Tributes have been paid to two players who signed for Brighton and Hove Albion at different ends of the 1960s.
Bobby Baxter has died at the age of 88 and Allan Gilliver has died at the age of 81.
Albion said: “The club was saddened to hear that defender Bobby Baxter has passed away at the age of 88.
“Bobby joined the club from Darlington in August 1961 and was initially signed as a forward but over the next six seasons established himself as Albion’s regular left-back or left-half.
“He was part of the squad which won promotion back to the Third Division in 1966 when he played in 44 of the 46 league games – and totalled 220 appearances for Albion, scoring seven goals.
“Bobby was among the players who celebrated the 50th anniversary of that promotion at the Amex.
“Bobby had started his career as a striker with Darlington, where he scored 30 goals in 67 games. He spent two seasons at Torquay United after leaving Albion before returning to Darlington for a second spell. In total he made 366 league appearances.
“He later played non-league football for Plymouth City and Bodmin Town.”
Bobby’s son Neil, who is an Albion season-ticket holder, said: “He loved Albion and said it was the best club he had played for and he always loved coming back to the Goldstone, Withdean or the Amex where he was always well looked after.
“Bobby and his wife Margaret bought a house in Goldstone Lane so his commute to training was very short.”
Albion also said: “Everyone at the club was sorry to hear that former Albion striker Allan Gilliver passed away on (Tuesday) 23 December at the age of 81.
“Allan was recruited by Freddie Goodwin in the summer of 1969 as a replacement for Charlie Livesey and top scored with 16 goals in the 1969-70 campaign as Albion went close to winning promotion to the old Second Division.
“An excellent cricketer, Allan played for Sussex seconds in the summer of 1970.
“The following season, Allan scored eight goals before Goodwin’s replacement Pat Saward sold him to Lincoln City in February 1971.
“Allan had played a small part in an important change to Football League regulations when he was sold by his first club Huddersfield Town to Blackburn Rovers in 1966.
“It became apparent that he was suffering from a slipped disc so the league ordered Huddersfield to pay £18,000 of the £30,000 transfer fee back to Blackburn as Allan’s medical records weren’t available when he was sold.
“The league subsequently made a medical examination mandatory for all transfers.
“Allan also played for Rotherham, Bradford City (twice) and Stockport County and in America for Baltimore Comets before dropping into non-league.
“He scored 95 goals in 297 appearances, with 24 goals in 68 matches for Albion.
“After retiring, he spent 24 years working in various roles at Bradford City including groundsman, safety officer, commercial manager and stadium manager.
“He was an active fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Society after being diagnosed with dementia in 2011.”
