As a player, he was instrumental in the Club's post war revival and as manager was the man at the helm when the Football League Championship came to Turf Moor in 1960.

His love affair with Burnley began in 1937, when as a 16-year-old, he was one of the pioneers of the Turf Moor youth system. He travelled from his home in County Durham, after the offer of a trial and first turned out in a midweek junior game against Blackpool.

Harry Potts was into his stride at once and an impressive performance led to his being taken on to Burnley's ground staff and, later in the year, signing as a professional.

Just as he was about ready to make the progression from reserve to first team football, war broke out in 1939 and Potts was to serve with the RAF in India.

He made his long awaited debut in 1946 in the first post war season.

He went on to miss just two games in that season, which ended with promotion to the First Division and an FA Cup appearance at Wembley against Charlton Athletic.

He was the Clarets' top scorer that season, as he was to be in all of the four full seasons he spent at Turf Moor.

He quickly became known as 'The General' of Burnley FC and his defensive capabilities perfectly complemented the attacking instincts of Billy Morris.

However, his late start in League football meant that his age caught him up and in 1950, he went onto the transfer list at his own request.

He was soon sold to Everton for a fee of £20,000, but the move was not a successful one, as Everton were relegated in Potts' first season at Goodison Park.

However, he began to coach the Everton youngsters and when he was released in 1956, he took a coaching post at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In the summer of 1957, he took his first step on the managerial ladder by becoming boss of Shrewsbury Town.

He was only at Gay Meadow for half a season before he was back at Turf Moor, following the resignation of Billy Dougall.

He would be the first to admit that he inherited an excellent team, both on and off the field and behind the scenes.

Of the championship side, Alex Elder was the only player to arrive, although most of the players were only just beginning to make their name in football. Harry Potts was the catalyst who would turn a good team into a great team.

After a sixth place finish in 1958 and then seventh in 1959, the Clarets embarked upon their season of destiny in August 1959 with a narrow victory against Leeds.

Throughout the season, Burnley were always in touch with the leaders, with Tottenham Hotspur in pole position for most of the campaign, until Wolves overtook them with three weeks to go.

Burnley had games in hand, but had never actually topped the table at all as the dramatic finale was played out.

With only one game left to play against Manchester City at Maine Road, Burnley knew they needed a win.

Nearly 66,000 people saw Brian Pilkington and Trevor Meredith seal a 2-1 win for Burnley and the First Division Championship.

1960/61 was to be another successful season for Burnley, but this time there was to be no slip up by Spurs, who won the First Division at a canter.

It was in Europe that Burnley made the headlines, with a two-legged victory over French club Rheimes showing Burnley's worth. The Clarets were then unfortunate to lose out to Hamburg in the next round.

It was during the game with Rheims at the Parc Des Princes in Paris that Potts almost caused a diplomatic incident when he ran onto the pitch and moved the ball, due to his anger at the French team's 'cheating'. He was fined by the authorities and given a touchline ban.

1961/62 went down in Turf Moor history as the season when the Clarets looked set for football immortality by winning the double. For the first two-thirds of the season, they were virtually invincible and led the First Division.

But it all went wrong in March, with only two wins in the final eleven games. Burnley narrowly missed out to Ipswich Town in the end and lost to Spurs in the FA Cup Final.

In 1963, scandal hit Burnley, as Potts and the Burnley Chairman Bob Lord publicly disagreed over the transfer listing of star player Jimmy McIlroy.

Despite the loss of McIlroy, Potts' successful reign continued. The Championship team was broken up, but League positions remained acceptable and there was another European campaign in 1966/67 and another League Cup semi final in 1968.

In 1970, Potts decided to step down as manager and became 'General Manager', allowing Jimmy Adamson to take over the reigns.

In 1972, Harry Potts decided to leave Turf Moor. He took over at Blackpool and his first game in charge was against none other than Burnley at Bloomfield Road.

He was back at Turf Moor in 1976 though, as Chief Scout and was soon to take charge of the Club for a second time, almost 40 years after arriving at Turf Moor for the first time.

There was to be one last triumph in store for Potts, as the Clarets won the Anglo-Scottish Cup with two memorable wins over Celtic.

His final departure from the Club came later in 1979 when he was replaced by Brian Miller in the hotseat, with Burnley at the foot of the Second Division.