Few Swansea players are mentioned in the same breath as Ivor Allchurch.

Robbie James is one of them.

Robbie was the darling of the North Bank during Swansea City's glorious rise through the Football League.

The Vetch Field legend made almost 500 league appearances for his hometown club and his presence was one of the major reasons why Swansea enjoyed such a golden period during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He played in all four divisions and enjoyed three Welsh Cup triumphs.

Throughout a career which lasted more than 20 years, he made 782 league appearances for six different clubs. When cup games are thrown in the number stretches beyond 850.

Along the way he scored more than 130 goals.

One of those that remains in the memory is the second of his two against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in May 1982, which earned Swansea a 2-0 win.

Collecting the ball around halfway, James weaved his way through the Forest defence before finishing in classic style.

Forest boss Brian Clough was left fuming with his players but praised the Swansea legend.

Another Swansea great, Alan Curtis, is glowing in his praise.

"Robbie was the best player I ever played with in a Swansea shirt," he said.

"Everyone thinks of him as a midfield player but he was equally good up front and he could play at the back as well."

Robbie left the Swans to join Stoke City for £130,000 in 1983.

He returned to the Vetch in January 1988 and helped his club win promotion via the play-offs.

He netted a total of 115 goals during his two spells at the Vetch.

Capped 47 times by Wales, he also played for QPR, Leicester City, Bradford, Cardiff, Barry and Merthyr before becoming player-manager at Llanelli in 1997.

He died aged just 40 while playing for Llanelli against Porthcawl in February 1998.