I was saddened to hear of the recent passing of former England and West Bromwich Albion footballer Cyrille Regis. He died suddenly of a heart attack, aged just 59.
Regis was a powerfully built centre-forward who played in a tough era for black athletes, regularly putting up with racist abuse from the stands.
He was more than just an average footballer; at one time he was described as being the best centre-forward in England. He was capped five times and represented his country in ‘B’ internationals and at the under-21 level.
Until now I had not known much about his personal life. I wasn’t aware that he was born in French Guiana. In fact, I needed a map to find where it was. It is a very small country at the northern tip of South America.
He moved to England with his family in 1963 when he was a just a small boy. The family struggled to make ends meet and Regis played football in boots too small because the family could not afford to keep buying new pairs for their growing son.
Regis joined a non-league club in 1975 before signing with West Bromwich Albion in 1977.
He was strong in the air and had a lethal right foot. All up he scored 81 goals in 241 league appearances for West Brom before transferring to Coventry City, where he scored 47 goals in 238 league games. His stint at Coventry also included an FA Cup winners medal in 1987 in a remarkable 3-2 win over Tottenham.
(Photo by PA Images via Getty Images)
When Regis played for West Brom there were very few black professional footballers in England. By 1979 three of those were playing for West Brom: Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendan Batson.
During this period Regis and his teammates – dubbed the ‘Three Degrees’ by manager Ron Atkinson – were on the receiving end of racist abuse from the terraces.
Regis said that the abuse made him tougher and that, “nothing hurt the racist cowards in the crowd more than seeing black guys like me scoring goals against their team”.
One of the goals he scored in a first division match against Norwich City in 1981-82 was regarded as the goal of the season.
On his international debut for England Regis received a bullet in the mail. He kept it as a reminder of the struggles he had to go through.
On a personal note, I grew up watching English football in the 1970s on television and followed it in Shoot magazine. In those days Liverpool dominated the league, but there was a variety of teams, such as Manchester City, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and even Queens Park Rangers, that challenged them.
West Bromwich Albion was one of those teams that gave the league a shake, finishing third in the 1978-79 season. I well remember watching Regis play. He was a well-built, good-looking lad, and I remember the cat-calling and booing he and other black players used to receive. I can certainly remember him scoring some cracking goals.
All the tributes I have read about Cyrille Regis in the past few days reveal a much loved and well-respected man.
Allan Shearer tweeted, “What a man. What a centre-forward! One of my earliest football memories was walking into WBA for a trial as a 13-year-old kid, seeing Cyrille Regis and being in awe of him. RIP big man”.
Andy Cole tweeted, “Devastated this morning my hero my pioneer the man behind the reason I wanted to play football has passed away my heart goes out to all his family RIP Cyrille Regis”.
Vale, Cyrille Regis, 1958–2018.
BigAl
Guest
Some people just feel empowered, by abusing others who appear to have "...prestige" that they themselves can only dream about - and they will latch on to the easiest thing that enters their brain to justify it ...
Fadida
Guest
Fabulous post
Kangajets
Guest
Thanks I’ll check that game on you tube
Kanga Schillachi
Guest
Buddy Summed it up very well mate.
Gnasher
Guest
Also, very apt that you ran the story with a picture of him slamming in a shot against Chelsea...their fans in particular would have really, really hated the sight of him.
Gnasher
Guest
Even Queen's Park Rangers? Cheeky monkey. Lovely piece. If you haven't seen it, Man United 3 West Bromwich Albion 5 is the best 10 minutes you can spend on YouTube. Here in England, the shock and sympathy on hearing of Cyrille's death has been quite something. Good man, wonderful player.
Buddy
Guest
I spent my teenage years watching football being played in the uk in what I can best describe as a toxic atmosphere. I remember watching Brendan Batson in his early days at Cambridge United before he got noticed by division 1 scouts and left for WBA. Likewise, watched Laurie Cunningham playing at Orient in the mid seventies in the old division 2. The reason why I mention that is that at the lower division clubs, they appeared to be accepted and just treated as any other player but when I watched them play for West Brom later in what was then division 1 it was a different story and not one that any football fan could be proud of. I was at Upton Park on one occasion for an FA Cup tie when spectators threw a large bunch of bananas at Cyril Regis and the crowd was singing a highly offensive song suggesting he lived amongst the trees and it was being sung right around the ground. It came as a bit of a shock to me at the time as West Ham had employed the services of Bermudan born Clyde Best back in the 60’s and also Ade Coker so my logic said the tolerance level should have been much greater. It was just banter - was the common cry. On the other side of London, a young playeby the name of Paul Canonoville was breaking into a struggling Chelsea team and being booed and on the receiving end of racist chants by his own supporters. Not everyone, I should add, there were arguments and the odd fight over the subject but even those standing up for the player were only arguing that he should be supported as a member of the team even though he was black. The racism on the terraces and the stands was everywhere and at all clubs. I heard it on my travels and on the televised highlights (no live games in those days) and the tv companies did not turn down the microphones, nor did they make comments as far as I recall. Cyrille led the line though and was a powerful centre forward and enjoyable to watch as was LC who played wide, was pacey and skilful in attack. It was a privilege to see them play although not a privilege to be part of the football scene at the time although in some respects there were worse things going on than just the inane chants and songs villifying anyone who wasn’t a white anglophile.
Chopper
Guest
As a Coventry supporter from way back, Cyrille was a gentleman and I am told was a regular visitor recently to his old club and would stand for ages signing autographs and talking to fans. He was still a humble man. RIP Cyrille Regis
chris
Guest
Sad story Punter. What is wrong with people that they feel the need to abuse players because of colour?
chris
Guest
Oh wow thats really sad news. Like Kanga states above I didn't realise the abuse he copped. As a kid I used to watch him playing on The Big Match and read about him in Shoot magazines. If I remember right he had a good combination with Captain Marvel, Bryan Robson? WBA were a good team and Cyril was a standout striker. Way too young to pass. Thanks for the article Paul.
punter
Guest
Took my sister to her first game of English football in the early 80s, she asked me why every time the black player touched the ball, he gets booed. It was Cyrille Regis. RIP Cyrille.
Kanga Schillachi
Guest
I remember vividly watching on the tv Cyrille Regis for West Brom and Coventry . He was exciting player , I didn’t realise at the time the abuse he received. You can see from the grief and respect for Regis since his passing , what he meant to so many people.