BLACKBURN Rovers welcomed club legends Sir Kenny Dalglish, Tony Parkes and Tim Sherwood into their hall of fame at a celebratory dinner last Thursday that helped raise funds for ex-players’ charities.

Former club owner Jack Walker and assistant manager Ray Harford were also inducted posthumously into the hall of fame, which is run with the Blackburn Rovers Former Players Association, with Jack’s son Howard, daughter Linda and son-in-law Richard Matthewman also in attendance.

The ceremony, hosted by ex-referee Kevin Lynch, included a talk on the history of Mr Walker’s involvement in the club, which peaked with a famous premier league title win in 1995, and interviews with the inductees conducted by BBC journalist Andy Bayes.

Sir Kenny said: “Everything that happened at this football club wouldn’t have been possible if it hadn’t been for Uncle Jack!

He added: “It was like a Cinderella story for everybody and that includes the players.

“We had a fantastic time - everybody made a contribution because it was such a good dressing room.”

Another highlight came as former club captain Tim Sherwood paraded the premier league trophy into the dressing room.

Each of the inductees were presented with a commemorative trophy and framed biography to mark the occasion.

The event helped to raise over £800 charity Sporting Memories and a further £10,000 for the Blackburn Rovers Former Players Association’s own charity, which was formed in 2008 to provide support to ex-Rovers players and their families.

The money was raised thanks to an auction of memorabilia and signed biographies kindly donated by the players.

Association chairman Ken Beamish said: “What a wonderful evening!

"It has been quite humbling to receive such great support over recent years to our Former Players Association events and to have a full house at our second Hall of Fame dinner is something special.”

A particularly special moment came when former captain Sherwood paraded the premier league trophy into the dressing room.

Sherwood said: “I’m just thankful that Kenny decided that I was going to be one of his players to bring into the club.

To be part of it all was something I’ll never forget - Blackburn Rovers is my club, a family club and where I had my biggest success.”

The evening featured an array of tales from the dressing room, with club legend Parkes reminiscing fondly about his former teammates.

He said: “Kenny and Ray were players’ people – they loved working with the lads.

They were great times; Blackburn Rovers is my football club – and it always will be.”