John at his book signing

Sports stars are adored and worshipped by many people especially the young. Coaches are trusted by parents to look after their kids.

It is therefore an earth shattering experience when someone you looked up to falls foul of the law. They end up in court and eventually in jail as a guest in one of Her Majesty’s Prisons.

Your dream is shattered and they assume the role of “fallen idol”. But whether you are an England international, champion jockey or an international snooker player you are still subject to the same laws and judicial punishments as your fans.

I have spent more than two decades behind bars graduating from Detention Centre to my final days at the maximum security establishment at HMP Frankland in Co. Durham. The law sometimes can be an ass.

I speak with some authority having worked in the Criminal Justice system for more than three decades. Now in the twilight of my working life I spend eight hours a day writing about sport and its stars, about prison and its colourful characters and about life in general.

Of course for every guilty person there has to be at least one “innocent man” as Billy Joel sang. I wonder if you can find him in here? I hope you enjoy reading “Jailed” which is a compilation tracing the lives of sports personalities who have found themselves “banged up”.

Foreword

George Reynolds

Ex-safe cracker and former Chairman of Darlington FC

It is with great delight that I write this foreword from my penthouse overlooking the beautiful city of Durham where I now live. It gives me a lot more pleasure than actually residing in Durham Jail which I have on occasions.

I often drive past those grey walls of the prison and although they hold no fears for an “old lag” like me, I am getting a bit long in the tooth to sleep in a cold, damp cell. These days I prefer a little luxury and warmth.

I first met John when he came to Darlington to interview me in his capacity as sports editor for his newspaper in the Canary Islands. I was impressed by his knowledge of sport and in particular football.

I shared with him my dream to take Darlington FC into the Premier League and build a super stadium. The dream turned into a nightmare and I lost millions.

The Quakers got their new stadium but Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal will not play Premiership football in Darlington, well not in my lifetime.

Various sponsors have had their names attached to the main stand after the 25’ letters proclaiming it was “The George Reynolds Stadium” were torn down.

But the stadium is there as a lasting memorial to my days in Darlington. I was always an easy target for the authorities and ended up back in jail.

The journalists who courted my favour in my millionaire days quickly disappeared as did people from other sections of the media. But some did not, including John Riddle. He wrote to me in the prison near Wetherby.

In his encouraging letters he always reminded me that there was always light at the end of the tunnel. The Prison Department could not keep me forever. I will always be grateful for his support.

When I came home, I invited John and his lovely lady Lorna to my home for dinner, with a few friends. I could not go out in the evening as I was electronically tagged. Where did the Home Office think I was going to hobble to I often wondered?

We had a great night and since that time, although I have been very busy with my “new empire” in which I will come up smelling of roses once again, John and I have kept in touch. I was delighted when he asked me to write this little piece.

I do hope you enjoy reading his book.

With sincere best wishes,

George Reynolds