Shrewsbury Town's legendary Jake King has recalled the club's golden era, which was marked by their curry nights and long runs. King was a central figure in Shrewsbury's rise during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Under manager Alan Durban, he played a key role as the club won promotion from the Fourth Division in 1974/75 before establishing themselves in the higher tiers of English football. He went on to become a mainstay during the unforgettable 1978/79 season, scoring six goals in the final two months of the campaign, including a brace in a 4-1 victory over Exeter City on the final day as Shrewsbury clinched the Third Division title. Reflecting on that period, King highlighted that their success was built on togetherness, recalling the strong team spirit that underpinned the dressing room culture. Speaking in a recent podcast interview, he said: 'Looking at it now, to get into what is now the Championship, Shrewsbury would never get into it now unless they did like a Wrexham and spent £100 million or whatever. We got in with pure hard work, pure hard work and togetherness. We had Wednesday off and on a Tuesday night we used to go to a nightclub. We were only allowed to drink halves of lager - if anybody had a pint they would get fined. Then we would go for a curry after at about 1am. We used to go for a break away at the end of the season. I used to organise it. I was more than a captain, they would tell me something about them then I would go and sort it with the managers. Personal things.' King went on to make 306 league appearances for Salop and scored 20 goals before leaving in 1981/82. He was part of a Shrewsbury side that regularly punched above its weight in the Second Division, spending a decade at that level and recording memorable victories over established top-flight clubs at the old Gay Meadow. 'When we got into it (Division Two), you should see the teams in it,' he continued. 'We beat Chelsea, because when they came to the Gay Meadow it was that tight, so we used to close them down. We used to get the ball back in about 20 seconds - we would close, press and press all the time and they hated it. We beat Chelsea home and away, massive. We beat West Ham. There was some talent there. We beat Newcastle. We beat QPR. There were numerous clubs there who hated coming to Shrewsbury.' Shrewsbury's decade in the second tier included consecutive eighth-place finishes in 1984 and 1985, with King highlighting the coaching influence behind their consistency. 'Richie Barker was the coach when Alan Durban was the manager, he used to organise us,' he said. 'But when Graham Turner took over, he was as simple as anything. He got us as fit as anything. We used to run from the ground about five miles, then run up a hill for about an hour and a half and then run back again. We were so fit it was unreal. All we did was simple balls. We played it into the good players, the players who could play, the other ones could defend and the others were fit who could press. It was simple football.'