Rovers Legends - Jack Walker (1929-2000)

By: Dan Clough | August 17th, 2007

On the seventh anniversary of ‘Uncle Jack’s’ death I feel it is poignant to add him to my Rovers Legends series.

Jack was not only a Rovers legend, he was Rovers.

Jack became one of England’s richest men when he sold the family business, ‘Walkersteel’, to steel giants British Steel for £360 million! The company had belonged to his father and he had started working there when he was 14. He inherited the company with his brother and together they turned it into a multi-million pound business!

Jack had seen his beloved Rovers fall rather spectacularly from grace, and after an uncomfortable brush with relegation in the 1990/91 season he decided action must be taken.

A disastrous start to the season saw mnager Don McKay sacked and then Walker pulled off one of the most amazing coups in the history of football. Kenny Dalglish, who had recently retired from football, suddenly accepted the job as Rovers manager!

In came Ray Harford as assistant and then a host of quality signings, some of whom had refused to sign for Don McKay! Mike Newell, Colin Hendry, Alan Wright and Gordon Cowans to name but a few. Rovers topped the table for much of the season but a late dip in form saw us end up scraping into the play-offs. We knocked out Derby in the semi-final and went on to beat Leicester City 1-0 to secure our place in the brand new Premier League.

This dramatic change of fortune was unbelievable for the world of football. Blackburn Rovers, one of the giants of old had returned to the Premier League. Many expected us to fail, but Uncle Jack ensured that this was not the case.

The visable changes at the club were dramatic. Jack began the transformation of our decaying old Ewood Park stadium into a magnificent theatre fit for Premiership giants.

The high profile signings continued. Alan Shearer, Stuart Ripley, Tim Flowers and Chris Sutton are just four of those. After our third season of Premiership football we were the champions! Uncle Jack’s spending spree had seen us rise to the zenith of English football!

However, as other clubs spending began to match our own, our fortunes declined. Kenny moved upstairs and left an unsuccesful Ray Harford in charge, he was followed by Roy Hodgson and Brian Kidd, both of whom struggled to make us the force we had once been. The end result was the agony of relegation in 1999.

A terrible season followed, seeing the sacking of Brian Kidd, and a spell under the management of Tony Parkes. He steadied the ship but it was apparent he could not move it forward. Cue Uncle Jack’s final masterstroke. The appointment of Graeme Souness.

Souey took us up in his first full season. Unfortunately, Jack Walker died before it started. Just a couple of days before a game away at Crewe Alexandra he died of the cancer he had been fighting for years.

His legacy lives on in the form of a £10 million academy at Brockhall; his final gift to he beloved Rovers, a stadium to be proud of and a team back where it belongs in the top end of English football!

Uncle Jack R.I.P