To those of us from the seventies who used to avoid him when he came around our blocks looking to cadge a cup of tea, seek players for his football team or even find a floor to kip down on, the rise and rise of Neil Baldwin is nothing short of incredible

He was already a ‘legend’ back then, having been hanging around Keele for at least ten years. It wasn’t  so much a case of the university adopting him as of him adopting it. Although he was never a student, he went to lectures that he fancied and was ultimately awarded an honorary degree of Master of the University in 2013

Born in 1946, Neil was diagnosed with a learning disability as a child. He left school at 16 to join Sir Robert Fossett’s Circus, the oldest circus in England, for whom he performed as ‘Nello the Clown’ for three years

At Keele the Neil Baldwin Football Club, had, and still has, its own stand at the freshers’ mart. Despite my reservations, like most of the footballers at Uni, I played many games for his side – when I saw him at the Sports Centre yesterday he said it was 32 – and he claimed to be able to remember all the hundreds of students who had passed through the team. On occasion the team he put out was amazing, as he seemed to be able to rope in Stoke City players and players from other professional clubs at will. Graham Paddon and a post-World Cup Alan Ball were among the regulars. I remember playing in a team that contained Alan Durban, Adrian Heath and Ian Moores

They were not the only people he numbered as “very good friends”; Tony Benn and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Gary Lineker and Prince Edward are others, while Kevin Keegan was president of the club

In the 1990s Baldwin was appointed as Stoke City’s kit man by manager Lou Macari who’s described him as “the best signing I ever made”, his humour being so good for team morale. In 1993, Macari even played him as a substitute for Stoke, against Aston Villa, in the final five minutes of a testimonial for Gordon Cowans

Neil’s life was changed forever when the acclaimed biographical film Marvellous was shown on BBC 2 on 25 September 2014. He is played by Toby Jones and also appears in it himself. The show received only positive reviews. If you haven’t seen it, make every effort to do so

Marvellous won the 2015 BAFTA for best single drama, and Gemma Jones won  the award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Neil’s mother. Toby Jones was nominated for Best Actor, losing out to Jason Watkins.

As the Evening Sentinel reported: “It says everything for Neil that Marvellous was ever made. For in times when TV is seduced by vacuity and celebrity, it doesn’t sound that promising a pitch. A drama, set in Newcastle, about a man saddled with the tag of ‘learning difficulties’ who reveals himself to be so much more? Good luck with that one. And yet here it is – prime-time BBC2”

Inevitably, the book of the film followed. Neil’s autobiography, Marvellous: Neil Baldwin – My Story, written with the help of Keele alumni and SU President Malcolm Clarke and Francis Beckett, was published in August 2015

Neil’s fame continues to spread. He tells me he’s having his portrait painted for the National Portrait Gallery. He showed me a programme from the recent Manchester United v Stoke Premier league game, where his views on the visiting team were given equal billing with those of Lou Macari. In May 2015 he, and Gordon Banks, were presented with the Freedom of Stoke-on-Trent, and in November the same year he was awarded the freedom of Newcastle-under-Lyme

Marvellous!