Fans paid tribute to one “of the best headers of a ball at Vicarage Road in the last 60 years” with a period of applause before Watford’s defeat to Crystal Palace last night.

Born in Lambeth in June 1940, George Harris joined Watford from Newport County in 1962 and played under Ron Burgess, Bill McGarry and Ken Furphy as he became a regular part of the team for four seasons in Division Three.

Described by the late Trefor Jones in The Watford Football Club Illustrated Who’s Who as a player who “ran well and could deliver a good cross, his heading ability was outstanding, and his goalscoring consistency that could reasonably by expected from an outside-left.”

It was Harris’ aerial ability that Oliver Phillips remembers vividly as well.

The Watford Observer’s former long-serving Hornets correspondent said: “There was a high wall at the end of George’s London street and, as a child, his only option seemed to be to throw a ball up and keep heading it. Years later, as a professional, he was a real threat at the far post, soaring to meet a cross with a well-directed header. That was one of the great sights of Watford in the 1960s.

Watford Observer:

“He and Billy Jennings were perhaps the best headers of a ball at Vicarage Road in the last 60 years. George still holds the record number of goals in a season scored by a winger.

"‘I thought Barnesy (John Barnes) would take it,’ he told me. ‘But I also took penalties, whereas Barnesy did not.’

“A never-say-die, tireless left winger, he was also a pleasant character off the field.

“One day he found himself playing opposite Graham Taylor in a charity match. They talked about when their career paths last crossed and when it was kick-off time they said farewell.

"‘See you at the far post,’ said George.

"‘Aye, and I will be under you,’ a rueful Graham conceded.

“His one partial regret was misjudging Ken Furphy when he took over. George left but one day he bumped into Furph and admitted ‘I got you all wrong.’

“Watford won promotion in 1969 without him, but Watford would have been stronger with him.”

Harris scored 55 goals in 162 league appearances for Watford before moving to Reading in 1966 for a fee of £4,500.

He would go on to win the Player of the Season award in the first of four campaigns for the Royals where his fine scoring record continued.