Shrewsbury Town mourn passing of club legend Frank Clarke, aged 79

Willenhall-born frontman Clarke represented Town between 1961 and 1968 and was an official member of the club's hall of fame.

Clarke scored 77 goals in 188 league appearances for Division Three Shrewsbury. He netted legendary FA Cup goals and was famed and loved for a tireless work rate and clever link play.

In all competitions he scored 89 goals in 218 matches, a tally bettered only by Arthur Rowley and Jimmy McLaughlin.

He featured heavily in Town's back-to-back runs to the fifth round of the cup in 1964/65 and 1965/66.

The forward would go on to play top flight English football for his other three clubs, Queens Park Rangers, Ipswich and Carlisle.

Remarkably, he was one of five Clarke siblings to play in the Football League. Frank was the eldest and – unlike Allan, Derek, Kelvin and Wayne – the only to not represent hometown club Walsall.

Wayne scored 29 goals in 76 games for Town across two spells in the 1990s.

He left Town for QPR in 1968, for whom he played in the First Division before being signed by Sir Bobby Robson at Portman Road, where he spent three seasons and played more than 60 games.

Clarke enjoyed a brilliant spell with his final club Carlisle, who he helped lead into the top flight for the first time in their history. He was leading scorer as the Cumbrians secured Division Two promotion in 1974.

He later returned to Shrewsbury with wife Sylvia and daughters Sharon and Joanne. Clarke worked as supervisor at Adams Sports Centre in Wem for 28 years until 2010. He was a grandfather and great-grandfather to Rachael, Francesca, Maisie, Madeline, Isabella and Harlow.