FOR someone with such a fearsome reputation on the pitch, Roy Hartle was every inch the distinguished gentleman off it.

Immaculately groomed and carrying that distinctive silver-topped walking stick, had you bumped into the legendary full-back as he walked round the hospitality suites at his beloved Wanderers in days of better health, it was impossible to think this was a man who had opposition wingers cowering in fear for the whole of his one-club playing career.

That classy demeanour and clipped West Midlands accent no doubt swayed the opinion of the odd referee, considering he picked up just one booking in 499 appearances for Bolton, albeit in a very different footballing age.

But for every account from an opponent who had been unwillingly introduced to the gravel track which ran parallel to the touchline at Burnden Park, there was one extolling Hartle’s virtue as a player and a person.

Criminally overlooked by England, dropped to 12th man for the 1953 FA Cup final without explanation, and denied a chance to make a 500th appearance when he was released by Bolton in 1966, Hartle’s career was not without its disappointments.

Indeed, he lost touch with the club until Nat Lofthouse brokered a reconciliation in the late eighties, which would see him team up again to provide hospitality at Burnden and later the Reebok.

In 2004, Wanderers renamed the Emerson Suite in Hartle’s honour and three years later he would walk out, bursting with pride, to represent the club at the opening of the new Wembley Stadium.

Just three months on, a severe stroke robbed Hartle of much of his mobility but undeterred and supported by his wife Barbara, he battled back, continuing to attend games, even using his story to promote the excellent work of the Stroke Association.

Flags were lowered to half mast at the stadium yesterday where everyone had a tale to tell about a man who had become part of the fabric of life at Bolton Wanderers.

Hartle leaves behind a loving wife, two children, grandchildren, and just four surviving members of the last truly great Bolton Wanderers team which lifted the FA Cup in 1958.