It is now just over six weeks since a crowdfunding appeal was launched to raise cash to provide a gravestone for legendary Owls ‘superfan’ Tom Wharton, who is buried in an unmarked grave in Wardsend Cemetery just a stone’s throw from Hillsborough.
Tom missed only one home game between 1880 and 1926, in addition to attending countless away fixtures and cup-ties, including the Owls’ first appearance in the FA Cup final of 1890.
He showed incredible devotion to the Wednesday cause and the £1,500 target will also pay for an information board.
The board will give full details of Wharton, in addition to another pivotal figure in the history of Wednesday - Tom Marsden, who is laid to rest in the same cemetery.
It was not, however, with the football club that Marsden achieved countrywide fame but as part of Wednesday Cricket Club, from which the football section was born in 1867.
The Brocco Bank-born Marsden was without doubt one of the finest cricketers of his generation and adored by the Sheffield sporting public in the 1820/30s.
His score of 227 in a game played in 1826, made his name famous throughout England and he remained a revered individual until his untimely passing in 1843, aged only 36.
The respect he was shown in Sheffield was underlined in 1831 when admirers and friends commissioned a local silversmith to produce a magnificent trophy that was presented to Tom.
Today the silverware resides at Sheffield Town Hall and is competed for annually by the reformed Wednesday Cricket Club and three other sides in a 20/20 format competition.
The appeal is edging towards the halfway point and any further donations would be greatly appreciated – CLICK HERE to help fund a fitting memorial for Tom Wharton and Tom Marsden.