Grimsby Town: Family hopes to honour club's 1939 FA Cup captain
- Published
Alec Hall's great-granddaughter hopes her son can lead the current team out against Brighton later in March
The family of a Grimsby Town captain who led the team during its 1939 FA Cup run hopes to honour him at the side's quarter-final clash later this month.
The match on Sunday 19 March will be Town's first appearance at this stage of the FA Cup since Alec Hall led the team to quarter-final victory before losing to Wolves in the semi-final.
Great-granddaughter Kate Waddingham said his family was very proud of him.
"He was a really good player - but a bit feisty," she added.
The family has a number of items of memorabilia, including Alec Hall's FA Cup semi-final shirt
In an interview with BBC Radio Humberside, Ms Waddingham said the match against Brighton, the Mariners' first time in the quarter-finals in 84 years, would be a great opportunity to remember her great-grandfather and his side's achievements in the competition.
"He passed away when I was three, but he was always spoken about by the family. We've got lots of memorabilia and we still have his FA Cup semi-final shirt in the family.
"It's something we are all very proud of and we all like to follow Town," she said.
As a tribute to her great-grandfather, Ms Waddingham said she would love to see her son Ronnie lead the current team out at Brighton in his memory.
"He plays in the same position and I just think it would be lovely to see him come out with a number four on his shirt," she added.
As for the future, she said she hoped her son could follow in her great-grandfather's footsteps and one day play for Grimsby Town himself.
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Meanwhile, fans queued in freezing conditions outside Blundell Park on Tuesday to buy tickets for the quarter final match.
The club later said it had sold its entire allocation.
In Parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak offered his congratulations to Grimsby Town for their victory over Southampton, the team he supports, to reach the FA Cup quarter-final.
Responding to a question in the Commons from Grimsby Conservative MP Lia Nici, Mr Sunak said while it "pained" him that the Mariners had moved ahead in the competition, "I now have a new team to support in the cup".
He said he "wished them well", adding: "I look forward to cheering her and all her colleagues on."
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