Len Shackleton (3 May 1922 – 27 November 2000) was one of football's great entertainers. Starring for Sunderland, Newcastle and, on a mere five occasions for England, this supremely talented inside left thrilled large crowds wherever he played. Born in Bradford, Shackleton, despite being small in stature, played for England schoolboys.  While still at school he signed amateur forms for Bradford Park Avenue. In 1938 Shackleton joined the ground staff at Arsenal, London, only to be told at the end of the 1938–1939 season that he was ‘not good enough for Arsenal or professional football’. He returned to Bradford and spent the war years both working and playing football.  In 1946, while still at Bradford, Shackleton was chosen to play for England against Scotland in the victory match at Hampden Park, Glasgow. During the same year he was transferred to Newcastle United for a fee of £13,000. In a memorable first game he scored six goals as Newcastle defeated Newport 13–0 in a Second Division fixture. He soon came to clash with the authorities over conditions for himself and the other professionals, and after eighteen months he was sold to neighbouring Sunderland in the much heralded ‘horse auction’ transfer. Sealed bids were taken for his signature, and Sunderland offered £20,050—exactly £50 more than the nearest bid.   Playing as an inside forward, during his 11 years with Sunderland, Shackleton reached two FA Cup semi-finals and narrowly missed out on a championship medal. He holds the club’s post-war record, having scored 101 times in 348 games. Above all else his activities on the field have reached legendary status.  On one occasion, 2-1 up against Arsenal with 5 minutes to go, he dribbled the ball into his opponent’s penalty area before standing on the ball, pretending to comb his hair while looking at his watch. It was during his stay at Sunderland that he wrote his controversial autobiography, Clown Prince of Soccer (1955). An ankle injury, suffered in 1952, proved increasingly irritating and aided his decision to retire from the game after the first match of the 1957–1958 season.  He made only five official appearances for England, a fact often credited to his charismatic individuality.  England's long-standing manager Walter Winterbottom tried to make Len Shackleton conform.  ‘If only Len would come half-way to meet the needs of the team there wouldn't be many to touch him,’ he once complained.  After leaving football Shackleton remained in the north-east, at one time running his own hairdressing shop, before becoming a journalist for the Daily Express and, later, for the Sunday People.