Everyone at Sheffield Wednesday was distressed to learn of the passing of club legend Johnny Fantham.
Johnny was 75 and died after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Carole and daughters Tracey and Stephanie.
The inside forward was without question one of the most exciting talents ever to pull on the blue and white shirt, amassing 434 senior appearances for the Owls and posting 166 goals.
He remains Sheffield Wednesday’s most prolific post-war marksman and is second only to Andrew Wilson in the club’s all-time goalscoring stakes.
The native Sheffielder represented the Owls for 13 years between 1956 and 1969 and was a key part of the team that lifted the Second Division title in 1959 and finished runners-up to Spurs in the top flight two years later.
He also played in the 1966 FA Cup final when Wednesday lost 3-2 to Everton at Wembley.
Johnny, who earned a full international cap for England and Under-23 honours, went on to play for Rotherham United and Macclesfield Town before hanging up his boots in 1972.
Away from football, Johnny’s great passion was golf, which he loved to play in his leisure time.
Typically, he was outstanding at that sport too and held the club record at Beauchief golf course in Sheffield for several years.
Johnny was much-loved by his family and will be greatly missed but he is now at peace.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this extremely difficult time.
JOHNNY FANTHAM
1939-2014
RIP