Alan was part of the deal which took Jimmy Lawton to Swindon - and the club never regretted it. Alan was a north east lad, who moved to Swindon from Sunderland at the age of 19. He spent two years there, and played a handful of games.

Things moved quickly after Quakers beat Swindon in the League cup on September 22nd 1965. Lawton went to Wiltshire, 21 year old Alan and £8,000 came in the opposite direction - and what good business that turned out to be, as Quakers also used that cash to buy Bobby Cummings from Newcastle. Darlington chairman Harry Robinson said: "We are very happy to sign Sproates, who gave a good display in the cup tie against us. I am sure he will be a big asset."

And so he was. Alan stayed until the end of the 1973-74 season, making over 300 league appearances. He made an instant impact on his debut, playing at left half, in the 3-0 win over Bradford City. The Evening Despatch said: "The biggest success of the day was without doubt the debut of Alan Sproates. He showed immense skill, and was applauded off the field." Those skills were to become one of the hallmarks of Darlington's successful promotion season in 1965-66, and their near miss in 1969. And those moments of quality lit up some of the depressing re-election campaigns after that.

Alan established an excellent understanding with Ray "Yogi" Yeoman in midfield, and they controlled games between them, especially the 4-0 win at Torquay on January 8th 1966. "Ray Yeoman had one of his best games yet, backed by Alan Sproates in a perfect midfield partnership," said the Echo.

Alan was a real crowd pleaser which endeared him to the Feethams faithful, and from time to time he indulged in a touch of showboating. At Doncaster on September 9th 1966, according to the Echo "he received a backheel from Don Radcliffe just in front of the crowd. He flicked the ball on to his instep and stood there quietly going through a session of ball practice while the crowd watched in awed silence and the Doncaster defence stood mesmerised." Darlo's answer to George Best, maybe?

Alan's best game in the ill-fated Third Division relegation season was at home to QPR, who before the home game on March 27th 1967 paraded the League Cup around the ground. They included the up and coming genius Rodney Marsh, and Alan marked him out of the game - and then joined him for a drink in the La Bamba nightclub afterwards!

Alan was back in the thick of the action for the next promotion push in season 1968-69, and when he scored the winner against Newport on October 7th 1968 from a Lance Robson nod down, Darlington were on top of the league. Ray Yeoman, who took over as manager, used him in a variety of positions and Alan stayed with the club through the barren years which followed the failed promotion campaign.

Quakers changed managers regularly as they slid down the league, and they applied for re-election twice. There wasn't much to shout about in those years, although Alan scored one of the best goals of the 1970-71 season - "a delightful winner" said the Echo - against Brentford on the last day of the season.

Alan missed very few games over the next two seasons, and still managed to turn in some crowd pleasing moments. Even though Quakers lost 3-0 at home to Torquay on December 16th 1972, the Despatch wrote of one incident; "He brought the ball under control and passed it with his back in a way many of his colleagues found difficult to do with their feet."

Alan tried pastures new with the club's permission, and he played the summers of 1972 and 1973 in the newly created North American Soccer League for Miami and then Vancouver, playing against the great Pele, in fact one of his treasured mementoes is a photo of him with the great man.

Alan played his last game for Darlington in the 2-1 home win over Reading on New Years Day 1974, and picked up a knee injury. He had a brief loan spell at Hartlepool, and then moved on to Scunthorpe, before emigrating to America. He was given a well-earned testimonial against Middlesbrough on March 23rd 1974, which was good timing because only a few days before, Boro had clinched promotion by beating Oxford. Plus, the government had lifted the ban on using floodlights, so there was no need for the club to hire a generator. A crowd of well over 6000, by far Darlo's best gate of the season, turned up to see two matches, involving Boro manager Jack Charlton and several big names. Alan managed to miss a penalty though!

Alan played over 315 league games for Quakers and was voted one of the members of the all time Darlo Dream Team when Darlington moved grounds. He now lives in San Anselmo, California, keeps in touch with friends in Darlington, and still plays occasionally for the local veterans.