Workington Reds has announced that former player, Charlie Wright, has died at the age of 86.
He arrived at Borough Park as an unknown goalkeeper in 1958 and became a flamboyant character loved by the Reds supporters during his near five years at the club.
Joe Harvey signed Charlie from Rangers in 1958, following his release from Ibrox, where he had played for the Light Blues reserves.
He would eventually take over from the formidable Malcolm Newlands who had been Workington’s keeper for eight seasons.
His Reds debut against Torquay United at Borough Park in the second match of the 1958-1959 season, saw a nervous start from the Glaswegian and he conceded two soft goals in a 3-3 draw.
It was back to the reserves, and being Newlands’ understudy, taking a while to establish himself.
Charlie’s career was put on hold after he was called up for National Service but when he resumed duties with Reds, Newlands was no longer a rival for the goalkeeper’s jumper.
He became first choice, remaining an ever-present throughout the 1960-61 and 1961-62 seasons.
Wright played in Workington’s first ever Football League Cup tie versus Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 1960 and other highlights included good performances against Nottingham Forest and Blackpool at Borough Park in the FA and League Cups, respectively.
But it was the bread and butter stuff of Fourth Division football where he honed his goalkeeping skills, making well over 100 league appearances for Reds.
He would become one of the characters of the 1960s and 1970s and often engaged with supporters behind his goal, becoming well known as the clown-prince of that era.
The popular player made his final outing for Workington in December 1962 but, six weeks later, was sold to Grimsby Town in a £7,000 transfer deal.
The sale was to ease the financial pressure on the club during the protracted big freeze that winter.
He made 136 league and cup appearances for Workington and kept 33 clean sheets.
After learning his trade at Borough Park, Charlie subsequently spent three seasons with Grimsby, five more at Charlton Athletic before ending his professional career with two years at Bolton Wanderers.
He managed York City for nearly three years and returned to Burnden Park to manage Wanderers in 1985.
A club spokesman said: “We send our condolences to Charlie’s family at this particularly sad time.”
