Jimmy Conway

[Mince n Tatties]

In the same predicament as Nobby Stiles health wise,been suffering from dementia since his fifties,now 70 he has been in hospital for last 3 years where he lives in Portland in Oregon.
Maybe constant heading of the ball has played a part in his illness..Poor Jimmy.

[colinwhite]

Loved Jimmy , one of my all time favorite players Very sad indeed what has happened to him .
Before his knee injury ( against Plymouth at home ) he was super quick and I believe he won the 100 metres London sprint for pro players.

[BestOfBrede]

Love Jimmy and wish him good health, but I don't believe he was one to 'constantly' head the ball?
If I remember correctly (I was quite young when Jimmy And Les were our wingers), neither of them headed the ball on a regular basis.
Doesn't take away the seriousness of the disease and I pray for him!

[b+w geezer]

I share the previous poster's recollections and feelings. The latest article doing the rounds (from The Independent, doubtless prompted by the Nobby Stiles publicity) is a poignant and mainly good piece. However it describes Jimmy as having been a battering ram centre forward and that of course is nonsense.

Stiles wasn't a centre forward either, though, nor was heading prominent in the way he played.

[filham]

Sad news indeed.
Jimmy with Les Barrat and Steve Earl formed perhaps the fastest, lightweight and most skillful attacks we ever saw at the Cottage.

[davew]

Very sorry to hear that news!!! 1 of my all time Fulham favourites!!

[davew]

In the same predicament as Nobby Stiles health wise,been suffering from dementia since his fifties,now 70 he has been in hospital for last 3 years where he lives in Portland in Oregon.
Maybe constant heading of the ball has played a part in his illness..Poor Jimmy.

I watched him throughout is career with us, I don't remember him constantly heading the ball or even hardly heading the ball, always gave us 100% though! I wish him all the best!!!

[Andy S]

Jimmy was a full back who later converted to a winger. Was very skilful. I think I remember him heading the odd ball coming in from the wing but I also recollect him going up for a header against Chelsea and leading with a hand that was struck giving away a penalty. Whoops! However I don't remember him being a prolific header of the ball. Good luck Jim

[Mince n Tatties]

His doctors are putting it down to that I believe, yes I can't remember him heading a lot,but over a long career.
Anyway its sad yo hear.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Jimmy Conway, rapid down the right wing, and the flying Les Barrett on the left wing, and pacey Steve Earle in the centre, has to be the quickest front three. Never to be forgotten Jimmy gave great entertainment and pleasure to those of us who were fortunate enough to watch him in action.

[Fulham Tup North]

Big shame. You hear about this disease so much now & everybody knows someone suffering.
Wishing him & his family all the very best.

[Woolly Mammoth]

As a matter of interest, did Jimmy not have a brother called John, who had a couple of seasons at Fulham, but I don't think he was a regular.

[colinwhite]

Jimmy as we all know, was a 5' 8 right winger who very rarely heading the ball in matches at least. You are still loved and not forgotten at Fulham .

[f321ffc]

As a matter of interest, did Jimmy not have a brother called John, who had a couple of seasons at Fulham, but I don't think he was a regular.

That's correct.

[Snibbo]

As a matter of interest, did Jimmy not have a brother called John, who had a couple of seasons at Fulham, but I don't think he was a regular.

That's correct.

Yes, don't think he made first team appearance. We were getting quite a few players from Ireland in those days - the Conways, Ivan Murray, Brendan Mullen, Turlough O'Connor off the top of my head. Jack McClelland was Norniron - very good keeper. A bit later John Dempsey, though I think he was born in England, Jimmy Dunne

Loved Jimmy Conway. He could also play very well in midfield - I remember him bossing Geoff Hurst one match when we beat the Spammers. The newpaper headline on the sports page was "Hurst Handcuffed", alluding to the way Jimmy shackled him.

Correction - it seems John Conway played in the first 2 games in our 75 FA Cup run, but was plagued by injuries and given a free transfer about the same time

[WhiteJC]

 
Struck down in his 50s, Fulham legend Jimmy Conway is facing the same fight as Nobby Stiles
Jimmy Conway, the former Republic of Ireland international, has been hospitalised with dementia since 2013. His family are convinced that his condition was caused by his profession

The family of a Fulham legend who introduced football to thousands of young American players has faced the same premature struggle with dementia as Nobby Stiles, the Manchester United and England wing half whose plight has been revealed by The Independent this week.

Jimmy Conway, the former Republic of Ireland international who played over 300 times for Fulham and was in the side which contested the 1975 FA Cup final with West Ham, began displaying signs of brain disease in his 50s - even earlier than Stiles – and after a period of rapidly deteriorating health is now unable to communicate. Conway has been hospitalised since 2013.

His wife, Noeleen, has received support at their home in Portland, Oregon, where the Portland Timbers club which her husband captained staged a series of testimonial events stretching over one month, after it became clear seven years ago that he was struggling.

Mrs Conway has told the The Oregonian newspaper that she is "100 percent certain" that the 70-year-old's condition is trauma-induced, after his years of heading the ball as a battering ram forward for Fulham, between 1966 and 1976, and then Manchester City, until 1978. Doctors have also said that they believe several concussions sustained during his playing career may be the cause of the problem, it has been reported in the US.   

"Sometimes I look at his eyes and it's like someone has pulled the shades down," Mrs Conway said. "And I think that's the hardest part. We've been married for 45 years. We worked together. We were in each other's pockets 24/7. And he just went away. I suspect it began in his 50s. The declines were there. They are so subtle. I'd notice some things but you kind of brush them off. And then something else pops up."

Conway entered the advanced stages of dementia in 2014, since when he has been unable to recognize people. His two years with the Portland Timbers, now in the MLS, cemented his status as one of Oregon's soccer legends, one of four players in the Timbers' 'Ring of Honor'. But he is credited as also being greatest force behind Oregon's youth soccer surge, 30 years ago.

daughterWhen the Fulham 2000 supporters' group were trying to raise funds to buy Craven Cottage in 1995, Conway flew back to Britain to help his former team-mates re-enact the 1975 FA Cup final. The late Bobby Moore's place was taken by Blackburn's Tony Gale, a Fulham junior in '75 but otherwise all 21 players from 20 years ago were found and agreed to play in a 70-minute match at Craven Cottage.

The daughter of Jeff Astle, Dawn Astle, will on Friday meet the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, Gordon Taylor, for an interview as part of her work for a BBC documentary charting the possible link between brain disease and heading heavy footballs in the 1960s and 1970s. "We believe there are many people who have suffered like my dad who we do not know about," said Ms Astle. "People think 'Oh, these people are in their 70s. They are old.' But dad was 54. Others have also suffered, years before the usual onset of this kind of illness."


http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/jimmy-conway-dementia-nobby-stiles-fulham-jeff-astle-a7536191.html

[Dodgin]

Jimmy ten years at the club and a joy to watch.

[gang]

It's not how many times you'r hit on the head that counts, it's what damage is done.
Such a good player.

[Williams Tale]

As a matter of interest, did Jimmy not have a brother called John, who had a couple of seasons at Fulham, but I don't think he was a regular.

That's correct.

Yes, don't think he made first team appearance. We were getting quite a few players from Ireland in those days - the Conways, Ivan Murray, Brendan Mullen, Turlough O'Connor off the top of my head. Jack McClelland was Norniron - very good keeper. A bit later John Dempsey, though I think he was born in England, Jimmy Dunne

Loved Jimmy Conway. He could also play very well in midfield - I remember him bossing Geoff Hurst one match when we beat the Spammers. The newpaper headline on the sports page was "Hurst Handcuffed", alluding to the way Jimmy shackled him.

Correction - it seems John Conway played in the first 2 games in our 75 FA Cup run, but was plagued by injuries and given a free transfer about the same time

John Conway made nearly 40 appearances for fulham .

[toshes mate]

One of my all time favourites, full of energy and a real handful for opponents when at his best.  I remember his goal against Wolves on debut (League Cup match IIRC) which was a real cracker.  I wish him all the very best.