HISTORY might have been made at Ewood on Saturday when Barry Ferguson made his Blackburn debut.

But the name Ferguson has been synonymous with Rovers for some time thanks to the exploits of a certain Mike Ferguson in the mid 1960s.

Fergie joined Rovers in 1962 following the demise of Accrington Stanley and he soon established himself as one of the most gifted players of his generation.

Originally an inside forward, it was Rovers boss Jack Marshall who converted him into an outside right from where he blossomed into a tricky individualist.

Rovers played an attacking style of football under Marshall which suited Ferguson's game to a tee.

He was a crowd pleaser with an eye for spectacular goals -- perhaps the pick being a fabulous individual effort against Aston Villa in 1964.

However, speak to Fergie now and he admits he was like an awestruck kid in the dressing room on matchday.

"Those days at Blackburn were different class. I was lucky enough to play with some great players.

"At one point, there were 10 internationals in that team and me. I'm talking about people like Bryan Douglas, Ronnie Clayton and Andy McEvoy.

"Then there was Mick McGrath who was probably the most underrated player ever. They were all terrific talents."

Ferguson made a total of 249 appearances for Rovers, scoring 36 goals, before leaving for Aston Villa in 1968.

He then had stints with QPR, Cambridge and Rochdale before coaching and managing in Iceland, Sweden, Cyprus and America.

More recently, he did some scouting work for Terry Venables when he was manager of England, but now he can be found enjoying retirement in Worsthorne near Burnley.