'I'm so proud to have known the Three Degrees' - West Bromwich Albion legend Tony 'Bomber' Brown's emotional tribute
"They broke the mould for black players. It was something new that hadn't happened before."
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Albion's greatest player, Tony 'Bomber' Brown, is proud to have called Laurie Cunningham, Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson team-mates. He has no doubt about the pioneering impact they made at The Hawthorns - one which was felt far and wide.
"Anything that happened with those three players in those days was headline news," Brown adds. "It was new and there were headlines. It was something different. They were trendsetters.
"It spread the word for West Bromwich Albion. It was unique in this country. You didn't see many black players.
"We were doing it on the pitch domestically and in Europe, some great cup runs, with these lads involved. They were integral parts of the side.
"Never mind the Three Degrees. Individually they were top-class players."
Racism still exists in 2025. But society has developed and moved on significantly more than 40 years since the trailblazing trio were part of a idolised Baggies side managed by Ron Atkinson.
Back then, as winger Cunningham, striker Regis and full-back Batson shone in blue and white stripes, black players were few and far between in the English game.
As a result, an undercurrent of racism from the terraces festered in the 1970s and would continue for the couple of decades that followed.
'Kick It Out' launched the brand 'Let's Kick Racism Out Of Football' in 1993 and worked alongside the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) - of which Batson was deputy chief executive - and Football Association (FA) in a bid to slowly turn the tide by way of education and inclusivity.
John Homer, 70, lifelong fan, chairman of the official supporters' club and a non-playing Baggies legend, struggles to hide his pride when reflecting on his club's place in the history of English football culture.
"If you were around at the time when everything was going on - we had a football club that was bold enough with three black players to take on all the insults, all the chants and c**p that was going on and overcome it," Homer says.
