Maurice Conroy took his military skills from the parade ground to the training pitch.

The former Army PT instructor was a familiar face - and voice - behind the scenes at Valley Parade in the late 1960s.

Conroy, who recently passed away aged 87, was a lifelong sports fan. And football was his passion as a player, chiefly with Accrington Stanley, and then coach and trainer.

Plenty of City players benefited from a no-nonsense approach honed from a decade spent as a company sergeant major.

A Telegraph & Argus article in 1968 stressed that the Heaton-born Conroy was a firm believer in discipline on and off the field. It is fair to say he would not have been impressed with the histrionics from some of today's big names.

Conroy said at the time: "In training I use half my sergeant major's voice and it can become a little rasping if anyone is idling their time away and wasting mine on training nights."

He once suggested that a young West Indian recruit needed beefing up if he was going to make it with City. Cec Podd took Conroy's advice on board - and 566 games later sat on top of the club's all-time appearances list.

Podd admitted that Conroy would allow the players no short cuts to ensure they were in the best physical shape.

"He didn't half put me through it but I appreciated it afterwards, " Podd recalled. "He worked me hard."

Bruce Bannister was another player who benefited from the influence of Conroy. The striker, who netted 68 goals from 228 City games, said: "Maurice was a mentor of mine from me being 15 to about 22 and kept me very much focused on the career path I would take.

"He was a true man's man and a diamond of a gentleman. I shall always hold him in the highest esteem."

Conroy, who's father played for Manningham Mills, became a football apprentice at 17 with Fulham. It was a shock to the system to head so far south and he soon signed professionally for Accrington.

Fittingly the former St Bede's pupil made his senior debut in August 1939 at Valley Parade - and scored with a thumping long shot as Stanley beat City 2-0.

The outbreak of the war saw Conroy serve in Dunkirk before returning home to train young recruits at York. As a pro player, he was allowed to appear for local teams while there and alternated between City and Park Avenue.

He would play either full back or wing half but Conroy was happy to switch around - at Accrington he appeared in every position except goalkeeper.

After the war, Conroy returned to the game and left Accrington for spells with Rotherham and then Scunthor-pe. At the Old Show Ground, he took his first steps on the coaching ladder in a dual role and was a hit with the players.

But Conroy wanted more security for his family and joined the army full-time where he was stationed in North Africa with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

He later returned home to Bradford and found work at Grattan, which he combined with a part-time involvement with City's youth team and then the seniors.

His love affair with sport never dimmed- and Podd and others will always be grateful.

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