AFTER an exhibition was set up to celebrate the life and career of Jimmy McMillan, we look back at the amateur footballer’ success for Crook Town Football Club.

Jimmy is Crook Town’s second longest-serving player with 505 appearances for the club, and is the only player to win four Amateur Cups, having tasted success in 1954, 1959, 1962 and 1964.

He grew up in the village of Kibblesworth, near Gateshead, where he first tasted competitive football as a 14- year-old with Kibblesworth Juniors.

The following year saw a switch to Ouston Juniors, a season in which Jimmy helped them to four cup finals.

During his impressive spells in the Amateur Cup, he caught the attention of many Football League clubs, with Newcastle, Sunderland and Chelsea all expressing an interest.

But it was Newcastle who moved quickest, with the club inviting Jimmy to train with their “N” side after impressing scouts.

Representing the side on a number of occasions, Jimmy once scored seven goals in one game, leading to Newcastle offering him terms but remarkably he resisted the temptation, choosing to stick with the amateur game.

Jimmy’s successful history with the Amateur Cup started during his time at Willington Football Club, where he reached his first final, albeit as a reserve, against Bishop Auckland in 1950.

His performances that season led to Sunderland making an offer for his services and despite making a few appearances for their third team, he declined another contract offer before deciding to join Crook Town in September 1951.

Coincidentally, Jimmy made his debut against Sunderland on September 17 in a game to mark the opening of Crook’s Millfield Ground.

In his time at Millfield Ground, Jimmy scored 94 goals, placing him joint second in their all-time leading goalscoring list, behind Ron Thompson with 117.

In his first season at Crook, the club managed to reach the quarter-finals of the Amateur Cup, only to be beaten by Walton and Hersham in a game watched by more than 20,000 spectators.

The 1953-54 season saw Jimmy claim the first of his four Amateur Cup victories after three hard-fought games against local rivals Bishop Auckland.

100,000 people were present at Wembley to watch Crook play out a 2-2 draw in the original final, with the first replay finishing the same scoreline at St James’ Park.

Crook were eventually crowned champions though, after claiming a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park.

After National Service, Jimmy returned to Crook for the 1958-59 season and again tasted victory, this time at the first attempt with a 3-2 win over Barnet in front of 65,000.

Having already won two Amateur Cups, 1959 saw the Crook legend represent England, winning his first amateur cap against France in Bayonne.

He stayed at Crook for a further seven seasons, winning further international caps in 1962 and 1964.

December 1968 saw Crook play their first match under floodlights against Manchester City and Jimmy was invited to watch but was later pushed into playing As part of the exhibition at Crook library, run by Durham Amateur Football Trust (DAFT), a film evening was arranged at St Catherine’s Community Centre with guests including Frank Clark, Ray Snowball, Barry Storey and John Tobin, all former team-mates of Jimmy.