SCOTTISH football legend Jim Baxter, who played for Sunderland in the 1960s, died over the weekend after a three-month battle with cancer. He was 61.
Slim Jim, as Baxter was then known, was rated one of the finest wing-halfs in world football at his peak and became known as the Wembley Wizard after a match against England.
He was a sensation when he arrived at Roker Park from Glasgow Rangers for a club record £72,500 in May 1965.
Baxter played 98 games for Sunderland, scoring 12 goals, before moving to Notting- ham Forest in December, 1967, for a fee of £100,000.
The footballer who had a playboy image, appeared 34 times for Scotland, scoring three goals. He also represented the Rest of the World in the Football Association's centenary match against England at Wembley in 1963.
However, Baxter's hard living and hard drinking took a toll on the footballer who tormented defences in his prime.
In July 1994, he had two liver transplants in four days at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
In January, Baxter was diagnosed with cancer and spent a month in hospital before returning to his home in Glasgow to be with his family.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson led the tributes to Baxter, hailing him as "arguably the best player to play in Scottish football".
Sir Alex, who played alongside Baxter for Glasgow Rangers in the 1960s, said: "He had immense skill, balance, confidence, grace and ability to pass and hold the ball.
"He was just a fantastic footballer. Fantastic."
Jim Baxter is survived by his long-term partner, Norma, and two sons, Stephen and Alan.
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