G.O.A.T. - Lincoln City

Andrew Martin 'Andy' Graver was born on Craghead in Lanchester, Co.Durham on the 12th of September 1927. In 1947 he signed professional forms for Newcastle United but his only game for Newcastle's first team came on 21 January 1950, standing in for the injured Jackie Milburn and it transpired that in September 1950, Lincoln City manager Bill Anderson persuaded him to sign for the then Third Division club for a fee of £5,000. He was an immediate success for the Imps scoring on his debut against Halifax and quickly established a fruitful partnership with inside-forward Johnny Garvie. In his first season at Lincoln he scored 20 goals in the League and FA Cup and the following year his 39 goals (36 in the League from only 35 games) not only made him the club's top scorer but made a major contribution to Lincoln winning the Third Division North title and promotion to the Second Division. His 36 goals in the 1951–52 season, included a double hat-trick (six goals) – two scored with his right foot, two with his left, and two headers. Unfortunately he injured a cartilage late in that season so was unable to accept an invitation to appear for the England 'B' team. He was also Lincoln's top scorer for the next two seasons, with 18 and 25 goals respectively. The 1953-54 season saw the Imps make it to the fourth round of the FA Cup and 61,231 saw them play Everton at Goodison Park, the highest ever crowd to see the Imps in action.

Being fast, direct, and above all a fine opportunist in front of goal, Andy soon attracted attention from other clubs, including Norwich City and Nottingham Forest, and it was that in December 1954that he signed for First Division side Leicester City for a record fee for them of £27,500. However he could not prevent the Foxes' from relegation and returned to Sincil Bank in the following summer.The Chronicle and the Echo were awash with the News, 'Graver the Great' was coming back to the Bank for £14,000.
Soon he was on the move again, this time to second-tier Stoke City, but then he dropped out of the League with Boston United before re-enlisting with Lincoln in 1958. He continued to hit the target until the 1960-61 season, when he left the League, bringing his goals total to 150 from 289 games in all competitions and establishing his position as Lincoln's all-time top scorer. He later returned to Lincoln yet again, as a coach for Lincoln City's Youth team and then as a scout.

 In May 1966, Andy Graver and his 1950s teammate Tony Emery were the first two former players admitted to the club's Hall of Fame in May 1996 and in 2006, Graver topped a poll as Lincoln fans voted for "100 League Legends" as part of the celebrations of the club's 100th season in the Football League. The following year, to mark the centenary of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA ), supporters were asked to vote for their club's all-time favourite player and Andy was again the Lincoln City fans choice.

The term "legend" is often overused when it comes to describing footballers but it is a most fitting and apt description for Andy Graver who sadly died on January 18th 2014 aged 86.