The story of legendary former scout Mark Crook told in new book 'Feeding the Wolves'

Crook has been hailed for plucking Wolves talents such as Ron Flowers, Roy Swinbourne and Steve Daley from the jaws of the Yorkshire pits and sending them on to stardom at Molineux. 

But incredibly, Crook was responsible for helping launch the careers of no fewer than 114 professional footballers in total, 39 of which played in the gold and black of Wolves. 

This is seen as one of football's great untold stories and writer Ashley Ball hopes that it will go some way to preserving his memory and alerting younger audiences to the significant role he played in Wolves' history. 

"Mark Crook is a name that Wolves fans of a certain age will know about. He played for Wolves a very long time ago under Major Frank Buckley," Ball explained. 

"He was briefly a teammate of Stan Cullis. So we're talking huge figures in Wolves' history and then Mark worked for Wolves, providing them with players, throughout their golden years. 

"Some of Wolves' best ever players were found by Mark Crook and he helped them throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s to establish themselves as one of the best teams in England, if not Europe. 

"We think this is one of football's great untold stories. It's been a long project but very worthwhile because Mark's story was in danger of getting forgotten and that would've been a terrible shame."

The arrangement with Crook was unique in the fact that his Wolves junior team was established in Yorkshire rather than the West Midlands. 

Aside from Flowers, Swinbourne and Daley, Crook also paved the way for the likes of Gerry Taylor, Peter Knowles and Alan Sunderland. 

For many, Crook saved them from a life spent in the pits and provided them with the golden ticket to a career in professional football.

"The interesting thing is that Wolves shouldn't have been entitled to these players. They're not from the West Midlands, they're all Yorkshire lads in the first instance," Ball continued.