Amateur footballer Leon Joseph became a local hero during his days at Leytonstone FC in the 1940s and '50s, and was dubbed the Bobby Moore of his time. CLAIRE HACK speaks to his three children and a former supporter about the man known as the Wizard on the Wing

TODAY, some professional footballers can expect to take home £250,000 a week. But 60 years ago Leon Joseph, who also ran a menswear shop in Leytonstone High Road, refused to give up his business to turn pro as the money wasn’t good enough.

Son Stuart Joseph, now living in Spain, said: “He was offered the chance to turn professional at Tottenham but he was only offered £20 a week in 1950.

“It was a waste of time – he had a business by then.”

An all-round sportsman, Mr Joseph was also a keen cricketer and snooker player, as well as a musician, and enjoyed singing and playing the banjo.

Daughter Terry Kattan, 56, of Finchley, said: “He was a very good singer. Whenever, he was at a wedding or a party, people would get him to sing.”

He died of stomach cancer in 1983 aged 63, but is still remembered by those who watched him play when he was in his prime.

Roy Dart, 70, of Maybank Road in South Woodford, said: “If we couldn’t afford to get in, we used to pay to go up on to the platform at Leytonstone High Road station to watch from there.”

Stuart, 61, remembers his father’s testimonial match in 1956.

He said: “At the time, Leytonstone weren’t such a good team. They were getting about 300 people a week to watch. It was a 6.30pm kick off and when we left the shop, you couldn’t move going down Leytonstone High Road.”

As many as 8,000 spectators packed the former Leytonstone ground in Granleigh Road to see Mr Joseph off.

One report stated: “The crowd hadn’t come for the match. They had come to pay homage to one of amateur sport’s greatest figures.”

Mr Joseph also served during the Second World War, even playing in an Army team as a way to boost morale. Youngest son Malcolm, 53, of Stanmore, said: “He had a small hole in the top of his leg where he got hit with shrapnel – he was told he’d never play again.”

But he recovered from his injury, and went on to be scouted for Tottenham and West Ham, as well as being capped 13 times for the England amateur team.

A memorial to Mr Joseph is now on display in the Walnut Tree pub in Leytonstone High Road. Leytonstone FC merged with Ilford in 1979 before eventually becoming Dagenham and Redbridge in 1992.