was always just beyond Joe’s reach.
He resigned at the end of the 1987-88 season to join Colne Dynamos as full-time coach as they made their abortive bid to join the big time, taking a good number of players with him.
When the Dynamos folded Joe worked as a scout for various clubs and for a time his son was on the playing staff at Blackburn Rovers.
Joe is fondly remembered by Workington supporters – to whom he was affectionately referred to as Joe Alphabet – and also his players, including the likes of John Reach, Vaughan Williams and John Smith who were key men in his side.
John Reach was Wojciechowicz’s captain and who lifted the President’s Cup. He said: “I found Joe to be a very intelligent and forward-thinking manager who had a very clear understanding of how he wanted his teams to play.
“His calm and knowledgeable approach motivated players to perform at a high individual level, but also bonded his squad to operate as a team.
“Joe Alphabet was very proud to lead and manage the Reds and he was extremely happy to have lifted the President’s Cup in 1984, bringing some much overdue success to Workington Reds.
“Joe was a true gentleman of the game and I am honoured to be able to say I played under his guidance. RIP Joe.”
