The 1951 Cup winning team, Charlie is at right end of back row

One of Newcastle United's last surviving stars of the 1950s has been immortalised in concrete close to the club's St James's Park ground.

Tough-tackling defender and half-back Charlie Crowe, who won an FA Cup winners medal in the 1951 victory over Arsenal, is being commemorated in a Newcastle United Hall of Fame.

The hall is at St James Metro Station, and 78-year-old Charlie joined other big names in having his boots imprinted into the concrete "pitch" on Thursday.

He played for the Magpies between 1944 and 1957, making a total of 216 appearances.

Mike Parker, director general of Nexus, which operates the Metro, made a short speech at the event.

Those whose concrete imprints are already on the tiled pitch include Alan Shearer, Malcolm Macdonald, and manager, Sir Bobby Robson.

'Big miss'

Charlie said: "Newcastle United has been my whole life nearly and the memories still remain with all the class players we had.

"Unfortunately they're nearly all passed away, there's only Tommy Walker and myself.

"We had Albert Stubbins and he's a big miss to me - we used to have coffee together and put the football world to right."

And he vividly remembers playing in the NUFC team of the 1950s, which picked up three FA Cups in five seasons, in a team led at the front by local hero Jackie Milburn.

Joy to play

Charlie said: "You're only as good as your team is and we had a tremendous team and the beauty of it was the balance of it.

"We had two wingers, one a speed merchant, one a ball player, then we had little Ernie Taylor who was a magic playmaker in the middle of the park.

"Joe Harvey and myself used to do a little bit of kicking. Big Frank Brennan dominated the penalty area and the full backs Bobby Cowell and Bob Corbett, were tremendous.

"It was a joy playing with them."