Gordon Jago RIP
I only mentioned Gordon Jago the other day in my Having a beer with Keith Peacock post, but sadly the club have announced his passing today aged 92.
Jago played for the Addicks between 1954 and 1962 and went on to manage Millwall and QPR, succesful at both, but at Loftus Road he was widely recognized as being responsible for building the foundations of the famous Rangers’ side of the 70’s that Dave Sexton inherited from him.
After QPR he moved to Florida to manage Tampa Bay Rowdies with Peacock as his assistant and then managed old NASL team Dallas Sidekicks.
Jago had a big influence on the growth of ‘soccer’ in America and particularly in Dallas where he was still living and widely respected. This recent podcast is well worth a listen.
I spend a fair bit of time in Dallas, and unusually at a recent lunch I was at football was a topic of discussion and Jago got a mention. The Gordon Jago Dallas Youth Cup is still contested, and has been for decades one of the preeminent youth tournaments in the world.
Condolences to his family and friends. RIP Gordon.
He was one of my early Charlton heroes …a gentleman and an elegant player. I moved to New York area in 1977 and went to see him on the touchline when Tampa Bay Rowdies came to play the Cosmos.. RIP
I remember Jago well, good player, saw him when I started watching Charlton in 1958 when I was 12 years old. Sounds like he had a very good and successful life. RIP Gordon.
I thought Jago was a good footballing No.5. I think he had connections with Dulwich Hamlet. Pleased to hear he had a good career in football after his playing career ended. I think he had a solid academic background which contributed to his success as a manager and business man. Very nice man. R.I.P. Gordon.
You have a great memory, rierti. Jago was a cultured centre-half, which went against in him those days and I suspect the only reason he didn’t play higher.
His father made him go to university instead of turning pro when he was at a teenager at Dulwich Hamlet and therefore never made his pro debut until he was 22.
A lovely post and interview here from Kyle Andrews, who was Gordon’s great nephew.
Link: https://open.substack.com/pub/kylewithoutcamera/p/rip-gordon-jago-mbe?r=2a5hqw&utm_medium=ios
Along with Kevin(smugger)Smith, Gordon was a dinner guest at my temporary home in Dallas in the early 80’s. He was a real gentleman and encyclopedic regarding football. Interested to learn that he remained in big D.