A FORMER Albion striker has died at the age of 86 after battling a long illness.

John Shepherd was born in Kensington, London, on May 20, 1932.

He died on Monday, June 11, and will always be remembered fondly as one of the most famous Albion players.

Before making his football debut, he had worked in a leather factory and then joined up for National Service in 1951 with the Royal Air Force in Sennen, Cornwall.

During his service, he contracted polio.

His symptoms became apparent after he had been out picking potatoes.

John had always thought he contracted the disease from contaminated soil.

He had feared he would be disabled for life but showed great determination and was not deterred by the setback.

Before he contracted polio, he had signed up as an amateur player at Millwall Football Club.

When the club manager Charles Hewitt had not heard from John, he visited him at Truro Hospital in Cornwall.

Despite learning he had polio, Hewitt still encouraged and supported the young man to follow his dreams.

In October 1952, he made his first team debut for Millwall and made a flying start to his football career as he netted four times in an away match against Leyton Orient.

That feat for the Lions still remains to this day a record for an away debut in the Football League In the first five years of his career with Millwall, he scored 78 goals in 165 league and cup appearances.

In June 1958, John joined Albion but he did not have a good start. with his new club.

He made his debut in a game against Middlesbrough where the team lost 9-0.

Despite his disappointing start with Albion, the team gradually improved.

The Seagulls finished 12th, but it was Shepherd who played a major role in keeping the team in a respectable position.

He finished the season as the top scorer with 17 goals in 36 games.

He scored 19 goals in 45 appearances in total for the club before ending his professional playing career at Gillingham.

In February 1960, John was transferred to Gillingham and one year later, he joined Ashford Town in the Southern League.

He then played for Margate and Tunbridge Wells.

After his four year stint in Kent, he returned to Sussex.

In 1964, he became a player-coach of Southwick in the Sussex County League.

He took Southwick from County League division two to division one champions and Sussex Senior Cup winners.

He then became manager and remained at the Old Barn Way for seven years.

His sons, John Jr and Dominic, also played locally.

John became a hugely respected figure in football in Sussex.

He, along with former Albion footballer, Mick Fogden, started up the first-ever Brighton and Hove Albion youth team in 1976.

At the time, former England international Allan Mullery was the manager and one of their first big discoveries was Gary Stevens, who also went on to play for England.

In 1977 he was an assistant manager at the Southwick Leisure Centre.

John also steered the Sussex men’s representative team to the Southern Counties Championship and in 2014 received an award from the County FA for services to Sussex football.

John said his proudest days were not as a professional footballer, but as a youth coach where he could encourage young players to flourish.

A biography of John Shepherd, In and out of the Lion’s Den: Poverty, war and football, written by his daughter Julie Ryan with a foreword by Alan Mullery was published in 2013.