Peter Bonetti knew that not all cats have nine lives so he fought tooth and claw for the one God gave him.
That long battle with Alzheimers ended this Easter Sunday, at 78, and football is in mourning for a goalkeeper so acrobatic and gravity-defying that Chelsea did indeed call him The Cat.
His final resting place is in the West Midlands. Several years ago a Chelsea fan visiting a relative in Bloxwich Hospital for dementia chanced upon Bonetti in the ward and reported: ‘He looked terribly unwell but seemed happy watching a video of the FA Cup final against Leeds.