Dubbed the 'Lion of Vienna', for a pain-defying 1952 performance for England when he was knocked unconscious after scoring the winning goal in a 3-2 defeat of Austria, Lofthouse was a one-club man.
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He also found the net 30 times in domestic cup competition and scored both goals in Wanderers' 2-0 defeat of a mourning Manchester United, their side depleted by the Munich air disaster, in the 1958 FA Cup final at Wembley.
Lofty the Lion, the club's mascot named after their local-born hero, stood nearby with his head bowed while the flags outside the stadium were at half mast.
"Rest in peace the Lion of Vienna, you're a legend and a true gent" and "You're an inspiration to the club, we'll always miss you and we'll never forget you" were some of the messages left by fans.
"The first time I ever saw a professional game was at Newcastle and Nat Lofthouse was playing as a centre forward and they were talking about him as this youngster... and he was just fantastic," former England and Manchester United great Bobby Charlton told BBC radio.
"He was a leader, he had fantastic ability in the air and he was strong. He was a talisman.
"Anybody in this part of the world will be very sorry that Nat Lofthouse is not with us any more. He was a fantastic credit to the game."
"Nat undoubtedly is a Bolton Wanderers legend. He was a one-club man and our football club meant as much to him as he did to us," he said.
"We will miss him but we will celebrate his life, his legacy and great times that he brought to Bolton Wanderers."
