Hundreds of fans attend special ceremony outside Reebok Stadium
On Saturday morning Bolton Wanderers were proud to unveil the tribute statue to club legend Nat Lofthouse.
Hundreds of fans and club officials flocked to the North-West corner of the Reebok Stadium as club owner Eddie Davies revealed the finished piece.
Sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn and chairman Phil Gartside were also in attendance, and gave touching speeches in the run-up to the official unveil.
Standing over 9ft tall, the one-and-a-half times life-size bronze figure took 18 months to sculpt and is now officially a permanent fixture at the Reebok Stadium.
“I think it’s brilliant,” Gartside said. “It brings back those memories, not only for the older people, but encourages people to perhaps learn a bit more about Nat and the club.
“We like to pride ourselves on being a family club and this is Nat’s family.”
Lofthouse’s son, Jeff, said: “Dad still captures people’s imagination in Bolton and I think he captures the spirit of Bolton and Bolton Wanderers is still a great club.”