This was Newcastle United superfan Stevie Charlton 25 years ago.
Photographed reading the Chronicle 's coverage of Kevin Keegan's resignation in January 1997, it was a time when 'old Stevie' had become a bit of a Tyneside cult celebrity.
The lifelong Newcastle supporter in trademark flat cap and overcoat was a regular sight, sometimes standing near the United dugout during matches and always giving Keegan a 'lucky sweet'; he'd be picked out by Sky TV cameras in the crowd during televised games; and he even accompanied the players around the St James' Park pitch when they celebrated promotion with a lap of honour at the end of the 1992-93 season.
READ MORE: Watch fabulous drone footage of St James' Park
Nearly everybody who went to the match during the 1990s will have seen Stevie from time to time and knew who he was - but his love for the football club started decades before the 'Entertainers' era.
Stevie Charlton was born in 1921, and was said to be one of 15 children.
During his lifetime he witnessed history in the making at Newcastle United. He was a man who saw the likes of Hughie Gallagher and Jackie Milburn performing in their pomp and teams playing in black and white who lifted silverware.
He was just six when he watched his first Magpies match, sitting on his uncle’s shoulders in the old Leazes End in April 1927 when United, that season's champions-to-be, beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 - a game in which Stan Seymour netted twice.
Stevie was hooked and he would follow Newcastle home and away for almost 80 years, becoming a well-known face among fans.
Away from football, he was sometimes seen singing in Fenwick’s doorway or, when it was cold, inside the shop sitting next to the lifts.
Working as a station porter, life had often been hard, and for the last 20 years of his life, Stevie suffered from Parkinson’s Disease. It was only in his final year that he stopped going to matches, but the superfan still followed his beloved Newcastle United on television.
The end came in December 2004. Stevie Charlton passed away of heart failure at the age of 83 while on holiday with his adopted family in Marbella.
It was Jimmy Holmes, of the well-known Holmes Brothers fruit stall on Northumberland Street, Newcastle, whose family took Stevie in in the early 1970s.
Mr Holmes told the Chronicle in 2004: “Stevie lived for Newcastle United.
“Years and years ago he used to work at St James’ selling peanuts and people would recognise him from that.
“He was such a magnetic and lovely person - anyone who met him couldn’t fail to love him. He was an angel.
“I had brought him over here on holiday, a little break for him before Christmas. He came out here quite regularly as we’ve got a holiday home here.
“He went to sleep one night and died peacefully in his sleep. If you could have seen him you would just think he was asleep, he looked so relaxed.”
Mr Holmes told how Stevie was one of 15 children and endured a rough childhood.
He said: “When my dad met him he was staying at the Salvation Army on City Road and he basically got to know him chatting on the fruit stall.
“Stevie used to work for my dad and my dad thought he was great. He had no family of his own and my dad ended up taking him in.
“I grew up with him and when I took over the fruit stall from my dad he was there every day with me. The only time he wasn’t there was when he was at St James’ Park or at away matches.
“I’ve been all over the world with Stevie and people recognise him. We were in Norway and people stopped him in the street and knew who he was.”
It's fair to say there'll never be another Newcastle United fan like Stevie Charlton.
For more Chronicle nostalgia, including archive pictures and local history stories, click here to sign up to our free newsletter.
