West Brom legend Regis dies aged 59

West Brom legend Cyrille Regis has died at the age of 59.

Regis earned legendary status at West Brom by scoring 112 goals in 297 appearances, and was seen as a trailblazer for black footballers, playing with Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson.

He moved to Coventry City in 1984 and won the FA Cup in 1987 as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2.

Regis played five times for England and was the third black player to receive a senior cap for the Three Lions, following in the footsteps of Viv Anderson and Cunningham.

Following his spell at Coventry, Regis joined Aston Villa before stints with Wolves, Wycombe Wanderers and Chester City.

A statement from football equality and inclusion organisation Kick if Out said of Regis: “Kick It Out is shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of former West Bromwich Albion forward Cyrille Regis at the age of 59.

“Cyrille was a pioneer of English football, becoming one of the first iconic black players of the professional game, alongside former Albion team-mates Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson.

“Following his career, Cyrille was a great supporter of the organisation’s work helping to tackle racism in the sport, kindly donating his time and efforts to Kick It Out on numerous occasions.”

Devastated this morning my hero my pioneer the man behind the reason I wanted to play football has passed away my heart goes out to all his family RIP Cyrille Regis pic.twitter.com/145idFZopb

— Andrew Cole (@vancole9) January 15, 2018