Millwall manager pays tribute to fan, 84, with terminal cancer who has given £400 to charity drive – and helped Lions top the table
An 84-year-old Millwall fan with terminal cancer has donated £400 to a club-backed charity drive – and been personally thanked by manager Gary Rowett.
Charlie Harris, now living in Northampton, cannot have surgery or chemotherapy – but he donated the amount in the hope of helping find a cure.
He is one of thousands of Lions fans who have helped the club to the top of the Cancer Deadline Day table, where clubs battle it out to be the top fundraiser for a string of charities https://www.cancerdeadlineday.org/ [or click link in light blue box below].
With only three days to go until the appeal deadline, the Den club lead the field over clubs which much bigger cash resources and fan bases.
Rowett said at a virtual meeting with the longtime fan, posted by the club this morning: “I heard about it and wanted to chat to uou and say think you for such a kind donation. It was an amazing gesture.
“What an incredible attitude. It epitomises the Millwall fighting spirit. I hope that you’re OK and get to see plenty more matches. We really appreciate the gesture which is absolutely fantastic.”
Rowett asked how he was doing and Charlie said: “I’m not too bad. They can’t do nothing for me. I have to take it one day at a time. They can’t operate and I can’t have chemo so I have to go day by day.
“If I start coughing, don’t worry, it’s the cancer. If I talk too long it makes me cough.
“I’ve always supported Millwall. When that [initiative] came up, I thought I’d donate to the cause as it’s a good cause anyway.”
Charlie told Rowett about some of the Den legends he had seen such as Frank Neary, Dennis Pacey, John Symes, Keith Weller, Gordon Hill, Eamonn Dunphy and Alex Stepney, plus managers Benny Fenton and George Graham – and recalled the first match under newly-installed floodlights, which he thought was a 2-1 defeat by Arsenal.
He used to go to away games by himself, but meet up with friends on the way. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go to The Den much more now anyway,” he added, in a video tweeted by the club this morning https://twitter.com/MillwallFC
“What keeps me going is iFollow, seeing the players and the teams. I have watched every game, home and away.
“I watched on Tuesday night and will be watching you up at Cardiff on Saturday.
“Years ago, when I could not afford to go to away games, I used to go to Charlton. I just like my sport.”
The appeal, which has so far collected more than £10,000, raises money for charities hit hard by the pandemic lockdown: Teenage Cancer Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, Prostate Cancer UK, Pancreatic Cancer UK, CLIC Sargent, The Ruth Strauss Foundation, Breast Cancer Now and the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.