Marvellous memories of Neil Baldwin

People tend to watch films for escapism. Westerns, gangster movies and science fiction take us into a fantasy world, outside what is real and mundane.

The true story of former Stoke City kitman Neil Baldwin is one of a man who has lived a life of escapism. Born in the Potteries with learning difficulties, the thought of him being a film star and celebrity must have seemed remote — but not for Neil. His life took extraordinary twists and turns as he mixed the rich and famous from sport, religion and politics, and continues to do so today.

I won’t repeat his life story here because Toby Jones et al in the BBC film Marvellous does the job so well. While watching, the film was anything but escapism for me as I knew Neil well while I was an undergraduate student at Keele University (1998–2001). Seeing Jones (playing Neil) welcoming students to Keele brought back instant and vivid memories of my first days at university. Neil was welcoming and kind and the students cared for him in return. Going to university and leaving home at a young age can be complicated — Neil provided a straightforward and constant presence in new surroundings.

Football was a huge passion for Neil and is the source of many of the funny stories I remember. Having met Neil, it was only natural that I signed for Neil Baldwin FC. I remember wondering what this team was all about and how I was going to get in the side with about 12 players signed for every position at the freshers’ fair!

I played a couple of games for the team and needless to say we took a bit of a trouncing — which isn’t a surprise with me as part of the back four. Neil’s teamtalks were rather non-existent — he just loved being part of “matchday” as the two hungover centre halves grabbed a cheeky cigarette at half time. I remember after a trip to Cambridge University to play against a prestigious college (how did he arrange that?), both teams went to a pub for tea after the game. Unfortunately the landlord had gone AWOL as both teams looked through the windows at the sandwiches with no one to open up and serve us. We headed straight for Burger King as the Cambridge boys melted away.

One of the best scenes in Marvellous was the appearance of top referee Uriah Rennie at one of Neil’s Keele testimonials. In the programme Neil created for the game in 2000, the proposed teamsheet for the fixture suggested a number of former professionals would play. Few did, but the appearance of Rennie was impressive and England manager Kevin Keegan wrote a letter to wish Neil luck for his big day. Neil of course started in the playmaker’s role and was caught 40 yards offside early on. The linesman ignored it, explaining his was “not interfering”.

Neil subbed himself off after a while but towards the end a student hobbled off injured. Neil came back on to applause and it was time to give him his obligatory penalty. The reality in 2000 was even funnier than the film portrays. Neil was unceremoniously dumped to the ground in the penalty area, but so behind the play that Rennie missed it. He was alerted to the huge mound lying in the penalty area. Neil was stunned and dragged to his feet almost in tears. He stepped up and put the penalty wide. The referee ordered a retake and it bobbled in past the static goalkeeper and Neil ran off in celebration.

Religion was also a big part of Neil’s life. These days, the Church gets so many negative headlines. But in true Neil Baldwin style, he got the best out of the Church. On the evening of that testimonial match, a service was held in which 23 dioceses were represented as various clergymen filed into the chapel. I kept both the programme and the order of service from that day. I was only 20 at the time but I realised that something unique and special was happening. Neil was not complicated, but I knew then that I’d never meet anyone quite like him again.

There are so many other memories of Neil which make me smile. His rejection letter for the England manager’s job and photographs of him with Robbie Fowler were two everyday events in the life of Neil Baldwin as I used to stop by his seat in the Student’s Union. There were many others involving Santa costumes, cake, pizza and men of the cloth. It’s great to know he’s still at Keele to this day giving current students such great memories.