Restoration of Brian Clough statue marks latest chapter of friendship that started in Scarborough
When Brian Clough’s statue returned to Albert Park in Middlesbrough last week following extensive restoration work, it marked the latest chapter in a friendship that began more than six decades ago at Scarborough’s cricket ground.
The story starts at Scarborough in the summer of 1964.
Clough was recovering from the serious knee injury suffered during his Sunderland playing career when he travelled to the Scarborough Cricket Club to watch his friend and Yorkshire captain Brian Close.
During the visit, Close introduced the then Sunderland goalscoring machine to a young Yorkshire batsman named Geoffrey Boycott - just making a name for himself in the England test team.
It proved to be the start of a friendship that lasted until Clough’s death in 2004.
Both men shared a love of each other’s sports.
Clough was a devoted cricket follower who regularly watched Yorkshire and England whenever football commitments allowed, while Boycott loved his football and followed Clough’s career closely as he went on to become one of the game’s most successful and influential managers.
The friendship soon extended beyond sport.
Boycott became close to Clough’s wife Barbara and their children, Nigel, Simon and Elizabeth.
The families remained in touch throughout Clough’s remarkable managerial career and beyond, with Boycott later speaking at his friend’s funeral following his death in October 2004.
More than 60 years after first meeting at Scarborough, Boycott unexpectedly found himself involved in another chapter of the Clough story.
In April this year, while appearing at Sunderland’s Roker Hotel with broadcaster Paul “Goffy” Gough, Boycott travelled down the A19 to Middlesbrough to visit the Albert Park statue of his old friend.
What he found disappointed him.
The statue had been surrounded by protective fencing for almost four years after structural problems left it unstable.
Although the fencing had been installed for safety reasons, it had become a sorry sight around one of Middlesbrough’s best-known sporting landmarks.
Middlesbrough Council later confirmed the monument had suffered recurring cracks and stability issues and required significant repair work.
Boycott publicly voiced his strong concerns and drew fresh attention to the issue.
His comments generated widespread publicity and renewed focus on the future of the monument.
Within days, the statue was removed from Albert Park and taken away for specialist restoration work.
The repairs were completed earlier this month and the statue returned to the park last week.
Speaking afterwards, Boycott said he was delighted to see the monument restored and back in place.
He described his intervention as something he felt he had to do for an old friend and expressed the hope that Clough’s legacy would continue to be protected in the years ahead.
Today, Boycott remains closely linked with the place where that friendship began, serving as President of Scarborough Cricket Club at North Marine Road.
Few could have imagined in 1964 that a chance introduction by Brian Close at Scarborough would lead to a friendship spanning more than six decades.
Yet that bond, forged through Yorkshire cricket and a shared love of sport, played a part in the story behind the restoration of one of British football’s most recognisable statues and iconic names.