Tributes paid after death of football club boss
TRIBUTES have been paid to a football club president and amateur league stalwart described as ‘Mr Bacup’.
Frank Manning served as secretary, chairman, and president of Bacup Borough FC during his 54-year association with the club.
The grandfather-of-three, who lived in Stacksteads all of his life, was also involved with the Bacup Amateur Football League for more than 40 years and was secretary of Bacup Sunday Football League for 13 years.
The former school caretaker passed away at Fairfield Hospital on Tuesday, May 22 aged 83, surrounded by loving family.
His daughter Judith Scholes, 55, who lives in Stacksteads, said he will be a ‘big loss’ to their family and the Valley.
She said: “Bacup Borough had been his life and he kept going with the club as long as he could.
“He had been ill for about 16 months after a fall at home and had been in and out of hospital.
“Myself and his grand- children were all with him at the end. He was a lovely man and was renowned for his one-liners. We will all miss him.”
Frank first started in football administration with the Bacup Amateur Football League in 1953 and joined Bacup Borough FC as secretary in 1964.
He later joined the Lancashire FA as an assessor of referees and in 2004 was recognised by the FA with a special award for his 50 years of service.
Bacup Borough FC manager Brent Peters said great-grandfather Frank ‘was in every meaning of the word ‘Mr Bacup.’”
He said: “Frank Man- ning was a true ambassador for Bacup Borough.
“His work was exemplary, his commitment was never questionable, his rewards were typical of non-league football - nothing other than pride in his work.
“He was a massive figure in the amateur league and the Valley has got to be thankful for that. He was the heart and soul of the club and the heart and soul of football. It was his love, his life, it was everything.”
Frank was a works manager at Webron Products in Cloughfold for 25 years from the 1970s to the 1990s. He was also a caretaker at St Joseph’s RC primary school in Stacksteads for seven years and later worked as a handyman at Rowell Grange nursing home in Waterfoot for two years.
A Requiem Mass will be held at St Mary and St Anselm RC Church on Bankside Lane, Bacup at 12noon on Friday, June 1, followed by a cremation at Burnley Crematorium at 1.40pm conducted by Fr Frank Thorpe.
BRENT Peters marks 20th anniversary at Bacup Borough - see Sport section