A former Workington Reds forward who went on to become an Altrincham legend has died at the age of 72.

In 61 League games with the west Cumbrians, between February 1962 and the end of the season in May 1963 Jack Swindells scored 19 goals.

But that was small beer to what he achieved with Altrincham!

In his first full season at Moss Lane, 1965-66, he scored a phenomenal 82 goals in 63 games. In this total there were six hat-tricks, which included scoring five goals twice in a game (one of these being in the 6-0 1st Round FA Cup-tie against Scarborough) and seven in the 8-1 win over Chester Reserves.

Over the rest of his Altrincham career he notched a further twelve hat-tricks.

 In that first full season (65-66) the 'Robins' scored 190 goals in all competitions with strike partner Pat Connolly, scoring 34 goals himself! They went on to clinch the Cheshire League Championship and were also league Cup Finalists.

The following season they achieved the 'double' of League Championship and Cheshire Senior Cup. In fact, Swindells would see silverware in each of his six full seasons at Moss Lane.

In 1967-68 Alty were runners-up in the League and were North-West Floodlit League runners-up. 1968-69 saw them win the North West Floodlit League and in 1969-70 Altrincham landed the Northern Premier League Cup and were also Cheshire Senior Cup finalists.
In 1970-71, Jackie's last season, he went out on a high as Altrincham defeated Macclesfield to win the North west Floodlit League trophy yet again.

Unfortunately, during his last season, Swindells was dogged with injury after being a near ever present for the previous five seasons. He left Moss Lane at the end of the 1970/71 season but continued his career with Radcliffe Borough.

Jack, who died suddenly in his Cornwall home on Tuesday, was born in Manchester and started his career at Maine Road with City but never made the first team during his time there. He was an England Youth international, however.

He moved to Blackburn Rovers in November 1957 on a free transfer and they were to became the first of six clubs whom he played, and scored, for in the Football League.

After just nine games and a single goal he was transferred to Accrington Stanley, (then still a football league club), where he spent two successful seasons playing 65 league games and scoring 28 goals.

This success took him to Barnsley in June of 1961, where he scored 8 goals in 14 games before moving on to Workington.

Jack signed for Reds in February, 1962 and scored his first goal in his second match – a 3-1 win at Chester.

On the final day of the 61-62 season, he netted a hat-trick in a 5-3 victory over Bradford City.

The following season, 62-63, he played in all fifty league and cup matches for Reds scoring 14 goals (12 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup) before moving  to Torquay United for the start of the 63-64 campaign.

At Torquay, Swindells played 18 league games scoring six league goals, before moving again, this time to Newport County in July 1964/65, which was to be his last league club.

Jack played 23 league games there, scoring three league goals, mainly from midfield, before leaving for the north-west, for what were at the time, termed 'family reasons.

Last season he was guest of honour for Altrincham against Kidderminster, to mark his 72nd birthday. He reminisced with some familiar faces but also found himself obliging youthful autograph hunters who knew all about his fabled scoring exploits. As vice-chairman Grahame Rowley observed: 'Whenever anyone talks about Altrincham Football Club, one name always crops up. Young or old, it doesn't make any difference. There's a shake of the head and a look of wonder as Jackie's famous season is recalled, when he scored over 80 goals.

“He was a true legend of this club, and what he did here has been a frequent topic of conversation for all ages, from teens to 80-year olds. It was great that he was able to travel up for his birthday and spend some time with us all. This is desperately sad news, but it is still nice to think that we've all got that final memory of him'.

Current manager Graham Heathcote narrowly missed out on playing alongside Jackie but soon had a close-up of the former England Youth international's lethal touch in an FA Cup tie at Moss Lane.

'It was the early 70s, and Jackie had moved on to Radcliffe Boro,' said the Alty manager. 'Everyone had them down as outsiders when they came to our place, but Jackie had other ideas. He scored with a bullet header, and we were 2-0 down after quarter-of-an-hour!

'Andy Windsor saw us through with a hat-trick, but that was a reminder of what Jackie was all about anywhere near goal. Scoring 80-odd times in a season is phenomenal, by any standards, and I can't imagine we'll see it again.

'The term legend tends to be used a bit too easily these days, but it was entirely fitting for Jackie. He did so much for this club, and you could see the affection people had for him when he visited a few months ago'.

The club will consider ways of honouring Jackie's memory, according to Grahame Rowley, who added: 'For now, what matters most is that our thoughts are with Jackie's family'.

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