The former Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has died, his family has announced. He was 75. A pivotal figure in the St James’ Park club’s rise during the 1990s, he was chairman for 10 years from 1997.
Shepherd eventually sold his share of the club to Mike Ashley and recently, along with brother Bruce, was granted the freedom of the city of Newcastle. “Freddy Shepherd, former chairman of Newcastle United and chairman of Shepherd Offshore Group and Triple S Sports & Entertainment Group, sadly passed away peacefully at his home last night,” his family said in a statement. “At this difficult time the family have asked that their privacy be respected.”
Born and bred in the north east, he was a director of Newcastle from 1992 until 2007, Shepherd served as vice-chairman to Sir John Hall as the club finished Premier League runners-up in both 1996 and 1997, playing a key role in signing Alan Shearer from Blackburn for a world-record £15m. He set up the Triple S group in 2008 but is best known for his influential role at Newcastle.
Shearer was one of the first to pay tribute: “So sad to hear my great friend and former @NUFC chairman Freddy Shepherd has passed away. I owe him a huge debt for bringing me home. RIP,” the former Newcastle captain and manager wrote on Twitter.
So sad to hear my great friend and former @NUFC chairman Freddy Shepherd has passed away. I owe him a huge debt for bringing me home. 😰😰RIP
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) September 26, 2017
Unfortunately, Shepherd was unable to lead Newcastle to major success during an eventful decade as chairman, eventually selling his 28.01% stake of the Premier League club to Ashley in June 2007.
Having relinquished his shareholding for more than £37m, he was replaced as chairman by Chris Mort the following month.
Upon leaving the club, Shepherd said: “I have had a great 15 years on the board, 10 of them as chairman and I have enjoyed every minute. It has been a great privilege and honour to have been chairman and I would not have missed it for the world. We have had some really exciting times and I like to think we have achieved a lot since 1992 when we took over the club.
“But it was the right time for me to stand down. And in any case, once the club was delisted, my position as chairman of the PLC became redundant. I gave it my best shot and I could not really have done any more.”