Waggy tells Hull City to 'get stuck in' ahead of play-off final
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The first thing Ken "Waggy" Wagstaff sees when he opens his eyes in the morning is a photograph taken decades ago of him with his beloved Hull City team-mates.
"Where's Grandad? Can you spot me?" he asks his grandson, who has come in from playing in the garden.
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"There," says the boy, dabbing a finger on the glass that protects the image.
Wagstaff, who was voted the Tigers' greatest player of the 20th Century, points to a second man in the photograph.
"And there's Chillo. He was a super player. We just loved the way each other played."
The picture showing Ken Wagstaff (third from left, front row) with his Tigers team-mates hangs on his bedroom wall [Ken Wagstaff]He is referring to the late Chris Chilton, the club's all-time top scorer with a tally of 222 goals between 1960 and 1971.
Wagstaff, who joined Hull in 1964 from Mansfield Town, is second on the list with 197 goals.
As strike partners, they were prolific. And they were inseparable off the pitch, too.
Wagstaff is looking forward to the Championship play-off final between Hull City and Middlesbrough on Saturday, when victory will secure the winner a place in the Premier League.
"Just get stuck in," he says in a message to head coach Sergej Jakirović and the players. "Bring it home to Hull."
He won't be at Wembley, but he hopes to watch the match at home.
Wagstaff, known for his laid-back attitude, says there will be pressure on the players to perform at their best, but adds: "My advice is to treat it just like a league game. Go out there and give your best."
Ken Wagstaff says he always looked forward to training [Ken Wagstaff]Asked if he ever got nervous during big games, Wagstaff – who hails from the small mining town of Shirebrook, near Mansfield – laughs and says no.
His daughter, Francesca, chips in: "You know what? I believe that. Dad is the most laid-back person. Always has been."
Sitting at the kitchen table at home in his adopted Hull, Wagstaff continues: "It came naturally. I just loved playing for City."
Hull City secured their place in the Championship play-off final with a 2-0 victory at Millwall [Getty Images]These days his memory is not what it was, but his recollection of donning the black and amber shirt at the old Boothferry Park is sharp.
He says he never underestimated the importance of the supporters.
"I felt very lucky," he says. "Straightaway, the fans loved me and I loved them. Even now, people are good to me. You'd think I was still playing!
"I loved my time playing for Hull City. I just loved playing football."
Everywhere in his home are photographs and reminders from his playing days.
Wagstaff frequently references Chilton, who died in 2021 at the age of 77. He had dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Francesca tells of the bond that spanned decades.
"At the end, Chillo was hanging on to see Dad," she says. "We got there at 11:30 at night. Dad just sat there with his old mate. We all said we felt the most wonderful feeling in that room. It was special. They were so close."
Ken Wagstaff, left, and Chris Chilton during a Hull City training session in the 1960s [Ken Wagstaff]Today's Hull City team stands on the brink of playing in one of the finest leagues in the world.
Wagstaff achieved great feats, including being part of the Hull side that won the Division Three title in 1966, but he never played in the top flight of English football, which was Division One in those days.
He would have liked to have experienced the top flight, but he doesn't dwell on it.
"I can't grumble. I've had a great life," he says.
"Anyhow, they'd never have sold me. The fans wouldn't have had it."
Wagstaff's loyalty to Hull is unwavering.
"I wouldn't live anywhere else," he says. "I love Hull. Hull is a beautiful city."
His daughter reveals being Waggy's daughter had its challenges, however.
"I was a shy kid," she says. "I can remember being in class at Malet Lambert School and the teacher looking at my name and asking if Waggy was my dad.
"He then shouted, 'Waggy, Waggy, Waggy, Oi! Oi! Oi!" I went bright red."
Ken Wagstaff with his daughter Francesca [Kevin Shoesmith/BBC]Dad and daughter are laughing.
She adds: "At an open evening, the head teacher addressed everyone by saying his hero, my dad, was in the building, and parents' evenings were mostly a couple of minutes talking about my work and then long chats between the teacher and Dad about football and Hull City."
Waggy still a strong sense of pride about the Hull side from back in the day.
Asked how the team of 1966 featuring the likes of Chilton, Houghton, Davidson, Simpkin and him would fare against today's professionals, he gives a steely look and his trademark mischievous grin and says: "We'd win."
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