Most Famous Blackburn Lad Ever?

[K-Hod]

I was going to suggest Wayne Hemingway but it turns out he was born in Morcambe.

He was, but I'm sure he grew up in Blackburn didn't he? Sure someone once told me he initially had that shop opposite Barzooka years back?!

[perthblue02]

Surely John Noel Nichols gets a shout, maybe not the name but his invention, Vimto

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Give over guys. There's only one contender - Bryan Douglas.

[perthblue02]

He was, but I'm sure he grew up in Blackburn didn't he? Sure someone once told me he initially had that shop opposite Barzooka years back?!

He did have a Red or Dead shop at one stage (early eighties) across from where the Library /North Bar was and a small unit where they manufactured somewhere else in Blackburn

Edit: Moved to Blackburn when he was 7 according to thishttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/my-perfect-weekend/10577161/My-perfect-weekend-Wayne-Hemingway-designer-and-youth-ambassador.html

Edited March 29, 2016 by perthblue02

[ABBEY]

Post deleted ? Why

[yoda]

dr rose

[Baz]

Daniel Thwaites

[T J Hooker]

tommy balls(rip)

Edited March 29, 2016 by T J Hooker

[VinjayV4]

He's a world champion. What more do you want?

In a minority sport. He rode a bike that's sod all compared to what Jack did for this club and town.

As far as local Blackburnians Jack has to be top of the list and if he isn't something is badly wrong. One of the biggest reasons to get into the PL is to keep Jack's memory more prominent. Forget Shankly, forget Clough (though I liked Clough and seen/read good things about Shankly), forget arrogant egomaniacs who get undeserved knighthoods.

Jack is the biggest legend ever in football far as I'm concerned not just in Blackburn! There's nothing that tops what he did. If he isn't the most famous Blackburnian nationwide/worldwide we should do our best as Rovers fans to ensure he takes his rightful place.

Edited March 29, 2016 by VinjayV4

[T J Hooker]

[VinjayV4]

Because maintaining Jack's memory is serious to me and its hurtful he isn't winning this debate by a country mile. Not going to blame anyone specifically but its relevant to use this topic to highlight it. As fans we can work together to ensure Jack's name is out there at EVERY opportunity. Not for PR reasons...for iconic reasons!

Sorry it had to be said whether it comes across as whingeing or not. Continue the debate about who IS top but don't forget who SHOULD be top!

[T J Hooker]

I'm not a fan of any other sports other than football but even I know that what Carl Fogarty MBE achieved in his field was amazing whether you like it or not, not to mention his greatest achievement of winning I'm a celeb..., i don't recall jack walker ever completing a bush tucker challenge.

Vinjay- note the words 'Most Famous' in the threads title.

Edited March 29, 2016 by T J Hooker

[VinjayV4]

I'm not a fan of any other sports other than football but even I know that what Carl Fogarty MBE achieved in his field was amazing whether you like it or not, not to mention his greatest achievement of winning I'm a celeb..., i don't recall jack walker ever completing a bush tucker challenge.

There are no words...

[Tom]

I know it will set you off on another long post Vinjay but if you cared so deeply about uncle jacks legacy you wouldn't have abandoned his team for any reason!

I know you felt justified but you gave up on what he worked for

[T J Hooker]

There are no words...

sorry the 'l'm a celeb' portion of the post was obviously(I thought) just meant as a joke(although technically.....)

Edited March 29, 2016 by T J Hooker

[VinjayV4]

I know it will set you off on another long post Vinjay but if you cared so deeply about uncle jacks legacy you wouldn't have abandoned his team for any reason!

I know you felt justified but you gave up on what he worked for

People can call it sympathy seeking if you want but here's the basic facts. I was bitter, I was angry, I was depressed and as I've indicated it wasn't just Rovers related. Can we PLEASE just leave it at that? I've managed to mostly forgive (if not forget) how about remembering the countless times I brought up his legacy? All the countless hours I spent arguing about it and while people didn't usually agree (though a growing number of people started criticising the trustees as one example) don't make out that I didn't care enough.

There is no truth in that whatsoever his legacy was ALWAYS on my mind. Literally every waking moment as it still is now. Obviously I can't criticise others for leaving but look at their reasons. They didn't like the owners, relegation, Kean, etc. Then compare it to my list of reasons (certainly not due to relegation though my anger towards Venkys in particular wasn't healthy) and see who has the stronger argument. People moaned because I argued too much and then called me a quitter because I had enough of arguing about it and left. Can't win can I?

Don't you remember late 2011? I nearly lost the plot and was losing self control. Had to get out when I did and just stop making a bigger deal of City than it really is. How many more times do I have to explain myself? I have an excessive compulsion to be extremely defensive (the diagnosis has been noted) and I'm sorry but that's just the way it is.

EIT is one of the best posters on here and I don't want to see his thread derailed. If you respond to this I can't guarantee that won't happen because as you say it "sets me off". So please just leave it at that.

sorry the 'l'm a celeb' portion of the post was obviously(I thought) just meant as a joke(although technically.....)

Hate to point this out since he's a United fan (that's right its a dig at United sorry for focusing more on them than whether Accrington Stanley might get promoted) but it takes dedication to be the best in your field. Maybe "rode a bike" was a bit dismissive of someone who was a World Champion. I would never for instance say Alex Ferguson was a rubbish manager despite my high dislike for him.

Yes I note its "most famous" and not "should be most famous" but when some people suggested Jack wasn't the most famous (whether true or not) that "set me off." I genuinely didn't want to start an argument but its not just me who has little self restraint on here. Its always angered me that people like Ferguson get their endless eulogies while Jack gets virtually nothing in comparison. Complaining because someone makes a negative remark about Rovers on Soccer Saturday for instance is absolutely trivial in comparison. Jack was a greater man and bigger legend than people like that will ever be and its about time the media recognised it. If they don't then its up to us to remind them until the message sinks in.

Edited March 30, 2016 by VinjayV4

[perthblue02]

Another little known one, starred in every episode of one of arguably the big US tv shows of the seventies and all spin off movies (6), might not know the name but the face? the guy above "grandma" and now a respected guitarist / musician Jon Walmsley

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Walmsley http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0909455/

Edited March 30, 2016 by perthblue02

[ABBEY]

In a minority sport. He rode a bike that's sod all compared to what Jack did for this club and town.

As far as local Blackburnians Jack has to be top of the list and if he isn't something is badly wrong. One of the biggest reasons to get into the PL is to keep Jack's memory more prominent. Forget Shankly, forget Clough (though I liked Clough and seen/read good things about Shankly), forget arrogant egomaniacs who get undeserved knighthoods.

Jack is the biggest legend ever in football far as I'm concerned not just in Blackburn! There's nothing that tops what he did. If he isn't the most famous Blackburnian nationwide/worldwide we should do our best as Rovers fans to ensure he takes his rightful place.

There are no words ..

Apart from world yes world champion in s sport followed worldwide by millions !! No idea why my last post was deleted but why the hate ? City bias shining through .

Why ?

Even I shout and want quigg to win and he's an expert dingle player

[Al]

In a minority sport. He rode a bike that's sod all compared to what Jack did for this club and town.

As far as local Blackburnians Jack has to be top of the list and if he isn't something is badly wrong. One of the biggest reasons to get into the PL is to keep Jack's memory more prominent. Forget Shankly, forget Clough (though I liked Clough and seen/read good things about Shankly), forget arrogant egomaniacs who get undeserved knighthoods.

Jack is the biggest legend ever in football far as I'm concerned not just in Blackburn! There's nothing that tops what he did. If he isn't the most famous Blackburnian nationwide/worldwide we should do our best as Rovers fans to ensure he takes his rightful place.

I'm not knocking Jack but Superbikes is far from a minority sport. Bikers all over the Europe follow it avidly. You may not like it and I personally prefer F1 but don't diss it because it's not your choice.

[K-Hod]

I think the argument about Jack is a bit of a folly. I guarantee if you ask the average man in the street (not from East Lancs), more people would know who Carl Fogarty was than Jack Walker. Carl Fogarty's appearance on 'I'm a Celebrity' was burned into the public consciousness a lot more recently. (Even discounting his Superbike achievements for the moment.)

As much as it was a monumental achievement with JW and Rovers, it was nearly 20 years ago. Heck, many have mentioned Sky's efforts to erase us from PL history in their coverage, I daresay it's been effective....

Edited March 30, 2016 by K-Hod

[Al]

No matter how he protests, Vinjay abandoned Rovers for City. That is unforgiveable and he has abandoned his right to lecture anybody else about disloyalty.

[tomphil]

If Jack had courted celebrity he'd probably have been the most famous worldwide Blackburn son ever. Thankfully he didn't and even if he was younger when it happened I doubt he'd have popped up in the jungle decades later.

Foggy will always have been widely known around the world but only in certain circles and even less in those circles would know he comes from Blackburn. Probably the same with Wainwright as everyone just assumes he came from the Lake district I suppose.

Plenty of big names associated with the Town though down the years which isn't bad for a relatively small place.

[oldjamfan1]

Vinjay, suggesting someone other than Uncle Jack as the most famous Blackburn lad ever is not tantamount to being a traitor against Blackburn Rovers Football Club. I could be cruel here and say that buggering off to support another club is!

I live in Scotland, and I can categorically assure you that even those who follow football and are old enough to remember 1994/95 will not necessarily be able to remember the name of the old fella who funded that particular football team. However, even leaving aside the fact that he was a multiple world champion at a sport watched by millions, if not billions, world wide, thanks to the power of national TV, Carl Fogarty is famous throughout the UK for his victorious stint on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here .In fact, if I were to stand on Sauchiehall Street in the centre of Glasgow, and ask everyone who walked past me if they knew who 'Foggy' was, a significant proportion of them would, mainly through his jungle stint but there would be many who are motorsport fans too. If I were to ask who 'Jack Walker' was, you'd get as many folk mentioning Coronation Street as you would Blackburn Rovers or for that matter Walkers Steel, and in either case it really wouldn't be that many.

You need to seriously calm the kean down matey, getting that stressed over something as trivial as this is not good for you.

As for some of the other names mentioned; I've met Wayne Hemingway many times through my work. He's a proper Rovers fan and loves catching up with other Rovers on his travels, though he's not really from Blackburn, as such (born in Morecambe I think). He lived in the town as a child and young adult but now lives down on the south coast somewhere. He does consider himself to be from Blackburn and that's good enough for me.

Matt Smith: Had he been from Blackburn I would have said he was a contender just because of the coverage and popularity of Doctor Who. However, as others have said he was born down south somewhere. I am almost certain his dad was a Darrener, Dave Smith, and in fact I think I may have played football against him as a kid. Matt himself was a good footballer by all accounts.

Some great posts on here, love the fact that the inventor of Vimto was from Blackburn!

[Mike E]

Lee Mack supports Rovers, is there any connection to the town though? I know he was born in Southport and lived part of his childhood in Darwen.

[oldjamfan1]

Another little known one, starred in every episode of one of arguably the big US tv shows of the seventies and all spin off movies (6), might not know the name but the face? the guy above "grandma" and now a respected guitarist / musician Jon Walmsley

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Walmsley http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0909455/

My cousin!

Lee Mack supports Rovers, is there any connection to the town though? I know he was born in Southport and lived part of his childhood in Darwen.

Lee Mack went to Everton School so I assume he lived in Blackburn at some point?