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Dead at 71 Blackburn Rovers mourn passing of chairman Walker
BLACKBURN, England (AP) -- Jack Walker, owner of Blackburn Rovers, has died of cancer, his family said Friday. He was 71. Walker, one of Britain's richest men, poured millions of pounds into his beloved club and saw Rovers win the Premier League title in 1995. Although based on the island of Jersey, Walker traveled to every game and was at Liverpool on the day Rovers clinched their first league trophy in 80 years under manager Kenny Dalglish. Four years later, however, the club was relegated to Division One. "He knew everyone right down to the bag man," said former Rovers defender Tony Gale. "Everyone interested him, and Jack was known to everyone. He transformed the place into what it is today. The town and the club owe a great debt to him." "It is terrible news that Jack Walker has died," Football Association chairman Steve Double said. "He was a fantastic servant of the game and the achievements of Blackburn over the 90s are testament to the man. Without Jack Walker the club would not have reached the heights it did." Blackburn was struggling in the old Second Division when Walker took control of the club in 1991. Within the first three years he lavished 25 million pounds (US$37.5 million) on new players, including the 3.5-million-pound (US$5.25 million) signing of striker Alan Shearer from Southampton. Walker also lured former Liverpool hero Dalglish to Blackburn in another move which proved to be a catalyst for the 1995 Premiership success. Walker's money not only took Rovers to the summit of English soccer, it also funded a massive redevelopment of Ewood Park, which is now one of the finest stadiums outside the top flight. But in recent times, illness forced Walker to hand over day-to-day control of club affairs and he was unable to prevent Rovers' relegation. Walker had amassed a personal fortune of 600 million pounds (US$900 million) from his steel business, and last year he was listed as Britain's 30th richest man. In addition to his steel business, he built up Jersey European Airways to be worth an estimated 100 million pounds (US$150 million). Walker lived in a relatively modest farmhouse overlooking the sea in Jersey, to where he had retreated in tax exile in 1974 with his wife Carol and two sons. But he prided himself on his hands-on approach and flew back to watch the club in almost every game. He was constantly on the telephone to his manager and many of the players and their families. Walker was born the youngest of three boys whose father was a metal worker at the Leyland motor factory. He left school at the age of 13 to work in a sheet-metal plant.
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