18 February 1998 - The Death Of Robbie James

On 18 February 1998, Llanelli player-manager Robbie James collapsed and died during a match against Porthcawl Town. He was 40 years old.

Born in Swansea in 1957, James spent the first nine seasons of his career with his hometown club, Swansea City, joining them in 1973. At the time, the Swans were in the Welsh Third Division and quickly slipped down to the Fourth Division. But the arrival of new manager John Toshack in March 1978 heralded a reversal of fortune and James, described by The Independent as "an indefatigably competitive attacking midfielder," proved instrumental in taking them all the way to the top flight for the 1981-82 season.

After making 394 league appearances (and scoring 99 goals) for Swansea, James left in 1983 for Stoke City (1983-84), then QPR (1984-87) and Leicester (1987-88) before returning to Swansea in 1988. They were back in the Fourth Division, but James once again lifted them to the Third Division. But he moved again in 1990, spending time with Bradford City and Cardiff City before moving to non-league side Merthyr Tydfill, then landing at Llanelli as player-manager.

He was playing for Llanelli against Porthcawl Town when he collapsed and died from a heart attack. The Independent reported that "To the very last he played the game the only way he knew how, with every ounce of his being."

Over the course of his career, he made 782 league appearances, scoring 133 goals and winning five Welsh Cups.

10 September 1985 - The Passing Of A Legend

On 10 September 1985, Scottish national team manager John "Jock" Stein died at the age of 62 after suffering a heart attack at the end of Scotland's 1-1 draw with Wales in a World Cup qualifier at Ninian Park in Cardiff. He died a short time later in the stadium's medical room.

Born in the Scottish lowlands mining town of Burnbank, South Lanarkshire on 5 October 1922, Stein signed his first professional contract as a center-half for Albion Rovers in 1942 while working part time as a coal miner. He made 200 league appearances for Albion from 1942 to 1950, then spent the 1950-51 season with Welsh side Llanelli Town before moving to Celtic in 1951. He made 148 league appearances for Celtic before ankle injuries forced him to retire in 1956.

Upon retirement as a player, Stein moved into management, starting with the Celtic reserve side. In 1960, he took over as manager of Dunfermline Athletic and led them to their first Scottish Cup victory in 1961 with a 2-0 victory over Celtic in the Final replay. He left Dunfermline in 1964 and spent the 1964-65 season in charge of Hibernian before returning to Celtic in 1965. He also managed the Scottish national side part-time in 1965.

Stein enjoyed his greatest success at Celtic, winning ten league titles, eight Scottish Cups, and six Scottish League Cups between 1965 and 1978. His crowning acheivement, however, was beating Inter Milan in the 1967 European Cup Final, thus becoming the first man to win the prestigious trophy with a British club.

Despite his successes, he was pressured out from Celtic in 1978 in favor of new manager Billy McNeill. Stein accepted the managerial position at Leeds United later that year, but left after only 45 days in order to manage the Scottish national side full time.

After his death, Stein was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. Since the 1990s, the west end of Celtic Park has been named the Jock Stein Stand and a bust of Stein is located in the stadium's foyer.