BIRMINGHAM, UK (ANS) -- During my teenage years as a pastor’s son in Birmingham, England, I had never met anyone remotely famous – until I became a pal with Bob Evans, who lived around the corner from me in the Kings Heath suburb of the city.

Dan (right) with his friend Bob Evans, in London, as they followed Birmingham City

My parents, the Rev. Alf Wooding, then the pastor of the Sparkbrook Mission, and my mother, Anne, were not too keen on my friendship as they didn’t approve of my fascination with soccer. They thought it was “unspiritual,” and was taking the place of religion in my life.

Still, that didn’t put me off, especially as Bob. like myself, was a fanatical Birmingham City FC supporter and on my first visit to his home, he introduced me to his stepfather, George Liddell, who had joined “The Blues” – as the team is known by – as a player in 1920 and made 345 appearances as a wing-half and fullback during his time as a professional.

Mr. Liddell would spend hours re-living his soccer career for me as I sat spellbound, listening to his fascinating stories.

George Liddell in his playing days

I was also very impressed to learn that Mr. Liddell had later become the manager of Birmingham City in the pre-war years and had even signed Gil Merrick, my all-time favorite goalkeeper, to the team.

Bob and I would also spend hours in the local park kicking the ball around and dreaming of one day playing for England. I eventually became the first team goalkeeper for Queensbridge School and later for a whole string of teams in the city.

Things got even better for me when George Liddell became a soccer reporter for BBC’s Radio “Sports Report” which was anchored by Eamonn Andrews, who also hosted the BBC TV show “This Is Your Life.”

Each Saturday, Bob and myself would listen to his live report on a local game and then, when Mr. Liddell arrived home, he would present me the match program with his notes on them. I built up quite a collection which I treasured.

When Birmingham City finally did the unthinkable and reached the 1956 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London, Mr. Liddell called Bob and I together and presented us with free tickets for the game. We joined with thousands of other supporters to travel in a convoy of buses to see the game, but were disappointed when our team lost 3-1 to Manchester City.

Dan Wooding back in 1986 presents a copy of his autobiography to John Bond, the then manager of Birmingham City, as some of the 'Blues' players look on

I continued with my amateur soccer career for many more years and Mr. Liddell even arranged for me to have a trial as a goalkeeper with Birmingham City FC, but it never worked out.

Years later, I was a guest of the team at their St. Andrew’s Ground and presented the players and manager with a copy of my autobiography, “Twenty-Six Lead Soldiers”, now updated as “From Tabloid to Truth.”

Sadly, Bob moved away from Birmingham with his mother, Betty, and George Liddell, who went on to be a headmaster (principal) of a local school and had just retired, and I only saw Bob once after that.

Dan (third back row) during his goalkeeping days

He told me he had joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and got married, and then later, after he had left the RAF, had became a Born-Again Christian and was working with the Salvation Army.

That was the last time that I saw Bob and I often wondered what had happened to him. If any of you who are reading this, have any ideas on how I could contact him, I would love to hear from you at danjum1@aol.com.

I know that his mother and stepfather had moved to the New Forest area in the south of England, and have since passed away, but I have no idea where Bob Evans is today.

But still, I have to thank him for introducing me to the first person I had ever met who was remotely famous. Of course, since then as a journalist, I have interviewed literally hundreds of well-known people including Mother Teresa and Coretta Scott King, widow of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, but thanks to Bob, I met this lovely man who never tired of sharing his life-stories with me.

Dan Wooding, 71, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 49 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and he hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on the KWVE Radio Network in Southern California and which is also carried throughout the United States and around the world. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries. Dan recently received two top media awards -- the “Passion for the Persecuted” award from Open Doors US, and as one of the top “Newsmakers of 2011” from Plain Truth magazine. He is the author of some 45 books, the latest of which is “Caped Crusader: Rick Wakeman in the 1970s.” To order a copy, go to: http://www.amazon.com/CAPED-CRUSADER-Rick-Wakeman-1970s/dp/1908728302/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335474883&sr=1-1 .