Within the time frame of 60 years there are two outstanding candidates imo , the obvious one being TC and the other Billy Dearden .
Going back further there have been a few others in my lifetime , notably the Noble Doctor Pace and a certain Joseph Shaw . Along with Brian Deane and Mick Jones , the former is still an all time favourite Blades centre forward who was signed for buttons , took about 20 minutes to win the hearts and minds of all those who were fortunate enough to watch his debut and went on to become a true Blades legend .
As for the great man himself he was signed from Upton Colliery , a typical Yorkshire pit team playing in a none entity league for the equivalent of a pint of Tetley’s and a bag of pork scratching for the Committee Members .
Whoever spotted the potential for him to become even half the player he turned out to be , deserves a medal the size of a dustbin lid .
The fact that he was described by one of England’s all time great centre forwards Nat Lofthouse as “Easily the finest centre half I ever played against “ and “The only player I ever came across who could make a good pass look like a bad one “ tells you all you need to know about his outstanding ability .