LARRY BAXTER RIP

[portugull]

The OS has today confirmed the passing of Larry Baxter at the age of 85.

Larry was one of my all time favourite players and from memory always wore the number 7 shirt.

Larry Baxter was without doubt one of the most entertaining players from an era when we had a cracking team. Larry would love to beat the same defender more than once and it was quite comical at times when he tried to beat the same defender three times to the crowds amusement.

I think Larry came to us from Gillingham and was a tall dark haired lad with a great cross terrific dribbling skills and a goal scorer as well.

To those that remember these were great days at Plainmoor with regular crowds of 8,000 to 10,000. Many matches were on a Friday evening.

Sincere condolences to Larry`s family at this very sad time.

[Dazza]

Now he was a legend. Probably the best I have ever seen at beating a man. He was so good he would beat the man, wait for him to stand up and beat him again. He will lead God a merry dance !

[frenchgull]

After not posting on here for a very long time I feel I have to say how sad I was to hear of the passing of the great Larry Baxter,he was my favourite player after Tommy and RobIn.He gave such fabulous entertainment every week and was our Stanley Matthews.Thanks for the memories Larry.

[ROADRUNNER]

Great player, in a Great Team, RIP Larry.

[Magpiegull]

I, too, have very fond memories of Larry 'Lol' Baxter, He was a real entertainer in a very good team. I was a regular amongst the group of young lads who would wait behind the main stand, both before and after the match, to get the autographs of our heroes of the day. Larry would stroll up to Plainmoor invariably wearing a cardigan and was always happy to oblige with an autograph with pen in one hand and a cigarette in the other! The memory takes me back to a day when the football seemed to be more entertaining and the players were just like us - ordinary blokes who just happened to have a talent for the game. Coincidentally, I was only thinking of Larry very recently. RIP Larry and thanks for those memories.

[wivelgull]

Just - but only just - before my time. However, when discussing the fortunes of United with the Old Codgery at the back of the pop. side stand, Larry Baxter's name often cropped up. His time was at the beginning of United 's golden era which could be dated from 1957 (failure to get to Div. 2 on goal difference) to 1972 (relegation from Div. 3 and the last of the truly great sides). Everything later has been but a poor shadow, players strutting and fretting their hours upon the Plainmoor stage. Anyone who was at Plainmoor in those great years (I was there from 1963 onwards) will know exactly what I am talking about.

[Dazza]

Yep they seemed to have far more character. I think also you got to know ( and trust ) the players more. You had 16 or so players and they were there for a year, some like Larry for many years. Now they come and go in weeks. Different times in a very different world.

[gateman49]

I seem to remember, through those rose tinted glasses, Larry always getting the ball out wide somewhere near the half way line and going pell mell head down for the corner flag. If any defender got in the way, he would take delight in going around him once, twice or three times. He still managed to score a goal every 8 matches in the company of some goal scoring legends and when players stuck to their nominal field positions much more than they do now.

Only a couple of days ago, in the MOM thread, I compared (perhaps a little tongue in cheek) Sparkes's performance on the night with those of Larry (and Tony Scott). Larry did it week in week out and in higher league.

[tomogull]

This is sad news tonight and I agree with the great posts on this thread. Larry Baxter was a great character and a fans favourite. You would never see him head a ball, though. I was once told that it was because he had a metal plate inserted in his head but I don't know if this was true. He took over the no. 7 shirt from Ronnie Shaw - a hard act to follow, but Larry did it in his own way. As others have posted, thanks for the many memories, Larry.

[Gullscorer]

I still have vivid memories of my first match at Plainmoor as a youngster early in the 1960/61 season. I stood with my father near the Ellacombe end of the pop side watching Larry Baxter and Ernie Pym flying down the wings with Tommy Northcott in the middle and George Northcott in defence, along with all the other heroes playing against, strangely enough, the likes of Tranmere, Wrexham, Barrow, Chester, Aldershot, Southport, York and Lincoln in the old Division 3, and then Division 4. They were exciting times with big crowds, and with players whose speed and footballing skills would put today's footballers to shame. God bless them all.

[wivelgull]

I couldn't agree more, Mr. Gullscorer.

[Larraine]

I would just like to thank, All the people who took the time and trouble to say such wonderful things about my Dad, Larry Baxter. Who passed away on his birthday, The 24th of November. We had wonderful and amazing memories of my dad playing for Torquay United for 5 years. In fact, He was still playing at the age of 58 at a high level in Leicester... WOW! To us he will be irreplaceable with his sense of humour and his wonderful singing voice. Once again, Thank you all so much and we loved the photograph that was in the local Torquay newspaper. Kind Regards, The proud daughter. Larraine Baxter. X

[Larraine]

Hi, If anybody has any footage of Larry playing the special game we would be extremely grateful for it. Kind regards, Family.

[portugull]

Hi Larraine,

Thank you so much for your post which I have just read. It brought a lump to my throat. I never knew that I shared the same birth date as Larry 24th November.

I started this thread because your Dad was without doubt the most entertaining player I saw at Plainmoor during a period in our history when we had a wonderful team.

So nice of you to post.
Kind regards
Tony

[gateman49]

Hi Larraine,

I don't know if you are aware of the two other fans' web sites both of which had reminiscences of your dad. One had a link to the song 'Hats off to Larry' which you will find by following this link:

http://torquayfansforum.co.uk/posts/recent?q=larry

and the other had this on him:

http://thelondonlabia.proboards.com/thr ... rry-baxter

Re. your request for any footage, I suspect that would be unlikely as, of course, he played in the time before video cameras made it so easy to record matches.

All the best