Gerry Wolstenholme's Blog - Posts Tagged "tranmere-rovers"

Barrie Martin 1935-2019

Barrie Martin was born in Birmingham on 29 September 1935. His family moved to Blackpool when he was a youngster and he played his football as a full back with the local side Highfield Youth Club. His potential was spotted and Blackpool signed him as an amateur from Highfield in May 1952.

He played only in the junior sides in the 1952/53 season but Blackpool thought highly of him and signed him as a professional on 17 December 1953. Once again he played only in the junior sides in the 1953/54 season and then he joined the Forces to complete his National Service on 4 March 1954.

On completion of his National Service he returned to the club and he made his Central League debut at left back against Derby County reserves on 24 March 1956 when Blackpool won 2-0. He went on to play seven Central League games in the 1955/56 season, appearing at left back, left half and right back.

The following season he returned to Central League action at left half for the game against Preston North End reserves on 17 September 1956 when Blackpool lost 2-1 and he ended the 1956/57 season having played 19 Central League games. He, ended the season in the left back position, once again having played in both full back positions and at left half throughout the season.

His weekly wage for the 1957/58 season was £10 with an extra £7 if and when he played in the first team and an extra £2 when he played in the Central League side. And he started the 1957/58 season at left half in the Central League side but played his second game of the season in the unaccustomed position of right half. However, thereafter, he played at full back, eventually making the left back position his own.

Injury to the regular left back Jackie Wright gave him the opportunity to make his League debut against Bolton Wanderers on 28 December 1957 when Blackpool lost the game 3-2. Interestingly, it was erroneously stated that he was 'the first Blackpool born full back to play for the club in First or Second Division football for over 30 years'. But, being born in Birmingham this was obviously not the case; Herbert ‘Taffy’ Jones was said to have been the previous player to have, and at that time retain, the honour.

He was back in the League side for the final three games of the season, replacing Jimmy Armfield at right back in a 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion and then left back Jackie Wright in two defeats, 1-0 at home to Everton and 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur. The four League games that he played augmented his 34 Central League appearances in the 1957/58 season. And although he had only made fleeting appearances in the League side, the critic in Blackpool's weekly football newspaper The Green stated before the final match of the season, 'For the player most likely to succeed next season I choose local full back Barrie Martin. In his three games for the first team before today, Martin showed the coolness, skill and positional sense that go to make a player of quality. Those attributes should develop next season.' The critic was not wrong, he could obviously spot potential when he saw it!

The club obviously also thought the same as his weekly wage was increased for the 1958/59 season to £14 with an extra £6 if and when he played in the first team. He earned £36 from that appearance bonus because Jackie Wright and Tommy Garrett shared the left back position with Barrie replacing them in only four games when they were injured, plus once again replacing Jimmy Armfield in two other games. Thus he played six League games to add to his 38 Central League games in the 1958/59 season.

Once again he earned a wage increase for the 1959/60 season, £17 in the summer months and £20 in the season. And he became the regular first team left back at the start of that 1959/60 season; the Armfield/Martin full back partnership had begun.

On 12 December 1959, he scored his first, and as it turned out only, senior goal for the club in a 3-1 defeat of Chelsea at Bloomfield Road. And, remarkably, I still remember it well (even though I was only a 13year-old). He received the ball from goalkeeper George Farm and began a mazy dribble out of his own half that ended with him driving a shot past the Chelsea goalkeeper from just outside the penalty area; I can see it even now!

A 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers on 6 February 1960 brought the Armfield/Martin full back partnership more into focus as one critic wrote, 'A compact half-back line, in which Roy Gratrix was superb and Peter Hauser and Hugh Kelly forever active, plus two sound, assured full backs in Jimmy Armfield and Barrie Martin, played a major part in achieving a deserved draw.'

Losing his place only temporarily in the 1959/60 season, he played 38 League games, scoring that one goal, three FA Cup games and three Central League games. But in the 1960/61 season, the re-emergence of Tommy Garrett cost him his place for much of the season and he ended it having played 18 League games, two League Cup games and 21 Central League games. Even so, his weekly wage for the 1961/62 season was increased to £24 with an extra £5 if and when he played in the first team.
And he missed only one game, and that through injury, in the 1961/62 season, playing in 41 League games, eight League Cup ties and two FA Cup ties.

He was always a robust player but always a fair one and it was something of a surprise when he received an FA warning after being booked in the game against Bolton Wanderers on 6 April 1963; perhaps Blackpool's 3-0 defeat had something to do with it! However, he was an ever-present in the 1962/63 season, playing in all 42 League games, three League Cup ties and two FA Cup ties.

Injury caused him to miss two League games in the 1963/64 season so he ended the season having played in 40 League games, two League Cup ties and two FA Cup ties. It was also the season of a most unusual event for Barrie. A hand-ball offence by a Bolton defender gave Blackpool a penalty in the game against the Wanderers on 7 March 1964 and as on critic reported, 'Martin unexpectedly chose to take it' and he 'sidefooted it over the bar on to the Kop' but Blackpool did go on to win 2-0.

But the emergence of a new full back, Tommy Thompson, meant that Barrie's time at Blackpool was coming to a close. He appeared in the opening Central League game of the season, a 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 22 August 1964 and it was to be his final game for the club as Blackpool transferred him to Oldham Athletic for a fee of £7,500 on 28 August 1964. He had given Blackpool loyal service, having played 213 League and Cup games plus 123 Central League games.

He played 42 League games, scoring four goals, and three FA Cup ties, scoring one goal, for Oldham Athletic and, as I was working in London at the time when and we had no game on a particular Saturday and I saw that Oldham were coming to town, I was able to watch Barrie playing for his new side in a game at Brentford, a game I went to watch just to see Barrie once again!

Oldham transferred him to Tranmere Rovers in June 1965 for a fee of £4,000 and he played 99 League games and made three substitute appearances for the club.

After retirement from football he returned to the Fylde Coast and became a car dealer in Blackpool.

He died in Trinity Hospice, Blackpool, on 27 February 2019. He is an integral part of Blackpool Football Club history and, certainly for this supporter, he will be remembered for that one magnificent goal! Rest in Peace, Barrie.

Leslie (Les) Campbell 1935-2019

Les Campbell was that rare breed of player who, at some point in his professional football career, was a team-mate of those great friends and rivals Tom Finney and Stan Matthews. He played with Finney at Preston North End and Matthews during his relatively short spell at Blackpool.
He was born at Wigan on 26 July 1935 and after junior football, as a winger, playing either outside left or outside right, he was offered trials at Football League club Notts County but he chose not to sign for them. Instead he joined Crompton Recreation's FC before moving to Lancashire Combination side, Wigan Athletic. He played only five games for Wigan Athletic before he was spotted by Preston North End, who signed him in June 1953 for a fee of £1,250. He went on to play 64 League games, scoring six goals, for Preston. He had also been a regular member of the RAF team during his national service days.
After seven seasons at the club Preston transferred him to Blackpool for a fee of £1,500 on 9 July 1960. Blackpool considered Stan Matthews to be coming to the end of his career (how wrong they were!) and with outside left Bill Perry injured, Campbell, being capable of playing on either wing, was an ideal substitute for either of them. His weekly wage at Blackpool was to be £16 in the summer, £17 in the winter plus an extra £3 when playing in the first team.
He made his League debut for Blackpool at outside left against Leicester City on 20 August 1960 when the game was drawn 1-1. He played in the following game against Tottenham Hotspur on 22 August 1960 but then an injury, that he was later to say he carrying when he signed for Blackpool, kept him out of the following three League games. He returned to action in a 4-1 defeat by Everton on 5 September 1960.
He was in and out of the side for the following few League games but he did play in Blackpool’s first-ever League Cup tie against Leeds United on 28 September 1960 when the game was drawn 0-0. He also played in the replay on 5 October 1960 (a game that I attended) when Blackpool lost 3-1.
Perry returned after injury so he was left out of the side until what turned out to be his final League game at outside left for Blackpool, an exciting 4-3 defeat by Newcastle United at St James's Park on 12 November 1960 (another game I attended and well remember Newcastle's very late winner). Thereafter he played irregularly in the Central League side until being recalled to League action to replace the injured Matthews at outside right.
His first game in that position proved to be the first victory he experienced as a Blackpool player after having appeared in the side on 10 previous occasions. Blackpool defeated West Ham United 3-0 on 4 February 1961. With Matthews out for two further games, he played in a 2-2 draw with Chelsea and then, ironically, what turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool was against his former club Preston North End on18 February 1961 when Preston won 1-0.
With Blackpool having then signed the flying South African winger Des Horne and with Matthews being fit once again, his place in the side looked in jeopardy. Reluctantly, therefore, the directors decided to place him on the transfer list on 10 March 1961. And after the 1960/61 season he was transferred to Tranmere Rovers for a fee of £900 on 13 June 1961. He had played 11 League games and two Football League Cup games during his one-season stay at Bloomfield Road and in addition he had played 19 Central League games, scoring two goals. He did receive £100 as his share of the transfer fee.
During his time at Blackpool he had become friendly with Stan Matthews and when Matthews went to Toronto and later to Africa he wanted to take Les with him on both occasions but Campbell chose not to go. And after Matthews had returned to Stoke City in October 1961, he later approached Campbell about joining the Potters but once again Campbell declined the offer.
He remained three seasons with Tranmere Rovers and he played 99 League games, scoring nine goals, for the club up to his departure at the end of the 1963/64 season, when his persistent knee injury ended his League career. Overall he had made 174 League appearances, scoring 15 goals, for his three clubs.
He later played for Wigan Athletic, under former Blackpool player Allan Brown, Altrincham, where he was captain for three years, Oswestry and Netherfield [Kendal], where he was player-manager. He had a sparkling career in non-league football and won the Cheshire League title three seasons in succession, once with Wigan Athletic and twice with Altrincham.
On his retirement from football he returned to his trade as an electrician and in later life he became a church organist.
He died on 10 November 2019.

John Robert Bruce Crawford 1938-2022

Bruce Crawford was born in Preston on 10 October 1938. He was the son of ex-Blackpool wing half Bobby Crawford, who played 58 games for the Seasiders in the early 1930s. It followed that he would take to football, which he did for junior teams as an inside forward and wing half.
He was a police cadet at Hutton, three miles south west of Preston, when he was offered a job on the Blackpool ground staff prior to the 1955/56 season. He played in the junior teams before making his Central League debut as a 17-year-old against Manchester City reserves on 11 February 1956 when Blackpool won 1-0. Unfortunately he suffered a leg injury near the end of the game and this turned out to be his one Central League game in the 1955/56 season.
Blackpool were pleased with his progress and he left the police force and decided on football as a career. Blackpool duly signed him as a professional on 2 May 1956. His weekly terms for the 1956/57 season were £7, summer, £8, winter, plus an extra £9 if and when he played in the first team and an extra £2 when he played in the reserve side.
He was a regular scorer for the Blackpool Youth team and he also scored a hat-trick for the ‘A’ team in a 4-3 win over Preston North End ‘A’ on 6 October 1956. He made his first Central League appearance of the 1956/57 season against Manchester United reserves on 13 October 1956 when Blackpool won 1-0. And he was in the Blackpool Youth team that defeated Leeds United 3-2 on 3 November 1956 and he ‘worried the [Leeds] team regularly’, scored one of the goals and he and left half Sammy Salt ‘gave performances which should improve their chances of promotion with the club’.
In addition to Youth team matches and junior games, he played two Central League games for the club in the 1956/57 season, scoring one goal in his second game, a 2-2 draw with Bury reserves on 6 April 1957.
His weekly terms for the 1957/58 season were originally set at £6, summer, £7 winter plus £1 extra if and when he played in the first team. But in June 1957 these were amended to £7, summer, £8, winter, plus £1 extra if and when in the first team and £2 extra when in the reserves. The revised terms were accepted.
His time at Blackpool was interrupted when he commenced his National Service on 1 October 1957 and his appearances were consequently restricted to when he was available from the armed forces. He did, however, start the season at inside right in the Central League side in a 2-2 draw with Leeds United reserves on 24 August 1957 and he moved to centre forward for the second game, a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United reserves on 26 August.
He was in town for two games at centre forward for the resrve side, a 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa reserves on 14 September and then a horrific 8-1 defeat by the Busby Babes reserve side on 16 September when Alex Dawson scored five, Bobby Charlton, Albert Scanlon and John Doherty scoring the other three.
Then, he was available for the back half of the season, returning on 4 January 1958 at centre forward against Everton reserves, who won 2-0. He had an extended run at centre forward and he scored a hat-trick in a 6-0 victory over Barnsley reserves on 15 February. He went on to play 20 Central League games, scoring 11 goals, in the 1957/58 season.
He was still on National Service when the 1958/59 season commenced and as a consequence his weekly wage was revised to the statutory £1 per week plus an extra £2 if and when he appeared in the first team. But due to his forces commitment he was unable to play for the club during the 1958/59 season. Nevertheless his weekly terms for the 1959/60 season were set at £12, summer and winter, plus £8 extra if and when he played in the first team and £2 extra when he played in the reserves.
He started the 1959/60 season at centre forward in the Central League side and he scored two goals in the first three games, the winner in a 1-0 victory over Huddersfield Town reserves on 24 August and one in a 5-4 defeat by Chesterfield reserves on 29 August. He alternated between inside right, centre forward and inside left before playing a couple of games in the half-back line.
After a run of five success Central League games in which he scored, he made his League debut at inside left in place of Dave Durie on 6 February 1960 against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. The game was drawn 1-1 and he made a favourable impression and the after-match verdict was fulsome, ‘A future in League football awaits Bruce Crawford, too, if his debut was anything to go by. He had a particularly good first half, fitting into the scheme of things well and releasing some glorious cross-field passes.’ Another critic stated, ‘Nobody grafted harder than Crawford.’
He retained his place for three games but was then left out of the side and replaced by Johnny Green after a disastrous 6-0 defeat by Manchester United on 27 February 1960. They were his three League games for the 1959/60 season when he was the leading goalscorer for the Central League side with 20 goals in 35 games.
He went on Blackpool’s 1960 close season tour to Ghana, Rhodesia and Nyasaland when the Seasiders won seven and lost one of their eight games when the management ‘were encouraged by the play of the younger players’.
His success was reflected in his weekly terms for the 1960/61 season as they were £13, summer, £14, winter, plus £6 extra when appearing in the first team and £2 extra when appearing in the reserves.
Despite that success, he was at centre forward in the Central League side as the 1960/61 season began and he had scored six goals in eight games when he got the call to the League side against Everton on 14 September. Blackpool lost 1-0 and he immediately returned to the Central League side.
It was something of a surprise when his name came up in a proposed transfer deal in November 1960. Blackpool were interested in York City’s Colin Addison but York’s demand of £11,500 or £10,000 plus Bruce Crawford was deemed too high. Blackpool thought that a fee of £5,000 plus Crawford was sufficient so no deal took place.
He appeared at right half for the reserves until a move back to centre forward against Barnsley reserves, when he scored three goals in Blackpool’s 7-3 victory on 17 December 1960. And he earned a recall to the League side against West Ham United on 4 February 1960 when he scored one of the goals in a 3-0 victory and he scored again in a 2-2 draw with Chelsea in the following game. But one further game, a 1-0 defeat by Preston North End, saw him return to the reserve side.
On 18 January 1961 the maximum wage was abolished in English football and clubs began to look more closely at the size of their squads. As a consequence, he was placed on the transfer list on 10 March 1961 following the announcement of a new deal for players and he made a tentative decision to rejoin the police force. But he once more earned a recall to the League side for the final four games of the season, when he appeared at inside right. Again he scored in two successive games, a 1-1 draw with Manchester City and a 2-0 victory over Birmingham City to help the club avoid relegation.
It became known that Frank Hill, the former Blackpool captain and then the Notts County manager, had him watched against Birmingham City on 22 April with a view to signing him. Blackpool, therefore, took him off the transfer list and offered him revised terms of £20, all year round, plus £10 extra when in the first team for the 1961/62 season. He duly accepted and remained a Blackpool player.
In the 1960/61 season he had scored four goals in eight League games and was the Central League side’s leading goalscorer, scoring 22 goals in 29 games.
His conversion to a half back began in the first Central League game of the 1961/62 season when Barnsley reserves were defeated 5-0 on 19 August. But back at inside forward against Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves on 9 September he scored a hat-trick, including two penalties, as Blackpool won 3-2.
Then, having played for the reserves in a 1-0 defeat by Liverpool reserves on Saturday 16 September, he was drafted into the League side at inside right on Monday 18 September at Upton Park in a game against West Ham United that ended 2-2. He kept his place for the following game, a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa. But it was then back to reserve team football for a further few games.
And then, he was in demand again by other clubs when Blackpool were interested in signing Halifax Town’s centre forward Frank Large in October 1961. But Halifax wanted £10,000 plus Crawford and Blackpool’s interest immediately waned as they were not prepared to let him go. Not only that he was reintroduced into the League side at half back against Bolton Wanderers on 14 October when two South Africans, Des Horne and Brian Peterson, scored the goals that gave Blackpool a 2-1 victory. He kept his place for the remainder of the season.
Now a first team regular at right half, in November 1961 he commented, ‘You never know your luck in this game. I suppose every profession has its ups and downs but in football it’s like being on the Big Dipper!’ Having been converted to a half back he added philosophically, ‘I got a second chance which I appreciated, and I did my best to take it. Apparently the club seemed to think so, for in the last week or two they voluntarily increased my wages and that I appreciated too!’
He made great strides in the half-back line, so much so that he was a reserve for the England Under-23 side against Holland in December 1961.
Then when Blackpool played Tottenham Hotspur on 16 December 1961 the newspapers billed the clash as a ‘duel between a player who cost a £10 signing-on fee in 1956 and the highest priced player in the game’ as Crawford was up against the mercurial, goal-scoring Jimmy Greaves. Unfortunately for Blackpool, Greaves came out on top as his first goal, of three, was ‘an acrobatic continental-style mid-air kick that fairly rocketed into the net [and] was in the £100,000 class’ and the after-match comment was ‘Crawford must have thought he was chasing shadows trying to keep control of the elusive Greaves.’ Needless to say, Tottenham won the game 5-2.
He finally won an England Under-23 international cap against Scotland at Aberdeen on 28 February 1962 when he set up Jimmy Greaves for England’s first goal as England won 4-2. Blackpool manager Ronnie Suart went to watch the game and rated Crawford as the best wing half in the game over the whole 90 minutes. Interestingly he said, ‘Moore, West Ham United, had a very good first half but went out of it in the second half, whereas Crawford was strong and consistent all through.’ Inexplicably it was to be his only cap.
He played 32 League games, scoring two goals, seven League Cup ties, two FA Cup ties and 10 Central League games, scoring six goals, in the 1961/62 season. Incidentally one of those two League goals earned me 10 shillings (50p). We used to have a sweep on the Kop for the first goal scorer and against Wolves on 20 January 1962 I drew Bruce, who by then was at right half. I thought I had might have wasted my shilling but he scored the first goal in Blackpool’s 7-2 victory.
He secured a two-year deal through to the end of the 1963/64 season and his weekly terms were £25, summer and winter, plus £5 extra when appearing in the first team.
He missed only two games through a minor injury in the 1962/63 season, playing 40 League games, scoring four goals, three League Cup ties and one FA Cup tie.
When he was approaching his 100th League game for the first team he sustained a knee injury that kept him out of the side from 9 November 1963.
He did play two more League games in December 1963 and then he unluckily found himself third choice for the right half position as the spot was shared by John McPhee and Neil Turner. He was therefore put on the transfer list in February 1964 as Blackpool felt that he had not fulfilled a lot of the dazzling promise, which won him his England Under-23 cap. The club felt that it would be in the player’s best interests to move on but there were no immediate inquiries for him. When asked he posed the rhetorical question, ‘I’m third choice here at the moment, so I haven’t much future at Bloomfield Road, have I?’
There was plenty of interest in him and there were tentative inquiries received from Swansea Town, Brentford and Bolton Wanderers in mid-March 1964 but no deal was struck.
Bolton did agree a deal for him towards the end of March 1964 but it was dependent on them transferring Freddie Hill to Liverpool to give them the necessary cash. The latter deal fell through right at the last minute because of Hill’s high blood pressure and the Bolton/Blackpool deal for Crawford was cancelled as a consequence. Meanwhile he continued to serve Blackpool, playing 10 consecutive League games in September through to November 1963 and he finished the season with 13 League games, scoring one goal, two League Cup ties and 23 Central League games, scoring four goals.
His weekly terms for the 1964/65 and 1965/66 seasons were revised to £20, winter and summer, plus an extra £10 when appearing in the first team.
By then he was a reserve team regular but he returned to the League side at right half on 19 December 1964 in 4-1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday. It was his first game in the First Division since the previous April and was to be his last for Blackpool. He played one League game and 32 Central League games in the 1964/65 season.
He was placed on the transfer list in May 1965 for a modest fee. He was anxious to play first team football and Peterborough United watched him in the reserves at the start of the 1965/66 season. But no offer was made.
He had played four Central League games up to the time of his transfer in the 1965/66 season, his final game for Blackpool being a 4-0 defeat by Burnley reserves on 31 August 1965. He had played 98 League games, scoring 11 goals, three FA Cup ties and 12 League Cup ties for Blackpool. In the Central League he played 156 games and scored 64 goals. He had been an excellent, talented, hard-working and loyal servant for the club.
He was transferred to Tranmere Rovers for a fee of £3,500 on 2 September 1965. ‘The transfer was one of the quickest I can remember’, said Ronnie Suart as Crawford made his way to play inside right for his new club at Crewe. Tranmere manager Dave Russell had telephoned with his offer on the Friday afternoon and Suart said, ‘Terms were agreed within half an hour and Mr Russell was given permission to approach Crawford.’ The Tranmere manager said, ‘I have admired Crawford for a long time, ever since my Bury days. I’m playing him in the forward line because of injury problems, which involve a bit of a switch around. But he’ll be used as a wing half too.’ The fee was to be paid in two parts, £2,000 on 11 September 1965 and the balance of £1,500 on 7 January 1966.
He went on to play 24 League games and make two substitute appearances for Tranmere Rovers, scoring five goals. After his League career was over he a short spell with Fleetwood after being signed by manager Jimmy Kelly, his former Blackpool team-mate, playing 18 games and scoring three goals before leaving in January 1968.
In life after football he was a paint sprayer at a local garage.
He died in hospital on 20 June 2022.

David Edward Parry 1948-2024

David Parry was born in Southport-born on 11 February 1948]. As either an outside left or outside right, he was a member of a Southport school side that had won the Champion School of Lancashire title. Blackpool were alerted to his progress and he was signed by the club as an apprentice professional on 14 August 1964. He was to earn a basic £8 per week, an agreement that was to last for two seasons.

He very quickly made his mark in the junior sides and he made his Central League debut for Blackpool against Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves on 19 September 1964 when Blackpool won 2-1.

He became an integral member of the Central League side and he scored his first senior goal for the club in a 2-2 draw with Burnley reserves on 29 September 1964. He went on to play 10 Central League games, scoring one goal, for Blackpool in the 1964/65 season.

Blackpool signed him as a full-time professional on 24 December 1965 when his weekly wage was increased to £10 plus an additional £15 if he played in the first team and an extra £2 when he played in the reserve side.

The press picked up on his quality play against Stoke City reserves on 1 January 1966 he earned praise with ‘most of Blackpool’s early attacking thrusts came from Parry on the left wing’ but Blackpool eventually lost 3-1.

Once again the press highlighted him when there was ‘some useful wing play by Parry’ when Blackpool lost 4-2 to Stoke City reserves on 5 February 1966.

When Jimmy Robson scored twice in a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers in a Lancashire Senior Cup tie on 4 April 1966, he was instrumental in both goals. The first came after 14 minutes when ‘Parry hit a perfect centre into the middle where inside right Robson rose head and shoulders above Blackburn pivot Mulvaney and flashed the ball into the net.” And Robson’s second goal came when ‘Parry, starved of the ball in the second half, then broke away, laid on a perfect pass for Robson and, despite a brave attempt by Jones, the Blackburn ‘keeper, Robson succeeded in pressing the ball just inside the post for the winner.’

He played 19 Central League games, scoring one goal, and one Lancashire Senior Cup tie for Blackpool in the 1965/66 season.

When interviewed about his career in October 1966 he commented, ‘I’m supposed to be one of the fastest players on the books’ and he felt that his speed could possibly help him achieve his first team ambitions. However, he was appearing regularly in the junior sides and had by then only appeared twice in the Central League side in the 1966/67 season. However, when the season ended he had secured a regular place in the side, and had played 25 Central League games, scoring four goals, by the end of the 1966/67 season.

Due to what was deemed to be a large pool of players, some of whom might not be given a fair chance at first team football, it was reluctantly decided that he be given a free transfer on 30 June 1967.

He was quickly signed by Tranmere Rovers in July 1967 but he played just three League games for the club in his one season there..

Tranmere transferred him to Halifax Town in September 1958 but once again he unfortunately did not gain a regular League spot, playing just two League games for the club.

After League football he played 17 games for then Northern Premier League side Wigan Athletic.

He was unfortunate that when he was at Blackpool, the club did have a large number of very experienced professionals and it was difficult to break into the first team squad but, playing 54 Central League games, scoring six goals, and one Senior Cup tie (when Blackpool played a mixture of first-team and reserve players in that competition), he was an important part of the club’s rich heritage.

He died on 25 August 2024 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and condolences go to his family and many friends.