Cyrille Regis remembered: A trailblazer for British football but a Hawthorns hero too

Cyrille’s impact on the fabric of the game cannot be underestimated. A pioneer for future generations of black footballers, he was a man who broke down barriers with massive thighs and a broad grin.

He was a trailblazer in sport and has rightly been remembered as one, but his impact on the Baggies was just as huge.

Regis will forever be entwined with his role as a black footballer, but put aside the colour of his skin – just as he’d want you to – and he deserves to go down in Hawthorns history as one of the club’s greatest ever.

Plucked from non-league Hayes in May 1977 by Ronnie Allen, Albion’s chief scout was so convinced by the powerful striker, he famously stumped up the initial £5,000 out of his own pocket.

A month later, Allen was promoted to manager after Johnny Giles resigned and it wasn’t long until a 19-year-old Regis was making a big impact in the first team.

After scoring on his debut for the reserves, he was parachuted into the senior side at the end of August.

He bagged a brace on debut in a 4-0 win over Rotherham in the League Cup and three days later scored on his league debut in a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough, running with the ball from the halfway line and into the box before unleashing a fierce shot.

If he had a signature goal, that was it, an explosive drive forward from the centre circle finished off with an unstoppable effort that whistled past the keeper.

Thanks to that stunning start, Regis became an immediate hit in the West Midlands, and quickly gained a cult hero status that would grow to iconic levels over the next seven years.

The Baggies were a gloriously swashbuckling outfit at that time, when their ethos was simply ‘we’ll score one more than you’.

Tony Brown, Laurie Cunningham, Bryan Robson, Willie Johnston – it was a team dripping with attacking talent. But if anyone was the poster boy, it was Regis.

In May 1979, Albion’s No.9 appeared on the front cover of NME accompanied with the headline ‘The Human Face of Football’. And that’s why Cyrille was universally loved by Albion fans.

He may have been a powerful, pacy, all-action striker on the pitch, but off it, he was a softly-spoken gentleman with nothing but kindness in his heart.

He became a devout Christian after the tragic death of former team-mate and friend Laurie Cunningham in 1989, and faith suited him, this man who always had time for others.

It’s easy to trot out the statistics, the fact he scored 112 goals in 302 Albion appearances, or the fact he helped guide the team to third and fourth-placed finishes in the old First Division.

But more important than all of that is the way he made people feel on match-days.

When Cyrille was on the ball, anything could happen. Supporters would stand up in anticipation, and more often than not, he rewarded them.

He will be fondly remembered at all of his clubs, but he always had a special affinity with the Albion fans, who have adored him since the first time they clapped eyes on him and will continue to do so now.

He epitomised that great Albion team of the late 70s and early 80s, and led the line with an unbridled passion that rarely ever overstepped the line.

Put simply, he’s the reason a generation fell in love with the Baggies and still support them to this day.

Not only did Regis transcend the sport at a time of racial tension in the United Kingdom, but as well as being that trailblazer we all know, he was an immensely-gifted footballer who brought joy to many.

The tributes that poured in yesterday from all corners of the globe prove just how much an impact he had on the game as a whole.

His death came as such a huge shock because, on the pitch, he seemed invincible.

He will be fondly remembered at all the clubs he played for, and is one of few ex-Albion players to have won over fans at both Molineux and Villa Park.

But for many Baggies, the start of this week has been horribly painful, because he will always be our Cyrille.