A former City striker who set a post-war scoring record of 36 goals in a season for the Blues has died at the age of 77.
Derek Kevan, who was capped for England, struck 36 times in the 1963-64 season and scored 56 goals during a two-year spell at Maine Road.
He formed a lethal strike partnership with fellow forward Jimmy Murray and guided the club to the League Cup semi-finals.
He later played for both Stockport and Macclesfield, where he was also landlord of a pub close to the Macclesfield ground.
He died in hospital in Birmingham on Friday after a long illness, and leaves behind his wife, Connie.
Before joining City, Kevan, from Ripon in North Yorkshire, made his name at West Brom in the 1950s where he became known as ‘The Tank’ because of his goalscoring prowess.
He also made 14 appearances for England, scoring eight goals, including two at the 1958 World Cup.
City club ambassador Mike Summerbee said: “He was a fantastic player but also a really nice man.
“I joined City just as Derek was leaving. But I remember him from West Brom and he was a person I really looked up to.
“He was there when I came to the training ground to sign for City and I was a bit upset I never got the chance to play with him.
“His contribution to City was massive at the time, just as the club began to turn itself around, and he’s a massive loss to the club and the world of football.”
City tweeted through their club account: “Our thoughts are with the friends and family of Derek Kevan who passed away on Friday.”
The club said they would be paying tribute to him in their programme at the next home game, against Fulham on January 19.
After leaving City, Kevan played for Crystal Palace, Luton and Peterborough before joining Stockport.
There he won the first medal of his career, the 1967 Fourth Division title.
He also made four appearances for Macclesfield in 1968 before going on to run The Moss Rose pub next to the ground.
West Brom’s players wore black armbands at their FA Cup tie with QPR on Saturday as a mark of respect to Kevan.
