A name synonymous with Barnet Football Club and the 1960s is Roger Figg. The reasons? Well, over 250 goals in eight seasons is one for a start. Couple that with nine goals in nine England amateur Internationals and then add that he formed lethal strike partnerships with both Tony Harding and Les Eason in Barnet teams that won three championships in a row between 1963 and 1966 and we might begin to understand.

My good friend Richard Dumayne and I met up with "Figgy" in his home in Park Street, Radlett - he met us at the door with a big smile and beamed "hello again lads, it has been a while". I will explain that 10 years ago Dave Lindsey and I arranged a surprise visit to the Figg household to celebrate Richard's 40th birthday, as he is his idol. (Richard's BFC website messageboard user name is Figgy Bee!). After taking some new photos and handing around some from the past we settled down for a brilliant hour and a half in Roger's company - the great man was forever laughing and down to earth as they come.

I asked him when and where he was born and where he grew up. "1939 Park Street and Park Street" he chuckled. "This was my Granddad's house as it happens but I only lived around the corner as a kid, this is my manor". I asked him who were his heroes and what team he followed. He said "I didn't really follow any particular team but if I had to name one it was probably Arsenal. I admired individual players more; especially Stanley Matthews and I actually started as a winger. I loved John White at Spurs, too, but he was a different number 10 to me, more of a passer and mover".

By the age of 14 Roger had become an apprentice gas fitter - an occupation that has supported him throughout his working life - and was playing for Hitchin Town Colts. He soon progressed through the reserves and into the first team at Top Field. "They were a steady team in the Athenian League and I played as a right winger, it wasn't until I signed for Barnet that Dexter Adams really saw my potential as an inside forward. He said "The team were obviously lacking something at the time and Dexter said 'do you fancy a go?' I told him I would give it a try and loved it. It suited me because you are always in the game and I loved being involved". The fact is Roger scored goals galore at Hitchin and indeed at St Albans where he had a short spell in the late 1950s.

Barnet manager Wally Lines approached Figgy in 1962, he said "I also met up with Alf D'Arcy who was the captain, my brother Brian was at Underhill, it was a much bigger club and they offered me few more bob!" he laughed. During Roger's stay at Barnet the team never finished lower than fifth in the table. "Yeah, they were some great teams and it was a great time to be playing football what with England the world champions", he said. "It got even more exciting when Dexter Adams came in and he signed some fantastic players. Later on came Colin Powell and Gerry Ward, who was pure class and a real gentleman but my favourite period was when Johnny Barr was in goal, Jeff Voyce and Bobby Warman full backs and Dennis Roach, Les Picking and Barry King were half backs. Don Whyte and Reg Finch were the wingers with Les Eason, Tony Harding and me - decent team wasn't it?" Richard reminded him that his biggest attribute was that he was equally powerful with both left and right feet - "Yeah, I could let them go but I had great players to feed off of didn't I?", he said. "Harding was so unselfish and set up loads of goals for me as did Finchie and Whytie". In one season Roger played in 79 games, including the Eastern Floodlight League, and scored 49 goals. I asked him how he managed to get time off work to play? He gave out a belly laugh "Don't ask, don't ask. When we were away I used to dive off at about 3 o'clock. I think the governors used to turn a blind eye really. I suppose as long as the graft got done it was all right. We trained on a Thursday night at the ground and in the gym at a local school (probably Ravenscroft). I loved training but really we used to spoil it and go and have a few pints afterwards!" he admitted with a huge grin.

I asked him then if he had any offers of a full time contract from other clubs? "Yeah Cambridge Utd approached me and one or two others but I wasn't a risk taker and I was settled. Maybe I should have moved on but I remember it didn't feel right at the time somehow".

Roger was selected for England Amateurs in 1964 eventually winning nine caps and scoring a goal a game. "The venues weren't very glamorous and I never got to play at Wembley", he said. That is a big regret although my brother did play there for Hendon. I once actually played for England against Wales at Shrewsbury, and can you believe that was a home game for us?" He told me that the biggest venue he played at was Newcastle in the Amateur Cup semi-final against Crook Town in 1963. "Just after that we played Preston at Barnet and over 10,000 turned up!", he added.

He reminisced some more, chuckling all the time "My friends were Roachie and Barrie King, who I used to travel to games with. They are lovely lads and I still keep in contact with them. We seemed to have a party at someone's house every Saturday night then, it was great. That little caper stopped if I remember when we went semi-pro. Les Eason was a very clever player, sharp and lethal, Billy Meadows on the other hand was a greedy bugger, we used to call him 'Billy I don't miss from there' or 'Bill The Shoot'. He would frighten the life out of players. I came across my old friend Alf D'Arcy once when he was playing for Enfield and he literally gave me a punch when we first challenged for the ball. He was just trying to wind me up and I gave him one back!"

Roger retired from football aged just 33 and sadly has never pulled his boots on since apart from running the line for his son's and grandson's teams. "I am too stubborn that is my problem. I knew I should have taken a coaching course and I knew I should have carried on playing too. Let me show you this", he said going to the mantelpiece and picking up a plinth, "This trophy was presented to me by my grandson's team for being linesman for the season, how about that?"

Roger is now fully retired aged 68 and plays golf off a 14 handicap for recreation. The clues were all over the house, with a putting machine and balls on the floor in the sitting room. He pulled a big grin again, pointed to his back garden and said "I love a round of golf but as you can see I don't like gardening much". Frankly the grass was knee high, "Do you know any decent and cheap gardeners?" he said. "I think I have loads of balls out there somewhere, I use it as practice for rough shots".

What was the secret for scoring goals I asked him? "As an inside forward my theory was to work hard and make runs across the pitch all the time. Keep moving, remembering defenders couldn't always go with you, and mostly didn't want to go with you. Eventually I would end up in space to receive the ball with a chance at goal". That sounded too easy but obviously it worked perfectly for Figgy. He certainly was revered as a player in the amateur and semi-pro games and quite simply a legend at Underhill. Alf D'arcy, perhaps the greatest English defender never to become a professional, once told me "Roger was the best forward I came up against, so quick and a good header of a ball for a short man. He could shoot with left and right, and never stopped running".

Roger promised to be a guest at the club for a game during the course of the season but with conditions, "Not too much fuss and don't expect me to pull my boots on!" A message to all supporters; make sure you look out for the day he returns to his old hunting ground and make an effort to meet a real goalscoring legend in our club's history. You will discover a thoroughly nice man, who is forever laughing.

Roger finished by saying "I will tell you a story about my first goal for Barnet. The ball came over and all Tony Harding had to do was head it home. He was a brilliant header of a ball and wouldn't have missed that chance ten times out of ten but you know, he chested it down for me to score from about 5 yards out. That is my most special memory of Barnet Football Club".

Reckless
Potters Bar June 2007