The rise of Jamie Vardy from playing with Stocksbridge Park Steels in the Northern Premier League to being a Premier League Champion is a truly heart-warming story... but it is by no means unique. Half a century previously, Ashton United striker Alf Arrowsmith was plucked from non-league obscurity by one of the most famous Football League managers and went on to win the most cherished prize in the game.

Arrowsmith was a Tintwistle lad and the former pupil of St Charles’ school in Hadfield, he had set the local football scene ablaze by scoring almost a hundred goals with local side Tintwistle Villa over the 1959-60 season; spotting his potential, Ashton United secured the services of the striker - virtually unknown outside his home town - in April 1960 and he made his club debut against Fleetwood in the Lancashire Combination towards the end of the season... Alf scored on debut and smashed a hat-trick against Lancaster City in just his second game.

Despite interest in his progress, Alf remained an Ashton player at the start of the following season, netting in each of his first four games of the campaign – amongst his team-mates during that early season spell was future World Cup winner Alan Ball. Before August 1960 was out, Bill Shankly paid a modest sum of £1500 to secure the services of the striker (still some four months short of his 18th birthday) for second division side Liverpool; his Ashton United scoring record stood at nine goals in seven appearances by the time he was whisked away to Anfield - and he went on to net 65 goals for Liverpool’s reserves before earning a regular place in the first team.

Alf’s elevation from the reserves for his full Liverpool debut came in October 1961, but it proved to be his only appearance that season – three more first XI games followed over 1962-63 (as Liverpool won promotion back into the top tier of English football) and a couple of early season games in 1963-64 (including his first Football League goal against Wolves in September 1963) followed... but it was early in 1964 that Alf finally established himself as an Anfield regular – he hit four goals against Derby County in the 3rd round of the FA Cup then netted against Chelsea the following week in the league; in 24 appearances that season Alf scored 19 goals (with only Roger Hunt and Ian St John scoring more) as Liverpool were crowned league champions for the first time since 1947.

Having seemingly reached the top of the domestic game, 21-year old Alf’s career was to come to an abrupt halt at the start of the following season – just 15 minutes into the Charity Shield clash with FA Cup Winners West Ham United he suffered a serious knee injury that led to Phil Chisnall becoming The Reds’ first ever substitute; after his injury, Alf made only 24 further appearances over the next four seasons, scoring 5 goals, before being released from Liverpool.

After leaving Anfield, Alf played down the leagues at Bury, Rochdale and Macclesfield Town before drifting into amateur soccer – amongst his last engagements was turning out for the Cottage Tavern on Mossley Road in Ashton... just half a mile from Ashton’s Hurst Cross ground. Alf died in 2005, when a certain Jamie Vardy was an 18-year old footballer virtually unknown outside his home town.