Tribute to former Brentford legend Higginson

HE might have been one of Brentford's all-time heroes, but Tommy Higginson was booed the first time he pulled on the red and white stripes.

The occasion was a home game against Bournemouth in March 1960. Higginson, having joined the club from Kilmarnock the previous summer, had made his debut at Tranmere a week earlier and kept his place for the visit of the Cherries to Griffin Park.

The only problem was Higginson, who went on to make his mark as a robust midfielder but was then a young striker, was replacing fans' favourite Jim Towers in the Bees line-up.

So remembers veteran Bees fan Geoff Buckingham, who along with other Brentford greats like Peter Gelson, Alan Hawley and Gordon Phillips, was at Higginson's funeral this week.

'Higgy', who went on to make more than 400 appearances for Brentford, lived in Isleworth right up until he passed away earlier this month.

Buckingham said: “It's only fair to point out that it wasn't Higgy that was being booed by the crowd, but the decision to drop Jim Towers, However, the crowd soon realised the had one hell of a player on their hands and soon took to him.

“There was a game against Coventry City in 1961 when our strikers weren't scoring and Higgy was put up front again. He gave their defence a hell of a time, and Griffin Park erupted when he scored.”

Higginson made his name as a tough-tackling midfielder who would cover every blade of grass on the pitch, but took his dedication to the extremes when Hartlepools United visited Griffin Park in October 1962.

Buckingham said: “One of their strikers was bearing down on goal when Higgy launched himself at him and stopped him with a perfectly-executed rugby tackle, for which he was only booked. The game was goalless at the time, but the free-kick was cleared and we went on to win 4-0!”

Higginson could play a bit too, and was more than a match for one of the era's greatest players when Brentford faced Peterborough towards the end of the decade, marking Northern Ireland international Derek Dougan out of the game.

A lot of his game relied on his fitness and stamina – indeed, he had been a champion athlete and boxer as a youngster in Scotland – and would run to home games from his Isleworth home.

So it was no surprise when he volunteered for the Brighton to Brentford walk, organised by supporters in 1967 to raise funds to save the club from the threat of a takeover by QPR.

Buckingham said: “Even before we set off, Higgy was sprinting up and down the promenade at Brighton. A lot of us gave up after 30 miles or so and got a coach the rest of the way, but Higgy walked the whole way an even beat the coach back – despite getting lost and doing an extra nine miles or so.

“Back in the 1960s, the club used to train at Feltham Arenas, and (manager) Jimmy Sirrell bet Higgy a fiver he couldn't run the perimeter in under a minute. Of course, he did, but he said he felt bad about taking a five off a fellow Scot.”

After winding down his career at Hillingdon Borough, including an FA Trophy Final appearance, Higginson carried on playing Sunday football for the likes of Thornbury FC, Syon Villa and Sutton Athletic.

Buckingham added: “Higgy once set a goal up for me at Thornbury and leapt on my back, celebrating like he had scored the winner at Hampden Park. His enthusiasm was the same playing front of 10,000 at Griffin Park, or a man and a dog in a field.”