Burnley memorial tribute to great coaching pioneer Jimmy Hogan
KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS: Jimmy Hogan, one of the most influential coaches in the history of European football, will have his achievements recognised on Friday when he is honoured with a fresh headstone at his burial place.
Local Community Trust, the Turf Moor Memorial Garden, has announced that the unveiling of the headstone will take place at Burnley cemetery on Friday.
Hogan, who hailed originally from Nelson and played for Burnley between 1903 and 1905, later went on to become one of the greatest coaches of his era.
He worked in central Europe and laid the coaching foundation for the great Austrian Wunderteam who reached the semi-finals of the 1934 World Cup and won an inter-wars predecessor of the European championship.
Hogan was held in equally high esteem by Hungarian football and was one of their federation’s guests at Wembley to see the ‘Magical Magyars’ of Ferenc Puskas defeat England 6-3 in 1953.
The date coincides with his birthday.
The event will be attended by the Mayor of Burnley Cllr Mark Townsend and be presided over by local Priest, Rev David Featherstone of St Mary of the Assumption RC Church, Burnley.
Club representatives
Representatives of many of Hogan’s former clubs, including MTK Budapest, Burnley, Aston Villa, Bolton Wanders, Celtic and Fulham will be in attendance along with many of the patrons and groups that made the project happen. Members of his family will also attend.
Peter Briggs, chairman of the Turf Moor Memorial Garden and project lead, said: “This project has brought together a large number of individuals to support the memory of a footballing great.
“Too many people still haven’t heard of Jimmy Hogan and what he did for football, however this small token may go some way to bring his story to more people and thank him for his efforts”.
The project to create a lasting marker on Jimmy’s grave is being financed by the Turf Moor Memorial Garden, Burnley Former Players Association (BFPA), Burnley FC Supporters Group, Aston Villa Football Club, Fulham Football Club, the Celtic Grave Society, MTK Budapest, György Szöllősi, President of the Hungarian Sports Journalists’ Association, former Burnley Football Club directors Clive Holt, Martin Hobbs, Terry Crabb, Brendan Flood and Barry Kilby, along with current Burnley Football Club director John Banaszkiewicz and members of Jimmy Hogan’s family.
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