BRYAN Edwards could have been a success with a football at his feet, or with a bat in his hands.

Though it was to Wanderers’ benefit that the Leeds-born teenager turned down the advances of his home county Yorkshire to accept an offer at Burnden Park, local cricket club Heaton certainly reaped some rewards later in his life too.

Playing alongside the likes of Franny Lee, Eddie Hopkinson and Bill Ridding’s son, Graham, in the Bolton League Edwards personified an era where sportsmen were truly part of the town’s fabric.

The wing-half, who passed away at the age of 85 late on Monday night at a nursing home near Bradford, was described by his team-mates as a gentleman.

Tommy Banks, who played alongside him in the 1958 FA Cup final, tells the tale of how he cajoled “Slim” Edwards to help him in a window cleaning round in their youth when times were tight. Being the brains behind the operation, Banks made sure he got the low windows, while a teenage Edwards spent his time up a ladder propped against the terraces of Farnworth.

There is no question that without national service or a broken leg sustained in the season before the 1953 FA Cup final, Edwards would be higher than sixth in the club’s all-time appearance makers.

Alex Finney held the record at the time with 530, although Hopkinson, Roy Greaves and Warwick Rimmer later showed the kind of longevity which is also lost to the modern game.

Edwards played 518 times having signed professional forms on his 17th birthday. He made his debut in a 3-3 draw with Liverpool in September, 1950, and became a regular in the team by the end of that season.

It is often said his military stint cost him a place at Wembley in 1953’s great Matthews Final against Blackpool but Edwards had spent a large portion of that season nursing a broken bone in his leg sustained in a 5-0 defeat at Portsmouth.

He recovered, regaining his place from Eric Bell at the start of the 1954/55 and missed just two games in the next four years.

His deflected pass set up Nat Lofthouse for the first goal against Manchester United at Wembley in 1958, after which he helped the Whites achieve a fourth-placed finish the following season.

Nicknamed “Slim” for his slender stature, Edwards switched to centre-half later in his career after the emergence of Warwick Rimmer and Graham Stanley, reaching the 500 mark in a goalless draw against Ipswich Town in January 1965. He also captained the club on several occasions in the 1960s in Roy Hartle’s absence.

His final appearance before retirement at the age of 35 came in a 1-1 draw at Burnden against Newcastle United.

He joined Blackpool as an assistant trainer-coach and then moved on to Preston North End, where he served as first team coach.

Edwards worked at Plymouth and then accepted the job of manager at Bradford City, where he stayed for four years between 1971 and 1975.

He qualified as a physiotherapist and worked at Huddersfield Town and Leeds United before moving back to Bradford in a number of roles.

He continued to live in the Bradford area but fell into ill health in recent years.

Edwards’ passing means there are now just three surviving members of the 1958 team; Tommy Banks, Doug Holden and Brian Birch.

"It is with great sadness that we have been informed that Bryan Edwards – a member of the 1958 FA Cup winning team – has passed away after a long period of ill health," said Albert Lord, on behalf of the Bolton Wanderers Former Players Association.

"Our thoughts go out to his family at this time."

Edwards is survived by wife Jean, two sons and grandchildren.

Details of the funeral will be announced in due course.