It was with great sadness this morning that we heard of the death of Chris Marustik who made 152 appearances for the Swans during the John Toshack era and was part of the famous squad that rose through the divisions back in that era.

It is fair to say that at 54 it is far too young to be taken from us and for me it is another loss of a link to that era - an era that hooked me as a Swans supporter. There are many people that I know that will remember Chris as a player because, like me, they were youngsters back in those days and we were very much a homegrown team who looked out for each other with one of the best team spirits you will ever see.

CHris was a son of a Czech immigrant and he made his debut in August 1978 against Spurs at the Vetch in a game that went down in history mainly thanks to a certain tackle by Tommy Smith on Ossie Ardilies.

It was later that season that he made his debut against Peterborough and he was a regular in the Swans side from then on until he departed for Cardiff City in 1985.

He was a Welsh international having made his debut for Wales in a 1982 draw with Spain just prior to the World Cup of that year and he made six consecutive appearances - his last in September 1982 against Norway.

It is always with great sadness that you hear of the passing of any Swansea player but for someone like Chris at such a relatively early stage of his life it is even sadder.

RIP Chris and thanks for the memories

Photo: Action Images

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