England & Wolves legend Ron Flowers dies aged 87

Wolves and England legend Ron Flowers has passed away at the age of 87.

A member of England's 1966 World Cup winning squad, Flowers represented Wolves at club level for 15 years, helping them win three First Division titles in the 1950s, as well as the 1960 FA Cup.

Flowers made 49 appearances for England between 1955 and 1966, scoring ten goals. While he didn't actually get to play in the 1966 tournament, his efforts were eventually rewarded in 2009 when FIFA awarded medals to every member of the squad. Previously, only the 11 England players who were on the pitch had been presented with medals.

A tweet from Wolves reads: "We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of club legend and vice president Ron Flowers MBE at the age of 87.

"A giant on the pitch and a gentleman off it. There will be many people remembering Ron today and all of our thoughts are with those who knew and loved him."

England added: "We are saddened to hear about the passing of former England international, 1966 World Cup winner and FA Cup winner Ron Flowers MBE at the age of 87.

"His death was announced on Friday morning by Wolverhampton Wanderers, the club where he made his name as an attacking midfield player and played in almost 500 games over 15 years.

"And his legendary status at Molineux was matched on a national scale, after collecting 49 caps for the Three Lions and being a part of Sir Alf Ramsey's victorious squad in 1966."

Flowers holds the distinction of scoring England's first ever European Championship goal, netting during a qualifying round first leg against France. He also featured in 40 consecutive international matches from November 1958 to April 1963 - that run included the 1962 World Cup in Chile.

He later had player-manager spells with both Northampton Town and Wellington Town. In 2021, Flowers was awarded an MBE for services to football in the New Year Honours list.