Gerry Wolstenholme's Blog, page 7
January 31, 2019
Blackpool Football Club's Olympian
William John (Bill) Slater 1927-2018
Bill Slater was born in Clitheroe on 29 April 1927 and, as an inside forward, he was a product of Clitheroe Royal Grammar School and after leaving school he played his football for Yorkshire Amateurs and Leeds University. He worked locally at a bank before, for the good of his father's health, the family moved to Blackpool. While there, his footballing ability having been noted by the club's scouts, he was invited to play a few games for the club as an amateur.
He first appeared for Blackpool when still a junior in the 1944/45 season, making his debut at inside left in a 5-4 victory at Southport on 21 October 1944. He went on to play four games, scoring one goal, for Blackpool in that wartime 1944/45 season. His goal came when he was called into the side in an emergency when the club had only 10 men against Preston North End on 5 May 1945. He arrived on the field with Blackpool winning 2-0; they eventually won 8-1.
He was also a more than useful cricketer and he first played for Blackpool Cricket Club as an amateur in September 1945, after he had scored a brilliant 84, with one six and 12 fours, for the Blackpool Colts side out of a total of 153-9 declared. He was later to play a number of games for Warwickshire Second XI and also played for the Midlands Club Cricket Conference side.
He was doing his National Service in the Army up to 1948 and then he was studying physical education at Leeds University, so he did not have opportunity to play regularly for Blackpool again for a number of seasons. He did return to action for the Blackpool ‘A’ team against Chorley on 10 April 1948 when he 'played a fine game' and the after-match comment was 'If ever there is a player of the future it is this forward. He intends now that he is demobilised to enter University for three years but present indications are that he will still sign a professional contract for Blackpool, whose directors do not want to lose him.'
He started the 1948/49 season in the Blackpool ‘A’ team and he scored two goals in a 2-2 draw with Burnley ‘A’ in the first round of the Richardson Cup on 26 August 1948. He then made his Central League debut at inside left against Manchester United reserves on 30 August 1948 when Blackpool lost 1-0 and he played one further Central League game in that season. His form had been such in the junior sides that Blackpool officially signed him as an amateur in May 1949.
He scored four goals for the Central League side against Blackburn Rovers reserves on 5 September 1949 when Blackpool won 6-0. The display probably earned him his first team call-up for he made his League debut at outside left against Aston Villa on 7 September 1949 when the game was drawn 0-0. Playing occasionally for the League side, he scored his first League goals, two of them, in a 4-2 victory over Stoke City on 10 December 1949. And he scored his first hat-trick for the club when scoring three goals, including a penalty, in a 4-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the third round of the FA Cup on 7 January 1950.
He played nine League games, scoring three goals, three FA Cup ties, scoring three goals, and seven Central League games, scoring six goals, in the 1949/50 season. And he started the 1950/51 season as the first choice inside left and he went on to play in a run of 17 successive games before study commitments temporarily took him away from the game.
His return to the team was rather dramatic for injury to Allan Brown gave him the opportunity to play in the 1951 FA Cup final against Newcastle United but the only condition on which he could play was that he had to be back on campus at Leeds University the same night! Blackpool lost 2-0 and while his Blackpool team mates were attending their after-match banquet he was on the train, returning to University and hiding his face from the many celebrating Newcastle fans travelling home. He does, however, remain the last amateur to play in the FA Cup final. He played in 18 League games, scoring four goals, one FA Cup tie, and five Central League games for Blackpool in the 1950/51 season.
Considering what was to come, 20 October 1951 was a significant day as Blackpool tried him at wing half and in his first game in the position he gave a polished display in the Central League side against Manchester United reserves. It had critics and supporters alike declaring (prophetically in view of his later career) that he should be permanently converted into a wing half. He gave 'superb service to the forwards and was very effective defensively' and in addition he scored one of the goals in a 4-2 victory.
He won amateur international honours in 1951 and he went on to win 21 England Amateur international caps, playing for Great Britain in the 1952 Olympic Games (his daughter, who he coached at gymnastics was also an Olympian, appearing in the 1976 games in Montreal).
He played five League games, occupying the inside right, inside left and centre forward positions and scoring two goals, and seven Central League games, occupying the inside left, left half and right half positions and scoring three goals, before he departed by mutual consent due to work commitments in the 1951/52 season. As an amateur he was entitled to freedom of movement and his tutorial and personal interests led to the move down south. He had played 36 League and Cup games for Blackpool, scoring 12 goals, and 20 Central League games, scoring nine goals.
He joined Brentford, still as an amateur, in December 1951 and the London press raved about his performances at wing half, a position he did not play in the first team at Blackpool. However, he played just seven League games, scoring one goal, for Brentford. And it was while at Brentford that he played in the 1952 Olympic Games Great Britain side and he was to comment later, 'I suppose the tournament was a bit of disaster for us really. In those days there was no professional sports in the European countries, but in fact they were professionals in all but name. We had some good players, men like George Robb who played for Tottenham, but while the others had settled international teams, ours had come together at relatively short notice. We went out in the first round 5-3 to Luxembourg, of all teams. But I’m not sure how many of them actually came from Luxembourg. Though some of them were certainly playing football in Italy and elsewhere, it was a bit embarrassing.'
Tony Pawson a fellow member of the 1952 squad said of him in September 2003, 'He was a very intelligent player and a very strong captain. Before one game our professional coach said that whenever we gave away a free-kick, one of us should go and stand on the ball until we regrouped. Bill spoke up and said, ‘Not in my side they won’t’. Alas there aren’t many Bill Slaters in the game now. He was absolute soul of amateurism, decency and sportsmanship.' Staying on to watch the rest of the tournament, he did at least spot the potential of the Hungarian side and extolled their virtues in an article for the FA News. The following year Hungary went on to defeat the full England side 6-3 at Wembley.
When his work as a lecturer took him to the Midlands, Brentford gave him an introduction to Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 1952 [some reports claim that he went to Molineux and knocked on manager Stan Cullis' door to ask for a game, stating that he did not mind at which level of the game he played). It was agreed that, providing that he got permission from his university, he would sign for Wolves as a part-time professional. His weekly wage was to be £14 and he later commented, 'more than I was getting at the university'. Manager Stan Cullis was reported as saying, 'I think we are obliged to pay you a £10 signing-on fee, but I’m not sure you’re worth it.' How wrong he was!
He went on to have a stellar career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, playing 339 League and Cup games for the club, being a member of three Wolves League championship-winning sides and captaining the side to FA Cup victory at Wembley [a 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers and, as a young boy, I was lucky enough to be there to see him]. Also during his time there he won 12 England caps and he played in the 1958 World Cup finals. In Sweden he lined up against Brazil, having taken a month’s unpaid leave from Birmingham University, and he was later to remark, 'The £50 match fee meant that I just about broke even.' In addition he won the Footballer of the Year award in 1960.
He was transferred back to Brentford in July 1963 and he played a further five League games and scored two more goals for the club before bowing out and playing a few games for the amateur side Northern Nomads in 1964/65.
An extremely talented man [and a lovely man to boot for I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet him] he had a variety of roles outside football including Deputy director of Crystal Palace Sports Centre, Director of PE at Liverpool and Birmingham Universities, Chairman of the West Midlands Sports Council, Director of National Services (Great Britain Sports Council), a member of the British Olympic Committee, Chairman of the Sports Aid Foundation and President of the British Amateur Gymnast Association.
He was awarded the OBE in 1982 and the CBE in 1998, both awarded for his services to sport.
He died on 18 December 2018 at Wytham House care facility in Oxfordshire after suffering from Alzheimer's disease. His funeral was held at Mortlake Crematorium on 15 January 2019.
Bill Slater was born in Clitheroe on 29 April 1927 and, as an inside forward, he was a product of Clitheroe Royal Grammar School and after leaving school he played his football for Yorkshire Amateurs and Leeds University. He worked locally at a bank before, for the good of his father's health, the family moved to Blackpool. While there, his footballing ability having been noted by the club's scouts, he was invited to play a few games for the club as an amateur.
He first appeared for Blackpool when still a junior in the 1944/45 season, making his debut at inside left in a 5-4 victory at Southport on 21 October 1944. He went on to play four games, scoring one goal, for Blackpool in that wartime 1944/45 season. His goal came when he was called into the side in an emergency when the club had only 10 men against Preston North End on 5 May 1945. He arrived on the field with Blackpool winning 2-0; they eventually won 8-1.
He was also a more than useful cricketer and he first played for Blackpool Cricket Club as an amateur in September 1945, after he had scored a brilliant 84, with one six and 12 fours, for the Blackpool Colts side out of a total of 153-9 declared. He was later to play a number of games for Warwickshire Second XI and also played for the Midlands Club Cricket Conference side.
He was doing his National Service in the Army up to 1948 and then he was studying physical education at Leeds University, so he did not have opportunity to play regularly for Blackpool again for a number of seasons. He did return to action for the Blackpool ‘A’ team against Chorley on 10 April 1948 when he 'played a fine game' and the after-match comment was 'If ever there is a player of the future it is this forward. He intends now that he is demobilised to enter University for three years but present indications are that he will still sign a professional contract for Blackpool, whose directors do not want to lose him.'
He started the 1948/49 season in the Blackpool ‘A’ team and he scored two goals in a 2-2 draw with Burnley ‘A’ in the first round of the Richardson Cup on 26 August 1948. He then made his Central League debut at inside left against Manchester United reserves on 30 August 1948 when Blackpool lost 1-0 and he played one further Central League game in that season. His form had been such in the junior sides that Blackpool officially signed him as an amateur in May 1949.
He scored four goals for the Central League side against Blackburn Rovers reserves on 5 September 1949 when Blackpool won 6-0. The display probably earned him his first team call-up for he made his League debut at outside left against Aston Villa on 7 September 1949 when the game was drawn 0-0. Playing occasionally for the League side, he scored his first League goals, two of them, in a 4-2 victory over Stoke City on 10 December 1949. And he scored his first hat-trick for the club when scoring three goals, including a penalty, in a 4-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the third round of the FA Cup on 7 January 1950.
He played nine League games, scoring three goals, three FA Cup ties, scoring three goals, and seven Central League games, scoring six goals, in the 1949/50 season. And he started the 1950/51 season as the first choice inside left and he went on to play in a run of 17 successive games before study commitments temporarily took him away from the game.
His return to the team was rather dramatic for injury to Allan Brown gave him the opportunity to play in the 1951 FA Cup final against Newcastle United but the only condition on which he could play was that he had to be back on campus at Leeds University the same night! Blackpool lost 2-0 and while his Blackpool team mates were attending their after-match banquet he was on the train, returning to University and hiding his face from the many celebrating Newcastle fans travelling home. He does, however, remain the last amateur to play in the FA Cup final. He played in 18 League games, scoring four goals, one FA Cup tie, and five Central League games for Blackpool in the 1950/51 season.
Considering what was to come, 20 October 1951 was a significant day as Blackpool tried him at wing half and in his first game in the position he gave a polished display in the Central League side against Manchester United reserves. It had critics and supporters alike declaring (prophetically in view of his later career) that he should be permanently converted into a wing half. He gave 'superb service to the forwards and was very effective defensively' and in addition he scored one of the goals in a 4-2 victory.
He won amateur international honours in 1951 and he went on to win 21 England Amateur international caps, playing for Great Britain in the 1952 Olympic Games (his daughter, who he coached at gymnastics was also an Olympian, appearing in the 1976 games in Montreal).
He played five League games, occupying the inside right, inside left and centre forward positions and scoring two goals, and seven Central League games, occupying the inside left, left half and right half positions and scoring three goals, before he departed by mutual consent due to work commitments in the 1951/52 season. As an amateur he was entitled to freedom of movement and his tutorial and personal interests led to the move down south. He had played 36 League and Cup games for Blackpool, scoring 12 goals, and 20 Central League games, scoring nine goals.
He joined Brentford, still as an amateur, in December 1951 and the London press raved about his performances at wing half, a position he did not play in the first team at Blackpool. However, he played just seven League games, scoring one goal, for Brentford. And it was while at Brentford that he played in the 1952 Olympic Games Great Britain side and he was to comment later, 'I suppose the tournament was a bit of disaster for us really. In those days there was no professional sports in the European countries, but in fact they were professionals in all but name. We had some good players, men like George Robb who played for Tottenham, but while the others had settled international teams, ours had come together at relatively short notice. We went out in the first round 5-3 to Luxembourg, of all teams. But I’m not sure how many of them actually came from Luxembourg. Though some of them were certainly playing football in Italy and elsewhere, it was a bit embarrassing.'
Tony Pawson a fellow member of the 1952 squad said of him in September 2003, 'He was a very intelligent player and a very strong captain. Before one game our professional coach said that whenever we gave away a free-kick, one of us should go and stand on the ball until we regrouped. Bill spoke up and said, ‘Not in my side they won’t’. Alas there aren’t many Bill Slaters in the game now. He was absolute soul of amateurism, decency and sportsmanship.' Staying on to watch the rest of the tournament, he did at least spot the potential of the Hungarian side and extolled their virtues in an article for the FA News. The following year Hungary went on to defeat the full England side 6-3 at Wembley.
When his work as a lecturer took him to the Midlands, Brentford gave him an introduction to Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 1952 [some reports claim that he went to Molineux and knocked on manager Stan Cullis' door to ask for a game, stating that he did not mind at which level of the game he played). It was agreed that, providing that he got permission from his university, he would sign for Wolves as a part-time professional. His weekly wage was to be £14 and he later commented, 'more than I was getting at the university'. Manager Stan Cullis was reported as saying, 'I think we are obliged to pay you a £10 signing-on fee, but I’m not sure you’re worth it.' How wrong he was!
He went on to have a stellar career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, playing 339 League and Cup games for the club, being a member of three Wolves League championship-winning sides and captaining the side to FA Cup victory at Wembley [a 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers and, as a young boy, I was lucky enough to be there to see him]. Also during his time there he won 12 England caps and he played in the 1958 World Cup finals. In Sweden he lined up against Brazil, having taken a month’s unpaid leave from Birmingham University, and he was later to remark, 'The £50 match fee meant that I just about broke even.' In addition he won the Footballer of the Year award in 1960.
He was transferred back to Brentford in July 1963 and he played a further five League games and scored two more goals for the club before bowing out and playing a few games for the amateur side Northern Nomads in 1964/65.
An extremely talented man [and a lovely man to boot for I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet him] he had a variety of roles outside football including Deputy director of Crystal Palace Sports Centre, Director of PE at Liverpool and Birmingham Universities, Chairman of the West Midlands Sports Council, Director of National Services (Great Britain Sports Council), a member of the British Olympic Committee, Chairman of the Sports Aid Foundation and President of the British Amateur Gymnast Association.
He was awarded the OBE in 1982 and the CBE in 1998, both awarded for his services to sport.
He died on 18 December 2018 at Wytham House care facility in Oxfordshire after suffering from Alzheimer's disease. His funeral was held at Mortlake Crematorium on 15 January 2019.
October 19, 2018
An Addiction!
I have an addiction ... I cannot stop buying books! I know I probably need counselling but I also know that it would do no good at all. I simply love buying books, it gives me great pleasure and helps to keep me sane, even if it does present logistical problems at home.
Well this last weekend it was especially pleasurable because among the 21 books that I bought were four that brought back happy childhood memories.
They were children's annuals, three of which I well remember receiving from my Mum and Dad as Christmas presents in the relevant years; the fourth one, 'All Television and Radio Fun T.V. Comic Annual' from 1954 was not in my Christmas pillow case because my Mum and Dad would have thought it not relevant as we did not get a television set in our house until 1960! I should add that the stand-alone 'Radio Fun' annual was regularly one of my presents ... we did have a wireless! [Incidentally I well remember the first programme I watched on our new TV, it was the 1960 European Cup Final between Real Madrid (Di Stefano, Puskas, Gento et al) against Eintracht Franfurt at Hampden Park which Real won 7-3.]
However, the other three annuals were definites for my Christmas pillow case. Roy Rogers Annuals for 1953 and 1954 and Buck Jones Annual for 1957. Although I was a huge Roy Rogers fan (I even read my Mum's copy of 'Angel Unaware' by Dale Evans, Roy Rogers' wife, which was a heart-rending tale of the loss of their baby daughter), the Buck Jones Annual was my favourite, perhaps because he was not as ubiquitous as Roy Rogers.
The annuals were essential reading for a young boy like myself who regularly pretended to be a cowboy especially after coming out of the Odeon or Tivoli having just seen a western film (I even had wallpaper in my bedroom with cowboys and wagon trains on it!). Christma reading was complete with these annuals as presents, along with another favourite, the Kit Carson Annual. But, as with many childhood treasures, they all disappeared over the years.
So it is always good to acquire them again, so when I spotted these four annuals in a shop I just had to purchase them. This despite the relatively poor condition; spines are missing from the Roy Rogers Annuals and the spine of the Buck Jones Annual was hanging on by a thread. The TV Annual was in the best condition of the four and only needed a clean. But I knew I would take great delight in repairing the others and bringing them back to something like respectability - if I accept that such a state can be achieved for books with no spines!
I did spend a considerable amount of time in repairing them; spine affixed to Buck Jones, which when finished with minor tears repaired could perhaps be described as 'good condition'; hinges repaired and again minor tears repaired on Roy Rogers but with no spines. If these were offered for sale (and they won't be) they would have to be described as 'sound but poor condition, lacking spines'. Some booksellers would perhaps use 'reading copies', a term I always avoided using during my bookselling career for, after all, what are books for if not to read? The only time this does not apply is probably when first editions are collected purely for their value and then the ultimate best condition is not handled at all in any way, certainly not read - and definitely 'price unclipped', as they say!
So now I can get down to a diet of Roy Rogers and the Claim Jumpers, Buck Jones and the Indian Traitors and all the rest of the western action. And for a little light relief there is Muffin the Mule (I used to have a moveable model of him when I was a boy), Larry the Lamb and Mr Pastry in the TV Comic Annual!
Happy days are here again! … but I really must seek some counselling for that addiction - well, perhaps not!
Well this last weekend it was especially pleasurable because among the 21 books that I bought were four that brought back happy childhood memories.
They were children's annuals, three of which I well remember receiving from my Mum and Dad as Christmas presents in the relevant years; the fourth one, 'All Television and Radio Fun T.V. Comic Annual' from 1954 was not in my Christmas pillow case because my Mum and Dad would have thought it not relevant as we did not get a television set in our house until 1960! I should add that the stand-alone 'Radio Fun' annual was regularly one of my presents ... we did have a wireless! [Incidentally I well remember the first programme I watched on our new TV, it was the 1960 European Cup Final between Real Madrid (Di Stefano, Puskas, Gento et al) against Eintracht Franfurt at Hampden Park which Real won 7-3.]
However, the other three annuals were definites for my Christmas pillow case. Roy Rogers Annuals for 1953 and 1954 and Buck Jones Annual for 1957. Although I was a huge Roy Rogers fan (I even read my Mum's copy of 'Angel Unaware' by Dale Evans, Roy Rogers' wife, which was a heart-rending tale of the loss of their baby daughter), the Buck Jones Annual was my favourite, perhaps because he was not as ubiquitous as Roy Rogers.
The annuals were essential reading for a young boy like myself who regularly pretended to be a cowboy especially after coming out of the Odeon or Tivoli having just seen a western film (I even had wallpaper in my bedroom with cowboys and wagon trains on it!). Christma reading was complete with these annuals as presents, along with another favourite, the Kit Carson Annual. But, as with many childhood treasures, they all disappeared over the years.
So it is always good to acquire them again, so when I spotted these four annuals in a shop I just had to purchase them. This despite the relatively poor condition; spines are missing from the Roy Rogers Annuals and the spine of the Buck Jones Annual was hanging on by a thread. The TV Annual was in the best condition of the four and only needed a clean. But I knew I would take great delight in repairing the others and bringing them back to something like respectability - if I accept that such a state can be achieved for books with no spines!
I did spend a considerable amount of time in repairing them; spine affixed to Buck Jones, which when finished with minor tears repaired could perhaps be described as 'good condition'; hinges repaired and again minor tears repaired on Roy Rogers but with no spines. If these were offered for sale (and they won't be) they would have to be described as 'sound but poor condition, lacking spines'. Some booksellers would perhaps use 'reading copies', a term I always avoided using during my bookselling career for, after all, what are books for if not to read? The only time this does not apply is probably when first editions are collected purely for their value and then the ultimate best condition is not handled at all in any way, certainly not read - and definitely 'price unclipped', as they say!
So now I can get down to a diet of Roy Rogers and the Claim Jumpers, Buck Jones and the Indian Traitors and all the rest of the western action. And for a little light relief there is Muffin the Mule (I used to have a moveable model of him when I was a boy), Larry the Lamb and Mr Pastry in the TV Comic Annual!
Happy days are here again! … but I really must seek some counselling for that addiction - well, perhaps not!
June 19, 2018
Bibliophile's Heaven: Surprising finds!
I was assisting at the church jumble/rummage sale last night, on the book stall, of course, and amongst the swathe of Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, Joanna Trollope, John le Carré et al novels plus modern memoirs there were, surprisingly (they are usually dismissed as worthless), three vintage hardback books.
Two of them were such that I just had to purchase them. The titles were 'A Rent in a Cloud' by Charles Lever and 'The Moon Voyage: containing "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Round the Moon"' by Jules Verne'. And they were published, unusually, by 'Lever Brothers, Ltd., Port Sunlight, Near Birkenhead'.
Interestingly, although the Verne title page states 'Round the Moon', the conclusion of 'From the Earth to the Moon' finishes with the words '(For the Sequel see "Around the Moon")'. And that is the most commonly accepted English title of 'Autour de la Lune' that was originally published in serial form in 1869 and in book form in 1870. The French title of 'From the Earth to the Moon' was 'De la terre à la lune' and that was first published in serial form in 1865 and in book form later the same year.,
Seeing them brought back happy memories, taking me back to my early bookselling days in London when I decided to specialise in Victorian fiction. However, in all my years in the trade I do not recall discovering any Lever Brothers publications in the genre.
There is no publication date stated in the two volumes but as I looked at them I suspected the early 1890s and when I discovered the Verne title had an inscription, 'William Smith/ Abbey View/ Nov 5th 1894' this was confirmed.
I have 12 first editions of Charles Lever's works but I had never seen a copy of 'A Rent in a Cloud' and although I have had copies of 'From the Earth to the Moon' (without the sequel), I had never kept one. Now I am delighted to be able to keep a copy in my collection - my Dad always wondered why I was a bookseller for his view was 'You never really want to sell them [the books]!' He was probably right for I did always regard my stock as MY books!
Nowadays I am not bothered what books are worth, it is immaterial as they are for my collection but out of curiosity I checked up on these two. I could not find a comparable Lever edition but I did spott just a single copy of the Lever Brothers edition of the Verne title on abebooks at a price of £97.11 and available from Canada with a £16.59 shipping charge.
As for the third title, I did not purchase it for it was Sir Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe', which when I read it years ago was nowhere near as exciting as the Classics Illustrated edition I read as a boy and did not have all the swashbuckling that Roger Moore as Ivanhoe presented us with in the television series of the late 1950s. However, I did sell it later to a chap who said, 'I can read this if the football gets boring' (it was England v Tunisia later on television). I didn't have the heart to tell him that he might find parts of 'Ivanhoe' much the same!
So that is two more books added to an ever-growing collection; this book collecting is a disease, I know, and I do understand that I really need counselling!
Two of them were such that I just had to purchase them. The titles were 'A Rent in a Cloud' by Charles Lever and 'The Moon Voyage: containing "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Round the Moon"' by Jules Verne'. And they were published, unusually, by 'Lever Brothers, Ltd., Port Sunlight, Near Birkenhead'.
Interestingly, although the Verne title page states 'Round the Moon', the conclusion of 'From the Earth to the Moon' finishes with the words '(For the Sequel see "Around the Moon")'. And that is the most commonly accepted English title of 'Autour de la Lune' that was originally published in serial form in 1869 and in book form in 1870. The French title of 'From the Earth to the Moon' was 'De la terre à la lune' and that was first published in serial form in 1865 and in book form later the same year.,
Seeing them brought back happy memories, taking me back to my early bookselling days in London when I decided to specialise in Victorian fiction. However, in all my years in the trade I do not recall discovering any Lever Brothers publications in the genre.
There is no publication date stated in the two volumes but as I looked at them I suspected the early 1890s and when I discovered the Verne title had an inscription, 'William Smith/ Abbey View/ Nov 5th 1894' this was confirmed.
I have 12 first editions of Charles Lever's works but I had never seen a copy of 'A Rent in a Cloud' and although I have had copies of 'From the Earth to the Moon' (without the sequel), I had never kept one. Now I am delighted to be able to keep a copy in my collection - my Dad always wondered why I was a bookseller for his view was 'You never really want to sell them [the books]!' He was probably right for I did always regard my stock as MY books!
Nowadays I am not bothered what books are worth, it is immaterial as they are for my collection but out of curiosity I checked up on these two. I could not find a comparable Lever edition but I did spott just a single copy of the Lever Brothers edition of the Verne title on abebooks at a price of £97.11 and available from Canada with a £16.59 shipping charge.
As for the third title, I did not purchase it for it was Sir Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe', which when I read it years ago was nowhere near as exciting as the Classics Illustrated edition I read as a boy and did not have all the swashbuckling that Roger Moore as Ivanhoe presented us with in the television series of the late 1950s. However, I did sell it later to a chap who said, 'I can read this if the football gets boring' (it was England v Tunisia later on television). I didn't have the heart to tell him that he might find parts of 'Ivanhoe' much the same!
So that is two more books added to an ever-growing collection; this book collecting is a disease, I know, and I do understand that I really need counselling!
January 22, 2018
CAPTAIN COURAGEOUS - GENTLEMAN JIM: Jimmy Armfield 1935-2018
Although born in Manchester on 21 September 1935, James Christopher Armfield came to live at Blackpool at a young age. Some of his early football was played, after attending St Peter’s Sunday School, on the Coliseum Bus Station, with coats at one end and two bus bays at the other end for goals. He played football for two local Youth Club sides, St Peter’s and Highfield, and that after having played rugby as a schoolboy at Arnold School; he was also in the school cricket team, swimming and athletics teams. He was in those days an outside right who also represented the Blackpool Association of Boys’ Clubs, from where Blackpool signed him as an amateur prior to the 1952/53 season. He later said of his original outside right position, 'As I had been a wing-threequarter, it seemed only natural that I should play on the wing for St Peter’s. In fact it was as a winger that Blackpool signed me.'
He made his first appearances in the Blackpool ‘B’ team at outside right in January 1954 but it was while he was playing outside right for the ‘A’ team that he got a call to full back. The original defender was injured and Jimmy was pulled back to deputise and he became a full back thereafter. Well, mostly thereafter for on Easter Monday, 19 April 1954, he played full back in a youth match in the morning and made his Central League debut on the wing at outside right in the afternoon. 'He’s good, and he may be very good' was the prophetic press comment as Blackpool defeated Bury reserves 1-0.
Manager Joe Smith offered him a professional contract before he had played his first Central League game of the 1954/55 season. 'At 17, Blackpool cannot afford to lose a player of his quality,' said Smith, conscious that Armfield would be going away to complete his National Service. He duly signed as a professional on 4 September 1954 as Mr Smith, very prophetically, forecast England honours for the youngster. And following a 3-1 victory over Burnley reserves on 6 September 1954 Clifford Greenwood in the Gazette wrote, 'Young Jim Armfield played a full back game which I have not seen equalled in a tangerine jersey for a long time.'
He made his Football League debut on 27 December 1954 at Portsmouth when Blackpool lost 3-0. Of the unexpected call up for his debut he later remarked, 'Eddie Shimwell, our veteran full back, was injured, and on the Wednesday morning before Christmas, as I was having a long lie in – we were not training – I got a ‘phone call from manager Joe Smith. He said I would be playing against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. I was out of bed like a shot, and by lunch-time on my way to Portsmouth with the rest of the Blackpool team.' Of the game he recounted, 'That League debut at Fratton Park was not, I fear, a very conspicuous one for me. I found myself up against Gordon Dale, a very clever and strong winger with plenty of experience. He was far too good and we lost 0-3. Gordon really gave me the run-around, and I realised just how much I had to learn.' He also added, 'They were a very good team in those days. And they scored a goal in about the first two minutes – and I hadn’t touched the ball. We were three down after 15 minutes.'
He started the 1955/56 season in the Central League side but after six games at that level he was promoted to the League side and his long run in the first team began on 24 September 1955 when Eddie Shimwell was injured; Blackpool lost 2-0 to Manchester City. In addition to his duties with Blackpool, he was the first member of the King’s Own Royal Regiment to be selected for the Army representative side for many years when he was picked for a floodlight friendly at East Fife on 30 January 1956. He was then selected for the England Under-23 side against Scotland Under-23 at Hillsborough on 8 February 1956 after having played in only 22 League games but sadly laryngitis prevented him from playing. However representative honours soon came his way when he represented The Football League against The Irish League at Windsor Park, Belfast on 4 April 1956.
On demobilisation from the Army in September 1956 he immediately re joined Blackpool as a full time professional and from then on until retirement his name was one of the first on the team sheet, usually only missing through injury and international calls. His consistent performances down the right flank, for he could have said to have been the first of the now aptly named wingbacks (who among those who watched him, could ever forget his rampaging down that right wing?), brought him to the attention of the national selectors and he gained his first international cap when appearing for the England Under-23 side against Denmark Under-23s in Copenhagen on 26 September 1956.
He toured the United States of America, Australia and Hong Kong with Blackpool in the summer of 1958 when he reverted to his roots for one game. On 4 May 1958. Stan Matthews was injured in the first half against New South Wales and Jimmy replaced him and scored twice in the second half as Blackpool won 8-0!
Following Blackpool’s eighth place finish in the 1958/59 season when Jimmy, having missed the first eight games through injury but almost an ever-present thereafter, was voted Young Footballer of the Year. It was not surprising therefore to see him make his England debut at left back against Brazil in front of 151,000 spectators in Rio de Janeiro on 13 May 1959 when England lost 2-0. Of his international debut he later recalled, 'It was a great thrill, although I was playing out of position at left back, and we lost 2-0. Playing outside right for Brazil was Julinho, who later went to Italy, then returned to Brazil when they dropped the famous Garrincha to reinstate him. Yes, he was a great player.' He also remembered, 'The ironic thing is, when I played my first game for England in Rio, World Champions Brazil scored before I touched the ball. So on both debuts the ball went into our goal and I hadn’t touched it.' He added philosophically, 'That must be some kind of unique double!'
Never renowned for his goalscoring, he scored his first League goal for the club when he netted a late equaliser in a 3-3 draw with Leicester City on 14 September 1959 - and I remember it well as I was an Armfield fan and it so pleased me to see him score, especially as it gave Blackpool a precious point. It was the first of six goals he was to score for Blackpool, where he was made captain in January 1961, succeeding the late Jimmy Kelly in that post. As skipper he showed his dedication to the cause when he played centre forward for the League side in a 1 1 draw against Everton on 11 November 1961 when Ray Charnley had pulled a groin muscle in mid week training. Manager Ronnie Suart asked him to lead the attack and reportedly after only a moment’s hesitation he agreed. 'That’s what I call wonderful team spirit,' Mr Suart said afterwards and added, 'I appreciate it a lot and I know the Blackpool public will appreciate it too.'
By then he was firmly established in the England side and, after playing in all the country's four games of the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile in which England equalled their best ever finish to that time by reaching the quarter-finals, the world’s press voted him 'the best right back in the world'. Not surprisingly he was also voted 'the best right back in Europe' in 1962, the first of three successive years in which he won that award.
He received the only caution of his career when playing against Norwich City in an FA Cup replay on 6 March 1963 when Blackpool controversially lost the game 3-1 after what seemed to have been a legitimate goal had been disallowed. And something equally bizarre occurred when Blackpool visited Spain for the Costa Del Sol Tournament in August 1963. Someone approached Jimmy and asked if he wanted to sign for a continental side. On his return he commented on the situation, 'I don’t know the man’s nationality, or what club he represented, and I can’t say whether or not I’d be interested for no offer was made to me. He only asked me if I’d like to play for a foreign team. I made no comment and reported the matter to Mr Suart [Blackpool’s manager].' Ronnie Suart commented, 'The matter will be discussed at the Board meeting on Tuesday and a protest will probably be made to The Football Association. I feel very strongly about agents from other clubs making illegal approaches to our players.' In the event the Blackpool directors decided not to pursue the matter as the approach had been made anonymously.
Later in 1963 he sensationally asked for a transfer on 19 October. The 'request exploded like a bomb' on the club and it was immediately, and not surprisingly turned down, and Jimmy continued to give of his best for club and country. For the latter he was captain of England when The Football Association celebrated its centenary with a game against the Rest of the World at Wembley on 23 October with new manager Alf Ramsey at the helm. Jimmy was delighted when Terry Paine and Jimmy Greaves made it a memorable day by scoring the goals that won the game 2-1.
With Ramsey looking to build for the 1966 World Cup finals in England he began to try out different players and, following an injury to Jimmy, George Cohen was tried at right back in the side. And with Bobby Moore having taken over as England’s then youngest ever captain, Jimmy found it difficult to break back into the national side. He made the last of his 43 international appearances on 26 June 1966 against Finland in Helsinki when England won 3-0, although he was in the England World Cup squad for the 1966 finals in England but he did not play in any of the games. He had captained the England side in 15 of his internationals and he had made 12 appearances for The Football League and won nine England Under-23 caps, skippering the side on a couple of occasions. Somewhat belatedly, following an FA-led campaign to persuade FIFA to award medals to all the 1966 World Cup winners’ squad, Jimmy was duly presented with his belated medal at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street on 10 June 2009.
After the 1966 finals, Blackpool’s Mayor Councillor Robert Brierley JP gave a civic reception for Jimmy and Alan Ball in the Mayor’s parlour at the Town Hall on 5 August 1966. At the reception the Mayor paid tribute to the two players and presented them both with a set of gold cufflinks inscribed ‘World Cup 1966’. In doing so he said, 'We were all emotionally involved following you in the last few weeks. Everybody in Blackpool was thrilled when the final whistle went on Saturday and England had won the World Cup. We were very proud that we in Blackpool had a share in the triumph through two such fine footballers. Jimmy Armfield, as captain of Blackpool, has set a high standard in personality and sportsmanship.' Jimmy rather modestly replied with 'It is a great privilege to be so honoured by the town and something I have hitherto only dreamed of. As far as the World Cup is concerned, it was a disappointment to me that I didn’t get a game. But Blackpool Football Club’s colours were kept flying for both of us by Alan, particularly in the final. Blackpool are one of those clubs who get a lot of criticism but nevertheless always seem to manage to stay on the map. It is people like Alan that make that possible.' There was some consolation in 1966 in that he just missed being voted Footballer of the Year, losing out narrowly to his great friend Bobby Charlton. He did, however, win the Blackpool Player of the Year award.
He captained Blackpool to promotion to Division One after finishing runners-up in Division Two in the 1969/70 season and he commented, 'It’s great to win something at last.' This followed an earlier comment when he had said, 'I’ve been very successful on the international scene, but I would dearly love to win a club honour before I retire. My dream is to lead Blackpool back to the First Division and, perhaps, win a Second Division championship medal in the process.' He duly led them back to the top flight but unfortunately missed out on that championship medal.
It was a sad day when he made his final Blackpool appearance against Manchester United at Bloomfield Road on 1 May 1971 when Blackpool, already relegated to Division Two, drew 1-1. The players applauded him onto the field and the crowd of 29,857 gave him a resounding reception. He had played in a record 627 League and Cup games for the club, 569 in the League, 33 in the FA Cup, 25 in the League Cup in addition to playing in 44 Central League games.
After retiring from playing he took over as manager of Bolton Wanderers in May 1971, leading the club to promotion to the Second Division after winning the Third Division title in the 1972-73 Season. Then in October 1974 he took over at Leeds United and in 1975 he guided the club to the European Cup final, where they lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich.
He left Leeds in July 1978 to concentrate on his media work and become an advisor to the Football Association and the Professional Footballers Association, appointments he held for many years.
In August 1978 he was, in his own words, 'keeping his hand in' doing some coaching at Bloomfield Road but he began to concentrate on work in the media, where he had started with a successful column in the Saturday Green football edition of the Evening Gazette while still playing for Blackpool. He produced regular match reports for the Daily Express and he was a popular regular on BBC Radio Five Live football commentaries and he marked his 30th anniversary with the BBC in 2010.
As a well-respected man of many talents, he received many honours on a variety of fronts. He was appointed President of the Blackpool Football Club Supporters’ Club, was awarded the OBE in June 2000, was granted the Freedom of Blackpool in 2003 and was awarded the CBE for his services to the community in the 2010 New Year’s honours list. In addition he was the recipient of the prestigious Contribution to League Football Award from The Football League in 2008, the same year as he received the PFA Merit Award at the 35th Annual Awards Dinner at London’s Grosvenor Hotel where he received three standing ovations as he accepted the award. His modest comment on receiving that award was 'I am very grateful for the award – and just grateful to be here.'
In March 2005 he became High Sheriff of Lancashire and was sworn in for the customary term of one year on 11 April 2005. In that capacity one of his roles was that he would welcome royalty to the county, a role with which he was not unfamiliar, for on 13 April 1955 he was in a special detachment of the King’s Own Royal Regiment stationed at Lancaster Castle that was on duty when the Queen visited prior to her appearance at the Royal Variety Show in Blackpool later that same evening.
In April 2006 he opened Blackpool Football Club’s Hall of Fame, of which he is himself a well-respected member, and the South Stand, which was opened on 20th March 2010, is named the ‘Jimmy Armfield Stand’ in his honour. Also
at Bloomfield Road a life-size statue was erected in his honour at the south west corner of the ground when the chairman of the Supporters’ Association, Glenn Bowley, said, 'It is fantastic and thoroughly deserved. Jimmy has become known because of his football career with Blackpool and England and he has given so much back to the community to which he so proudly belongs. The unveiling of this statue will recognise all the community work he does and all the organisations he is involved in. So many times you see him presenting someone with a prize or opening a new scheme. It’s wonderful.'
Jimmy, who made his debut as organist at St Peter’s Church, South Shore, in the season that he finished playing football, was also a lay canon of Blackburn Cathedral. Locally, he had attended St Peter’s Church since 1943 and he commented, 'I was a grass-roots Christian, as many were in my day. We all went to Sunday School and then to a youth club' and he added, with a cheeky smile, 'and that’s where the girls were.' He continued, 'We all grew up together as teenagers around the church. It has been a way of life. It’s been there since I can remember.'
Jimmy Armfield, often known, quite rightly as 'Gentleman Jim', passed away on 22 January 2018 after a lengthy fight against illness. He leaves wife Anne and sons Duncan and John.
On a personal note I was fortunate to have known Jimmy Armfield over a good number of years and two personal memories, many years apart, that portrayed the man have always stayed with me.
Firstly on Monday 5 January 1961 he walked into Collinson's Café on West Street, a place where many of the Blackpool footballers would go after training and at other times. My Mum was the manageress there at the time so, as a schoolboy, I would often go down after school and on that day, Jimmy came in and sat down with his coffee. Cheekily I went over to him and sat at his table and asked him what had gone wrong on the previous Saturday. Blackpool, then a First Division side, had played Second Division Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup third round and had, astonishingly with a full side (before the modern days of the FA Cup reserve sides), lost 6-2. 'What went wrong, Jimmy?', I asked and, even though he might have wanted to dismiss me for such a remark, he was ever the gentleman and very politely gave me an explanation of the game and how it went so badly.
Secondly I was privileged to be alongside Jimmy at the Blackpool Civic Trust Awards about three years ago. Jimmy was presenting the awards while I was the guest speaker with a topic of 'Blackpool Football Club' as the ceremony was held at Bloomfield Road. When it was my turn, I spoke on the history of the club and made particular reference to Jimmy and his achievements. Mischievously perhaps, I could not fail to mention Jimmy's one booking in those 627 appearances. I had remembered the game well and also the incidents that led to his booking. I related these much to Jimmy and the audience's amusement. When I had finished and returned to our table, Jimmy turned to me and relived the moments when he was booked. He still felt passionately about it for he told me that Bill Punton the winger that he had (allegedly) repeatedly brought down had conned the referee and that he, Jimmy, had told the official so - politely, of course. His passion for the game was still there to be seen.
Jimmy, Gentleman Jim, you were a great man and will be sadly missed by family, friends, colleagues and football fans everywhere, particularly those in Blackpool.
He made his first appearances in the Blackpool ‘B’ team at outside right in January 1954 but it was while he was playing outside right for the ‘A’ team that he got a call to full back. The original defender was injured and Jimmy was pulled back to deputise and he became a full back thereafter. Well, mostly thereafter for on Easter Monday, 19 April 1954, he played full back in a youth match in the morning and made his Central League debut on the wing at outside right in the afternoon. 'He’s good, and he may be very good' was the prophetic press comment as Blackpool defeated Bury reserves 1-0.
Manager Joe Smith offered him a professional contract before he had played his first Central League game of the 1954/55 season. 'At 17, Blackpool cannot afford to lose a player of his quality,' said Smith, conscious that Armfield would be going away to complete his National Service. He duly signed as a professional on 4 September 1954 as Mr Smith, very prophetically, forecast England honours for the youngster. And following a 3-1 victory over Burnley reserves on 6 September 1954 Clifford Greenwood in the Gazette wrote, 'Young Jim Armfield played a full back game which I have not seen equalled in a tangerine jersey for a long time.'
He made his Football League debut on 27 December 1954 at Portsmouth when Blackpool lost 3-0. Of the unexpected call up for his debut he later remarked, 'Eddie Shimwell, our veteran full back, was injured, and on the Wednesday morning before Christmas, as I was having a long lie in – we were not training – I got a ‘phone call from manager Joe Smith. He said I would be playing against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. I was out of bed like a shot, and by lunch-time on my way to Portsmouth with the rest of the Blackpool team.' Of the game he recounted, 'That League debut at Fratton Park was not, I fear, a very conspicuous one for me. I found myself up against Gordon Dale, a very clever and strong winger with plenty of experience. He was far too good and we lost 0-3. Gordon really gave me the run-around, and I realised just how much I had to learn.' He also added, 'They were a very good team in those days. And they scored a goal in about the first two minutes – and I hadn’t touched the ball. We were three down after 15 minutes.'
He started the 1955/56 season in the Central League side but after six games at that level he was promoted to the League side and his long run in the first team began on 24 September 1955 when Eddie Shimwell was injured; Blackpool lost 2-0 to Manchester City. In addition to his duties with Blackpool, he was the first member of the King’s Own Royal Regiment to be selected for the Army representative side for many years when he was picked for a floodlight friendly at East Fife on 30 January 1956. He was then selected for the England Under-23 side against Scotland Under-23 at Hillsborough on 8 February 1956 after having played in only 22 League games but sadly laryngitis prevented him from playing. However representative honours soon came his way when he represented The Football League against The Irish League at Windsor Park, Belfast on 4 April 1956.
On demobilisation from the Army in September 1956 he immediately re joined Blackpool as a full time professional and from then on until retirement his name was one of the first on the team sheet, usually only missing through injury and international calls. His consistent performances down the right flank, for he could have said to have been the first of the now aptly named wingbacks (who among those who watched him, could ever forget his rampaging down that right wing?), brought him to the attention of the national selectors and he gained his first international cap when appearing for the England Under-23 side against Denmark Under-23s in Copenhagen on 26 September 1956.
He toured the United States of America, Australia and Hong Kong with Blackpool in the summer of 1958 when he reverted to his roots for one game. On 4 May 1958. Stan Matthews was injured in the first half against New South Wales and Jimmy replaced him and scored twice in the second half as Blackpool won 8-0!
Following Blackpool’s eighth place finish in the 1958/59 season when Jimmy, having missed the first eight games through injury but almost an ever-present thereafter, was voted Young Footballer of the Year. It was not surprising therefore to see him make his England debut at left back against Brazil in front of 151,000 spectators in Rio de Janeiro on 13 May 1959 when England lost 2-0. Of his international debut he later recalled, 'It was a great thrill, although I was playing out of position at left back, and we lost 2-0. Playing outside right for Brazil was Julinho, who later went to Italy, then returned to Brazil when they dropped the famous Garrincha to reinstate him. Yes, he was a great player.' He also remembered, 'The ironic thing is, when I played my first game for England in Rio, World Champions Brazil scored before I touched the ball. So on both debuts the ball went into our goal and I hadn’t touched it.' He added philosophically, 'That must be some kind of unique double!'
Never renowned for his goalscoring, he scored his first League goal for the club when he netted a late equaliser in a 3-3 draw with Leicester City on 14 September 1959 - and I remember it well as I was an Armfield fan and it so pleased me to see him score, especially as it gave Blackpool a precious point. It was the first of six goals he was to score for Blackpool, where he was made captain in January 1961, succeeding the late Jimmy Kelly in that post. As skipper he showed his dedication to the cause when he played centre forward for the League side in a 1 1 draw against Everton on 11 November 1961 when Ray Charnley had pulled a groin muscle in mid week training. Manager Ronnie Suart asked him to lead the attack and reportedly after only a moment’s hesitation he agreed. 'That’s what I call wonderful team spirit,' Mr Suart said afterwards and added, 'I appreciate it a lot and I know the Blackpool public will appreciate it too.'
By then he was firmly established in the England side and, after playing in all the country's four games of the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile in which England equalled their best ever finish to that time by reaching the quarter-finals, the world’s press voted him 'the best right back in the world'. Not surprisingly he was also voted 'the best right back in Europe' in 1962, the first of three successive years in which he won that award.
He received the only caution of his career when playing against Norwich City in an FA Cup replay on 6 March 1963 when Blackpool controversially lost the game 3-1 after what seemed to have been a legitimate goal had been disallowed. And something equally bizarre occurred when Blackpool visited Spain for the Costa Del Sol Tournament in August 1963. Someone approached Jimmy and asked if he wanted to sign for a continental side. On his return he commented on the situation, 'I don’t know the man’s nationality, or what club he represented, and I can’t say whether or not I’d be interested for no offer was made to me. He only asked me if I’d like to play for a foreign team. I made no comment and reported the matter to Mr Suart [Blackpool’s manager].' Ronnie Suart commented, 'The matter will be discussed at the Board meeting on Tuesday and a protest will probably be made to The Football Association. I feel very strongly about agents from other clubs making illegal approaches to our players.' In the event the Blackpool directors decided not to pursue the matter as the approach had been made anonymously.
Later in 1963 he sensationally asked for a transfer on 19 October. The 'request exploded like a bomb' on the club and it was immediately, and not surprisingly turned down, and Jimmy continued to give of his best for club and country. For the latter he was captain of England when The Football Association celebrated its centenary with a game against the Rest of the World at Wembley on 23 October with new manager Alf Ramsey at the helm. Jimmy was delighted when Terry Paine and Jimmy Greaves made it a memorable day by scoring the goals that won the game 2-1.
With Ramsey looking to build for the 1966 World Cup finals in England he began to try out different players and, following an injury to Jimmy, George Cohen was tried at right back in the side. And with Bobby Moore having taken over as England’s then youngest ever captain, Jimmy found it difficult to break back into the national side. He made the last of his 43 international appearances on 26 June 1966 against Finland in Helsinki when England won 3-0, although he was in the England World Cup squad for the 1966 finals in England but he did not play in any of the games. He had captained the England side in 15 of his internationals and he had made 12 appearances for The Football League and won nine England Under-23 caps, skippering the side on a couple of occasions. Somewhat belatedly, following an FA-led campaign to persuade FIFA to award medals to all the 1966 World Cup winners’ squad, Jimmy was duly presented with his belated medal at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street on 10 June 2009.
After the 1966 finals, Blackpool’s Mayor Councillor Robert Brierley JP gave a civic reception for Jimmy and Alan Ball in the Mayor’s parlour at the Town Hall on 5 August 1966. At the reception the Mayor paid tribute to the two players and presented them both with a set of gold cufflinks inscribed ‘World Cup 1966’. In doing so he said, 'We were all emotionally involved following you in the last few weeks. Everybody in Blackpool was thrilled when the final whistle went on Saturday and England had won the World Cup. We were very proud that we in Blackpool had a share in the triumph through two such fine footballers. Jimmy Armfield, as captain of Blackpool, has set a high standard in personality and sportsmanship.' Jimmy rather modestly replied with 'It is a great privilege to be so honoured by the town and something I have hitherto only dreamed of. As far as the World Cup is concerned, it was a disappointment to me that I didn’t get a game. But Blackpool Football Club’s colours were kept flying for both of us by Alan, particularly in the final. Blackpool are one of those clubs who get a lot of criticism but nevertheless always seem to manage to stay on the map. It is people like Alan that make that possible.' There was some consolation in 1966 in that he just missed being voted Footballer of the Year, losing out narrowly to his great friend Bobby Charlton. He did, however, win the Blackpool Player of the Year award.
He captained Blackpool to promotion to Division One after finishing runners-up in Division Two in the 1969/70 season and he commented, 'It’s great to win something at last.' This followed an earlier comment when he had said, 'I’ve been very successful on the international scene, but I would dearly love to win a club honour before I retire. My dream is to lead Blackpool back to the First Division and, perhaps, win a Second Division championship medal in the process.' He duly led them back to the top flight but unfortunately missed out on that championship medal.
It was a sad day when he made his final Blackpool appearance against Manchester United at Bloomfield Road on 1 May 1971 when Blackpool, already relegated to Division Two, drew 1-1. The players applauded him onto the field and the crowd of 29,857 gave him a resounding reception. He had played in a record 627 League and Cup games for the club, 569 in the League, 33 in the FA Cup, 25 in the League Cup in addition to playing in 44 Central League games.
After retiring from playing he took over as manager of Bolton Wanderers in May 1971, leading the club to promotion to the Second Division after winning the Third Division title in the 1972-73 Season. Then in October 1974 he took over at Leeds United and in 1975 he guided the club to the European Cup final, where they lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich.
He left Leeds in July 1978 to concentrate on his media work and become an advisor to the Football Association and the Professional Footballers Association, appointments he held for many years.
In August 1978 he was, in his own words, 'keeping his hand in' doing some coaching at Bloomfield Road but he began to concentrate on work in the media, where he had started with a successful column in the Saturday Green football edition of the Evening Gazette while still playing for Blackpool. He produced regular match reports for the Daily Express and he was a popular regular on BBC Radio Five Live football commentaries and he marked his 30th anniversary with the BBC in 2010.
As a well-respected man of many talents, he received many honours on a variety of fronts. He was appointed President of the Blackpool Football Club Supporters’ Club, was awarded the OBE in June 2000, was granted the Freedom of Blackpool in 2003 and was awarded the CBE for his services to the community in the 2010 New Year’s honours list. In addition he was the recipient of the prestigious Contribution to League Football Award from The Football League in 2008, the same year as he received the PFA Merit Award at the 35th Annual Awards Dinner at London’s Grosvenor Hotel where he received three standing ovations as he accepted the award. His modest comment on receiving that award was 'I am very grateful for the award – and just grateful to be here.'
In March 2005 he became High Sheriff of Lancashire and was sworn in for the customary term of one year on 11 April 2005. In that capacity one of his roles was that he would welcome royalty to the county, a role with which he was not unfamiliar, for on 13 April 1955 he was in a special detachment of the King’s Own Royal Regiment stationed at Lancaster Castle that was on duty when the Queen visited prior to her appearance at the Royal Variety Show in Blackpool later that same evening.
In April 2006 he opened Blackpool Football Club’s Hall of Fame, of which he is himself a well-respected member, and the South Stand, which was opened on 20th March 2010, is named the ‘Jimmy Armfield Stand’ in his honour. Also
at Bloomfield Road a life-size statue was erected in his honour at the south west corner of the ground when the chairman of the Supporters’ Association, Glenn Bowley, said, 'It is fantastic and thoroughly deserved. Jimmy has become known because of his football career with Blackpool and England and he has given so much back to the community to which he so proudly belongs. The unveiling of this statue will recognise all the community work he does and all the organisations he is involved in. So many times you see him presenting someone with a prize or opening a new scheme. It’s wonderful.'
Jimmy, who made his debut as organist at St Peter’s Church, South Shore, in the season that he finished playing football, was also a lay canon of Blackburn Cathedral. Locally, he had attended St Peter’s Church since 1943 and he commented, 'I was a grass-roots Christian, as many were in my day. We all went to Sunday School and then to a youth club' and he added, with a cheeky smile, 'and that’s where the girls were.' He continued, 'We all grew up together as teenagers around the church. It has been a way of life. It’s been there since I can remember.'
Jimmy Armfield, often known, quite rightly as 'Gentleman Jim', passed away on 22 January 2018 after a lengthy fight against illness. He leaves wife Anne and sons Duncan and John.
On a personal note I was fortunate to have known Jimmy Armfield over a good number of years and two personal memories, many years apart, that portrayed the man have always stayed with me.
Firstly on Monday 5 January 1961 he walked into Collinson's Café on West Street, a place where many of the Blackpool footballers would go after training and at other times. My Mum was the manageress there at the time so, as a schoolboy, I would often go down after school and on that day, Jimmy came in and sat down with his coffee. Cheekily I went over to him and sat at his table and asked him what had gone wrong on the previous Saturday. Blackpool, then a First Division side, had played Second Division Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup third round and had, astonishingly with a full side (before the modern days of the FA Cup reserve sides), lost 6-2. 'What went wrong, Jimmy?', I asked and, even though he might have wanted to dismiss me for such a remark, he was ever the gentleman and very politely gave me an explanation of the game and how it went so badly.
Secondly I was privileged to be alongside Jimmy at the Blackpool Civic Trust Awards about three years ago. Jimmy was presenting the awards while I was the guest speaker with a topic of 'Blackpool Football Club' as the ceremony was held at Bloomfield Road. When it was my turn, I spoke on the history of the club and made particular reference to Jimmy and his achievements. Mischievously perhaps, I could not fail to mention Jimmy's one booking in those 627 appearances. I had remembered the game well and also the incidents that led to his booking. I related these much to Jimmy and the audience's amusement. When I had finished and returned to our table, Jimmy turned to me and relived the moments when he was booked. He still felt passionately about it for he told me that Bill Punton the winger that he had (allegedly) repeatedly brought down had conned the referee and that he, Jimmy, had told the official so - politely, of course. His passion for the game was still there to be seen.
Jimmy, Gentleman Jim, you were a great man and will be sadly missed by family, friends, colleagues and football fans everywhere, particularly those in Blackpool.
December 30, 2017
A Stan Matthews Understudy: Albert Hobson 1925 - 2017
Albert Hobson was born at Glossop on 7 April 1925. After junior football at outside right with Glossop Juniors, he was given a trail by Blackpool in the pre-season of 1945/46. And he made his initial appearance as a second half substitute for the Whites against the Tangerines in the first pre-season public practice game on 18 August 1945. His side lost 4-3 but he was said to have 'showed promise'.
He was signed by Blackpool from Nomads (Hollingworth) AFC on 25 August 1945 'on the usual terms for a player in the services' [£1 per week when he joined the Army in June 1946 until April 1948] after having impressed in the pre-season practice games. Nomads asked the club for a donation for the transfer and were told, 'try again next year and if he is successful, it will be okay'. He was employed in an engineering works in Manchester prior to his entering the Army and had played a couple of games on trial for Manchester City.
He made his first Blackpool appearance for the Central League side against Everton reserves on 25 August 1945 when Blackpool won 2-1 and assistant-manager Sam Jones was impressed with his performance.
He made his first wartime League appearance for Blackpool against Bury on 1 September 1945 when Ewan Fenton’s hat-trick gave Blackpool a 3-0 victory. He later said that he realised that he was an understudy to Stan Matthews who had played in Blackpool’s two opening games of the 1945/46 season. Matthews was recalled by Stoke City for their game on 1 September and Albert recalled that his pals at the engineering works suggested that he would be playing in the first team as he had done well on his first appearance for the club. Albert did not believe it but manager Joe Smith telephoned the engineering works and told him that he would be in the side for the League game.
Playing for the Central League side against Stoke City reserves on 9 March 1946 the view was, 'Given a partner who would supply him with forward passes into open spaces Hobson may yet be a good outside right'. Blackpool lost the game 2-1. His work and service commitments prevented his regular appearances in the wartime 1945/46 season but he did appear in 16 of the wartime League games.
As he was classed as on 'essential work' when the 1946/47 season commenced and he did not appear in any games for the club during that season. He went on to make his first official appearance for the club in the Central League side against Derby County reserves on 26 December 1947 when Blackpool won 2-1. He was still in the forces and he played for the Army against Reading on 4 February 1948. After that game, it was said that a Cheshire League side were interested in signing him but Blackpool, who held his registration, were not interested in any deal as the club stated that he had shown 'much promise' in wartime football.
He made his League debut against Derby County in a 1-0 defeat on 29 March 1948 when one critic wrote, 'This little outside right who fears no man, who all afternoon on Easter Monday was hurling himself pell-mell at the big Derby full backs and half backs, and, in the end, eluding them once or twice, will be out of the Army in a fortnight and may make professional football his career.' He made two League appearances and three Central League appearances, scoring one goal, for Blackpool in the 1947/48 season. His appearances were restricted due to his national service.
He started the 1948/49 season as a regular in the Central League side, playing in the first five games and eight of the first 10 games. He returned to League action for the game against Everton on 5 March 1949 when Blackpool lost 5-0. As a Stan Matthews understudy, he replaced the injured Matthews for three further games and in the 1948/49 season he played in four League games and 22 Central League games, scoring two goals.
Once again he started the 1949/50 season as a regular in the Central League side, playing in 18 of the opening 20 games. Understudying Matthews quite naturally restricted his League appearances but he did return to the first team for the FA Cup replay against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 14 February 1950 when Blackpool won 1-0. And he was back in League action the following Saturday, playing against Fulham on 18 February 1950 when Blackpool lost 1-0.
He was an integral part of the Central League side that won the Central League Championship in the 1949/50 season when he played 31 Central League games, scoring five goals; he also appeared in eight League games and two FA Cup ties.
But injury restricted his appearances in the 1950/51 season it was said that he had to watch no fewer than 20 games because he was on the casualty list. He did however play in three League games and 21 Central League games, scoring two goals, during the season.
He started the 1951/52 season fit again. But the comment was 'to be Stanley Matthews’ understudy is an unenviable task at the best of times without Madam Fortune frowning so often on you. He never complains, content to wait for first team games then he gives a competent, efficient display. Such good clubmen are worth a lot.' Albert once told the story of how he had changed into the number seven shirt at an away game when Stan Matthews entered the changing room and announced to manager Joe Smith that he was fit again. Joe told Albert to change into his civilian clothes and go and sit in the stand! 'I spent more time watching from the stands than any other Blackpool player,' said the perennial reserve for the first team.
Having started the season in the Central League side, he was selected for the third League game of the 1951/52 season as Matthews was injured. Blackpool beat Huddersfield Town 3 1 on 25 August 1951 and the headline read 'Young Hobson the Danger Man'. He was soon back in the Central League side but he returned to League action for the game against Bolton Wanderers on 17 November 1951 when Blackpool won 1-0. This game began a successful spell of 13 League games, broken when Matthews once again returned to the side. And he scored his only League goal of the season in a 4-2 victory over Stoke City on 24 November 1951.
'Wingers Perry and Hobson were fast, direct and dangerous' and 'Hobson, particularly, was prominent with his quick, accurate centres' was the comment as Blackpool lost 2-1 to Chelsea on 15 December 1951. One national newspaper reported, 'Bert Hobson, as deputy for Matthews, did enough to suggest the former Oxford City amateur [sic - the Oxford City connection was another Matthews' understudy, Rex Adams] could become the Wizard’s successor … Hobson’s beautifully placed centres were the main worry to Chelsea’s defence, and only the alertness of Bill Robertson prevented the Blackpool attack using them to greater advantage.'
Matthews was injured again and he returned to the League side for the game against Middlesbrough on 15 May 1952 when Blackpool lost 1-0. He saw out the remainder of the season at outside right. This resulted in his most productive League season with Blackpool as he played in 23 League games, scoring one goal, and 18 Central League games, scoring two goals, in the 1951/52 season.
Injury to Matthews once again gave him his first chance in the League in the 1952/53 season when he appeared in a 4-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 18 October 1952. He retained his place for nine League games. He scored his first goal of the 1952/53 season in a 2-2 draw with Cardiff City on 1 November 1952 and he played in 17 League games, scoring two goals, and 23 Central League games, scoring four goals, in the that season.
He made his first League appearance of the 1953/54 season against Aston Villa on 12 September 1953 when Blackpool lost 2-1 and what turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool was a 2-1 defeat by Newcastle United on 1 January 1954. He was placed on the transfer list in February 1954 and his final game for the Seasiders was in the Central League against Bury reserves on 16 April 1954 when Blackpool won 3-1. He had played in five League games and 26 Central League games, scoring two goals, in the 1953/54 season and overall he played 62 League games, scoring three goals, two FA Cup ties and 144 Central League games, scoring 18 goals, for Blackpool.
He was transferred to Huddersfield Town in July 1954 in exchange for Johnny McKenna. Albert Hobson apparently heard of his transfer on the radio whilst on holiday!
He had spent nine years at Blackpool but he had played in only two FA Cup Ties, the famous fifth round replay at Wolves on 14 February 1950 when Blackpool won 1-0 and the following sixth round game against Liverpool where Blackpool lost 1-0. He was said to have played none too well in the latter game, and he never played in the FA Cup for the club again, not getting a chance because Matthews never missed a Cup game from that time until Albert went to Huddersfield. He was back at Anfield, 'my hoodoo ground' as he called it, in the FA Cup fifth round with Huddersfield Town in 1955 and he scored the first goal in a 2 0 triumph for his side. He played nine League games for Huddersfield Town.
Huddersfield transferred him to York City in March 1956 after he had just played inside right for Huddersfield Town reserves against the side from Boothferry Park. He went on to play 22 League games, scoring one goal, and one FA Cup tie for York City in a two-season stay at the club.
He joined Stalybridge Celtic in June 1957 and he remained at the club for two seasons. He was later persuaded to make a comeback with Glossop North End, despite the fact that he was carrying an Achilles injury and he remained one season with Glossop before retiring from the game.
After football he worked for Gallahers and received a certificate for more than 22 years service when he finally retired to spend his remaining days in Hyde.
He died on 23 December 2017, aged 92.
He was signed by Blackpool from Nomads (Hollingworth) AFC on 25 August 1945 'on the usual terms for a player in the services' [£1 per week when he joined the Army in June 1946 until April 1948] after having impressed in the pre-season practice games. Nomads asked the club for a donation for the transfer and were told, 'try again next year and if he is successful, it will be okay'. He was employed in an engineering works in Manchester prior to his entering the Army and had played a couple of games on trial for Manchester City.
He made his first Blackpool appearance for the Central League side against Everton reserves on 25 August 1945 when Blackpool won 2-1 and assistant-manager Sam Jones was impressed with his performance.
He made his first wartime League appearance for Blackpool against Bury on 1 September 1945 when Ewan Fenton’s hat-trick gave Blackpool a 3-0 victory. He later said that he realised that he was an understudy to Stan Matthews who had played in Blackpool’s two opening games of the 1945/46 season. Matthews was recalled by Stoke City for their game on 1 September and Albert recalled that his pals at the engineering works suggested that he would be playing in the first team as he had done well on his first appearance for the club. Albert did not believe it but manager Joe Smith telephoned the engineering works and told him that he would be in the side for the League game.
Playing for the Central League side against Stoke City reserves on 9 March 1946 the view was, 'Given a partner who would supply him with forward passes into open spaces Hobson may yet be a good outside right'. Blackpool lost the game 2-1. His work and service commitments prevented his regular appearances in the wartime 1945/46 season but he did appear in 16 of the wartime League games.
As he was classed as on 'essential work' when the 1946/47 season commenced and he did not appear in any games for the club during that season. He went on to make his first official appearance for the club in the Central League side against Derby County reserves on 26 December 1947 when Blackpool won 2-1. He was still in the forces and he played for the Army against Reading on 4 February 1948. After that game, it was said that a Cheshire League side were interested in signing him but Blackpool, who held his registration, were not interested in any deal as the club stated that he had shown 'much promise' in wartime football.
He made his League debut against Derby County in a 1-0 defeat on 29 March 1948 when one critic wrote, 'This little outside right who fears no man, who all afternoon on Easter Monday was hurling himself pell-mell at the big Derby full backs and half backs, and, in the end, eluding them once or twice, will be out of the Army in a fortnight and may make professional football his career.' He made two League appearances and three Central League appearances, scoring one goal, for Blackpool in the 1947/48 season. His appearances were restricted due to his national service.
He started the 1948/49 season as a regular in the Central League side, playing in the first five games and eight of the first 10 games. He returned to League action for the game against Everton on 5 March 1949 when Blackpool lost 5-0. As a Stan Matthews understudy, he replaced the injured Matthews for three further games and in the 1948/49 season he played in four League games and 22 Central League games, scoring two goals.
Once again he started the 1949/50 season as a regular in the Central League side, playing in 18 of the opening 20 games. Understudying Matthews quite naturally restricted his League appearances but he did return to the first team for the FA Cup replay against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 14 February 1950 when Blackpool won 1-0. And he was back in League action the following Saturday, playing against Fulham on 18 February 1950 when Blackpool lost 1-0.
He was an integral part of the Central League side that won the Central League Championship in the 1949/50 season when he played 31 Central League games, scoring five goals; he also appeared in eight League games and two FA Cup ties.
But injury restricted his appearances in the 1950/51 season it was said that he had to watch no fewer than 20 games because he was on the casualty list. He did however play in three League games and 21 Central League games, scoring two goals, during the season.
He started the 1951/52 season fit again. But the comment was 'to be Stanley Matthews’ understudy is an unenviable task at the best of times without Madam Fortune frowning so often on you. He never complains, content to wait for first team games then he gives a competent, efficient display. Such good clubmen are worth a lot.' Albert once told the story of how he had changed into the number seven shirt at an away game when Stan Matthews entered the changing room and announced to manager Joe Smith that he was fit again. Joe told Albert to change into his civilian clothes and go and sit in the stand! 'I spent more time watching from the stands than any other Blackpool player,' said the perennial reserve for the first team.
Having started the season in the Central League side, he was selected for the third League game of the 1951/52 season as Matthews was injured. Blackpool beat Huddersfield Town 3 1 on 25 August 1951 and the headline read 'Young Hobson the Danger Man'. He was soon back in the Central League side but he returned to League action for the game against Bolton Wanderers on 17 November 1951 when Blackpool won 1-0. This game began a successful spell of 13 League games, broken when Matthews once again returned to the side. And he scored his only League goal of the season in a 4-2 victory over Stoke City on 24 November 1951.
'Wingers Perry and Hobson were fast, direct and dangerous' and 'Hobson, particularly, was prominent with his quick, accurate centres' was the comment as Blackpool lost 2-1 to Chelsea on 15 December 1951. One national newspaper reported, 'Bert Hobson, as deputy for Matthews, did enough to suggest the former Oxford City amateur [sic - the Oxford City connection was another Matthews' understudy, Rex Adams] could become the Wizard’s successor … Hobson’s beautifully placed centres were the main worry to Chelsea’s defence, and only the alertness of Bill Robertson prevented the Blackpool attack using them to greater advantage.'
Matthews was injured again and he returned to the League side for the game against Middlesbrough on 15 May 1952 when Blackpool lost 1-0. He saw out the remainder of the season at outside right. This resulted in his most productive League season with Blackpool as he played in 23 League games, scoring one goal, and 18 Central League games, scoring two goals, in the 1951/52 season.
Injury to Matthews once again gave him his first chance in the League in the 1952/53 season when he appeared in a 4-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 18 October 1952. He retained his place for nine League games. He scored his first goal of the 1952/53 season in a 2-2 draw with Cardiff City on 1 November 1952 and he played in 17 League games, scoring two goals, and 23 Central League games, scoring four goals, in the that season.
He made his first League appearance of the 1953/54 season against Aston Villa on 12 September 1953 when Blackpool lost 2-1 and what turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool was a 2-1 defeat by Newcastle United on 1 January 1954. He was placed on the transfer list in February 1954 and his final game for the Seasiders was in the Central League against Bury reserves on 16 April 1954 when Blackpool won 3-1. He had played in five League games and 26 Central League games, scoring two goals, in the 1953/54 season and overall he played 62 League games, scoring three goals, two FA Cup ties and 144 Central League games, scoring 18 goals, for Blackpool.
He was transferred to Huddersfield Town in July 1954 in exchange for Johnny McKenna. Albert Hobson apparently heard of his transfer on the radio whilst on holiday!
He had spent nine years at Blackpool but he had played in only two FA Cup Ties, the famous fifth round replay at Wolves on 14 February 1950 when Blackpool won 1-0 and the following sixth round game against Liverpool where Blackpool lost 1-0. He was said to have played none too well in the latter game, and he never played in the FA Cup for the club again, not getting a chance because Matthews never missed a Cup game from that time until Albert went to Huddersfield. He was back at Anfield, 'my hoodoo ground' as he called it, in the FA Cup fifth round with Huddersfield Town in 1955 and he scored the first goal in a 2 0 triumph for his side. He played nine League games for Huddersfield Town.
Huddersfield transferred him to York City in March 1956 after he had just played inside right for Huddersfield Town reserves against the side from Boothferry Park. He went on to play 22 League games, scoring one goal, and one FA Cup tie for York City in a two-season stay at the club.
He joined Stalybridge Celtic in June 1957 and he remained at the club for two seasons. He was later persuaded to make a comeback with Glossop North End, despite the fact that he was carrying an Achilles injury and he remained one season with Glossop before retiring from the game.
After football he worked for Gallahers and received a certificate for more than 22 years service when he finally retired to spend his remaining days in Hyde.
He died on 23 December 2017, aged 92.
Hat-Trick Hero on Debut: Alan Withers 1930 - 2017
Alan Withers was born in Nottingham on 20 October 1930. He played his junior football for Aspley Boys’ Club as an inside forward. He came to the attention of the Blackpool scouts and he was signed by Blackpool Football Club on 4 July 1949.
He made his first appearance for the Blackpool ‘B’ team at outside left in the opening Lancashire Combination game of the 1949/50 season against Horwich RMI on 20 August 1949. He scored Blackpool’s second goal in the ‘B’ side’s 4-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers ‘B’ on 22 October 1949 and he played in the side throughout that season.
He made his Central League debut at inside left against Barnsley reserves on 28 August 1950 when he scored one of the goals in Blackpool’s 3-2 success. He was then tried at centre forward against Burnley reserves on 5 September 1950 when he scored Blackpool’s goal in a 1-1 draw and he also made appearances at inside right and outside left. Ironically after his appearance in the latter position, many critics expressed the view that outside left was perhaps his best position. As it turned out, that was the position he was to occupy for the majority of his later Blackpool career.
He made his League debut at inside left on 18 November 1950 against Huddersfield Town and he became the first Blackpool player to score a hat-trick on his First Division debut, scoring all three goals in a 3 1 victory. He went on to score seven other hat-tricks in League football but they were when he was playing in the Second and Third Divisions. And when he scored one of Blackpool’s goals in a dramatic 4 4 draw with Arsenal at Highbury on 9 December 1950, he was described as ‘that gay young poacher of goals’.
The signing of Allan Brown from East Fife cost him his first team place and by the close of the 1950/51 season he had played eight League games, scoring five goals, and 26 Central League games, scoring 10 goals.
He started the 1951/52 season at inside left in the Central League side and he showed his versatility as within nine games he had also appeared at outside left, centre forward and inside right. He made occasional first team appearances but mainly played in the Central League side so that at the end of the 1951/52 season he had played in six League games, scoring one goal, and 29 Central League games, scoring 13 goals. However, at the close of the 1951/52 season a report in the Lancashire Evening Post stated, ‘A brighter side to the club’s [injury] troubles has been the keenness and improvement of several young reserves. Withers, Stephenson, W Wright and Robinson are among those who created good impressions, while the selection of Garrett, another graduate from a junior team, for England against Scotland, emphasises once more that Blackpool’s policy of finding future men from among the youngsters is wise and profitable.’
At the start of the 1952/53 season he was established as the Central League side outside left and he politely, but firmly, declared his intention not to play in any other position. And over the season he played only one League game and perhaps because of his lack of first team opportunities, he asked Blackpool for a transfer on 9 January 1954. He said, ‘I have written to the chairman giving him the reasons. I seem to be getting nowhere. I’ve been nearly five years at Blackpool, and I’m still only playing in the first team infrequently. I’ve had only one game this season, the Chelsea match. And in that game I was switched over to the right halfway through.’ Nothing came of his request, although he did have a word with Derby County but nothing was arranged regarding a transfer.
With Bill Perry occupying the outside left position in the League side, he played in just the one League game in the 1953/54 season but he did play 32 Central League games, scoring 14 goals, a club record for a wing forward in the Central League side. However, injury to Bill Perry presented him with an opportunity in the League side and he played twice within the space of four days, against Manchester United on 28 August 1954 and against Bolton Wanderers on 1 September 1954. Blackpool lost both games, 4-2 and 3-0 respectively and then, with Perry fit again, he returned to Central League action.
At the end of 1954, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest made approaches for his signature but negotiations broke down when neither club would guarantee to provide a house for him. He remained at Blackpool, living at 22 Henry Street. Apparently he was a big friend of Stan Matthews who had had a word with the Leeds manager and told him that Withers was better than anything they had on their books. As a consequence Matthews told him that he would be playing in their first team the following week. However, nothing came of that move either.
There was then a strong rumour that he would join Lincoln City on 26 February 1955 as Blackpool manager Joe Smith and Lincoln representative were reported to have had a 12-minute telephone conversation over terms. Lincoln City eventually agreed to provide him with a house and the deal was sealed; he was duly transferred to Lincoln City for a fee of £350 on 28 February 1955 after having played two League games and 15 Central League games, scoring three goals, for Blackpool before his transfer. His senior Blackpool career encompassed 17 League games, in which he scored six goals, and 130 Central League games, in which he scored 46 goals. He also scored two goals in four friendly games.
He was on Lincoln City’s transfer list at his own request in November 1957 but he remained with the club for more than 12 months when he was transferred to Notts County for a fee of £3,500 in January 1959. He had played 97 League games, scoring 18 goals, for Lincoln City.
Although Coventry City showed interest in signing him in February 1960, no move took place and he went on to play 121 League games, scoring 22 goals for Notts County. Whilst at the club he began working for the Co-operative Wholesale Society for whom he worked once he retired from football.
Once he left Notts County he played non-league football with Wisbech Town, Boston United, Lockheed Leamington and Loughborough.
He died on 29 November 2017, leaving his wife Mary, two children and six grandchildren.
He made his first appearance for the Blackpool ‘B’ team at outside left in the opening Lancashire Combination game of the 1949/50 season against Horwich RMI on 20 August 1949. He scored Blackpool’s second goal in the ‘B’ side’s 4-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers ‘B’ on 22 October 1949 and he played in the side throughout that season.
He made his Central League debut at inside left against Barnsley reserves on 28 August 1950 when he scored one of the goals in Blackpool’s 3-2 success. He was then tried at centre forward against Burnley reserves on 5 September 1950 when he scored Blackpool’s goal in a 1-1 draw and he also made appearances at inside right and outside left. Ironically after his appearance in the latter position, many critics expressed the view that outside left was perhaps his best position. As it turned out, that was the position he was to occupy for the majority of his later Blackpool career.
He made his League debut at inside left on 18 November 1950 against Huddersfield Town and he became the first Blackpool player to score a hat-trick on his First Division debut, scoring all three goals in a 3 1 victory. He went on to score seven other hat-tricks in League football but they were when he was playing in the Second and Third Divisions. And when he scored one of Blackpool’s goals in a dramatic 4 4 draw with Arsenal at Highbury on 9 December 1950, he was described as ‘that gay young poacher of goals’.
The signing of Allan Brown from East Fife cost him his first team place and by the close of the 1950/51 season he had played eight League games, scoring five goals, and 26 Central League games, scoring 10 goals.
He started the 1951/52 season at inside left in the Central League side and he showed his versatility as within nine games he had also appeared at outside left, centre forward and inside right. He made occasional first team appearances but mainly played in the Central League side so that at the end of the 1951/52 season he had played in six League games, scoring one goal, and 29 Central League games, scoring 13 goals. However, at the close of the 1951/52 season a report in the Lancashire Evening Post stated, ‘A brighter side to the club’s [injury] troubles has been the keenness and improvement of several young reserves. Withers, Stephenson, W Wright and Robinson are among those who created good impressions, while the selection of Garrett, another graduate from a junior team, for England against Scotland, emphasises once more that Blackpool’s policy of finding future men from among the youngsters is wise and profitable.’
At the start of the 1952/53 season he was established as the Central League side outside left and he politely, but firmly, declared his intention not to play in any other position. And over the season he played only one League game and perhaps because of his lack of first team opportunities, he asked Blackpool for a transfer on 9 January 1954. He said, ‘I have written to the chairman giving him the reasons. I seem to be getting nowhere. I’ve been nearly five years at Blackpool, and I’m still only playing in the first team infrequently. I’ve had only one game this season, the Chelsea match. And in that game I was switched over to the right halfway through.’ Nothing came of his request, although he did have a word with Derby County but nothing was arranged regarding a transfer.
With Bill Perry occupying the outside left position in the League side, he played in just the one League game in the 1953/54 season but he did play 32 Central League games, scoring 14 goals, a club record for a wing forward in the Central League side. However, injury to Bill Perry presented him with an opportunity in the League side and he played twice within the space of four days, against Manchester United on 28 August 1954 and against Bolton Wanderers on 1 September 1954. Blackpool lost both games, 4-2 and 3-0 respectively and then, with Perry fit again, he returned to Central League action.
At the end of 1954, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest made approaches for his signature but negotiations broke down when neither club would guarantee to provide a house for him. He remained at Blackpool, living at 22 Henry Street. Apparently he was a big friend of Stan Matthews who had had a word with the Leeds manager and told him that Withers was better than anything they had on their books. As a consequence Matthews told him that he would be playing in their first team the following week. However, nothing came of that move either.
There was then a strong rumour that he would join Lincoln City on 26 February 1955 as Blackpool manager Joe Smith and Lincoln representative were reported to have had a 12-minute telephone conversation over terms. Lincoln City eventually agreed to provide him with a house and the deal was sealed; he was duly transferred to Lincoln City for a fee of £350 on 28 February 1955 after having played two League games and 15 Central League games, scoring three goals, for Blackpool before his transfer. His senior Blackpool career encompassed 17 League games, in which he scored six goals, and 130 Central League games, in which he scored 46 goals. He also scored two goals in four friendly games.
He was on Lincoln City’s transfer list at his own request in November 1957 but he remained with the club for more than 12 months when he was transferred to Notts County for a fee of £3,500 in January 1959. He had played 97 League games, scoring 18 goals, for Lincoln City.
Although Coventry City showed interest in signing him in February 1960, no move took place and he went on to play 121 League games, scoring 22 goals for Notts County. Whilst at the club he began working for the Co-operative Wholesale Society for whom he worked once he retired from football.
Once he left Notts County he played non-league football with Wisbech Town, Boston United, Lockheed Leamington and Loughborough.
He died on 29 November 2017, leaving his wife Mary, two children and six grandchildren.
November 28, 2017
A Short Spell with the Seasiders: Dermot Drummy 1961 - 2017
Dermot Drummy was born in Hackney, London, on 18 January 1961 and although, at just 19-years-of-age, he only spent a very short time at Blackpool Football Club, he is still an integral part of the history of the club.
He was a midfield player who was signed by Blackpool on loan to the end of the 1979/80 season in March 1980 from Arsenal. He had joined Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1974 and became an apprentice before signing for the club as a professional in January 1979. At the time of his loan he had made no first team appearances for Arsenal but he was highly rated there.
On his signing, Blackpool’s general manager Freddie Scott commented, 'It is very hard to break into the Arsenal first team because of all the competition for places at Highbury.' And Blackpool manager Alan Ball commented on the highly rated centre or right sided midfield player, 'This lad could keep me out of the side.'
He made his League debut for Blackpool against Exeter City on 15 March 1980 when Blackpool won 1-0 and he was 'quietly brilliant in the first half when Doyle’s appetite for the fray gave him the necessary space'. Indeed, 'MacDougall, Fletcher and Drummy were all close to goals in the first half and a host of chances went begging.' However, he 'went off a touch, often because of a swirling wind, in the second half' but player-coach Ted MacDougall expressed the view 'Dermot impressed me. I’ll tell Bally that he’ll be pushed to shift this lad once he’s had a couple of games. He was quietly beavering away, making pieces of the jigsaw fit with players he had only known for two days. His lack of physical presence was more than compensated for by his vision, and speed of reaction. It would have been fitting had a fine shot near the end beaten Ian Main and not been met with a good save.'
His second and third appearances for the club both ended in defeat, a 2-0 defeat by Carlisle United on 18 March 1980 and a 4-1 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on 22 March 1980. In both games he had quiet games and did nothing noteworthy.
He made what turned out to be his final start for Blackpool in a 2-2 draw with Millwall on 29 March 1980 when, unfortunately, his most notable moment was when he was booked for 'an off the ball scuffle with Roberts'.
Although he was left out of the starting line-up and sat on the substitute's bench for the game against Barnsley on 4 April 1980, Alan Ball made it known, 'He is still part of the club’s plans.' And what turned out to be his final game for Blackpool was when he replaced Peter Noble as a half-time substitute in that game and he 'came into midfield and played his best football for Blackpool'. The game was drawn 1-1. In view of this latter comment, it was something of a surprise that he did not appear for Blackpool again and his loan spell saw him play four League games and make one substitute appearance for Blackpool in the 1979/80 season. He then returned to Arsenal, who, with a wealth of talent on their books, released him in the close season, without him having appeared in their first team.
He joined Isthmian League side Hendon for the 1980/81 season and, after leaving Hendon, he went on to play for Wealdstone, Enfield, Ware and St Albans City. He was later player manager at Ware in the 1996/97 season but he left the club halfway through the season to become youth team coach at Arsenal.
He moved on from Arsenal and he was team manager at the Chelsea Academy from 2009 to 2011 and he was in charge of the Chelsea side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2009/10 when they defeated Aston Villa 3-2 on aggregate, drawing 1-1 at Villa Park and winning 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in front of a crowd of 10,446.
He went on to become reserve team manager at Chelsea from 2011 to 2014 and he met with further success when he was in charge of the side that won the Under-21 Premier League in the 2013/14 season.
In June 2015 he was apparently offered the manager's job at Brazilian side Bangu but he turned down the offer. Then on 27 April 2016 he was appointed head coach at Crawley Town and he remained with the club until 4 May 2017, overseeing 54 games of which 15 were won, 12 were drawn and 27 were lost..
He died on 27 November 2017 at the age of only 56. Crawley's official heart-warming tribute to him was 'Everyone at the club is devastated by the news that our former manager Dermot Drummy passed away earlier today. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. We will be issuing a full statement tomorrow after speaking to Dermot's family. Dermot was a real people person. He had time for everyone at the club and he loved to make us laugh! He brought many of the current squad to Crawley and they are as stunned as we all are at this terrible news.'
And Swansea boss Paul Clement, who worked closely with him at Chelsea, commented, 'Shocked to hear of the death of my former colleague from Chelsea FC, Dermot Drummy. Very sad. Rest In Peace.' Indeed, rest in peace Dermot and thanks for the short spell that you had with the Seasiders.
He was a midfield player who was signed by Blackpool on loan to the end of the 1979/80 season in March 1980 from Arsenal. He had joined Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1974 and became an apprentice before signing for the club as a professional in January 1979. At the time of his loan he had made no first team appearances for Arsenal but he was highly rated there.
On his signing, Blackpool’s general manager Freddie Scott commented, 'It is very hard to break into the Arsenal first team because of all the competition for places at Highbury.' And Blackpool manager Alan Ball commented on the highly rated centre or right sided midfield player, 'This lad could keep me out of the side.'
He made his League debut for Blackpool against Exeter City on 15 March 1980 when Blackpool won 1-0 and he was 'quietly brilliant in the first half when Doyle’s appetite for the fray gave him the necessary space'. Indeed, 'MacDougall, Fletcher and Drummy were all close to goals in the first half and a host of chances went begging.' However, he 'went off a touch, often because of a swirling wind, in the second half' but player-coach Ted MacDougall expressed the view 'Dermot impressed me. I’ll tell Bally that he’ll be pushed to shift this lad once he’s had a couple of games. He was quietly beavering away, making pieces of the jigsaw fit with players he had only known for two days. His lack of physical presence was more than compensated for by his vision, and speed of reaction. It would have been fitting had a fine shot near the end beaten Ian Main and not been met with a good save.'
His second and third appearances for the club both ended in defeat, a 2-0 defeat by Carlisle United on 18 March 1980 and a 4-1 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on 22 March 1980. In both games he had quiet games and did nothing noteworthy.
He made what turned out to be his final start for Blackpool in a 2-2 draw with Millwall on 29 March 1980 when, unfortunately, his most notable moment was when he was booked for 'an off the ball scuffle with Roberts'.
Although he was left out of the starting line-up and sat on the substitute's bench for the game against Barnsley on 4 April 1980, Alan Ball made it known, 'He is still part of the club’s plans.' And what turned out to be his final game for Blackpool was when he replaced Peter Noble as a half-time substitute in that game and he 'came into midfield and played his best football for Blackpool'. The game was drawn 1-1. In view of this latter comment, it was something of a surprise that he did not appear for Blackpool again and his loan spell saw him play four League games and make one substitute appearance for Blackpool in the 1979/80 season. He then returned to Arsenal, who, with a wealth of talent on their books, released him in the close season, without him having appeared in their first team.
He joined Isthmian League side Hendon for the 1980/81 season and, after leaving Hendon, he went on to play for Wealdstone, Enfield, Ware and St Albans City. He was later player manager at Ware in the 1996/97 season but he left the club halfway through the season to become youth team coach at Arsenal.
He moved on from Arsenal and he was team manager at the Chelsea Academy from 2009 to 2011 and he was in charge of the Chelsea side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2009/10 when they defeated Aston Villa 3-2 on aggregate, drawing 1-1 at Villa Park and winning 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in front of a crowd of 10,446.
He went on to become reserve team manager at Chelsea from 2011 to 2014 and he met with further success when he was in charge of the side that won the Under-21 Premier League in the 2013/14 season.
In June 2015 he was apparently offered the manager's job at Brazilian side Bangu but he turned down the offer. Then on 27 April 2016 he was appointed head coach at Crawley Town and he remained with the club until 4 May 2017, overseeing 54 games of which 15 were won, 12 were drawn and 27 were lost..
He died on 27 November 2017 at the age of only 56. Crawley's official heart-warming tribute to him was 'Everyone at the club is devastated by the news that our former manager Dermot Drummy passed away earlier today. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. We will be issuing a full statement tomorrow after speaking to Dermot's family. Dermot was a real people person. He had time for everyone at the club and he loved to make us laugh! He brought many of the current squad to Crawley and they are as stunned as we all are at this terrible news.'
And Swansea boss Paul Clement, who worked closely with him at Chelsea, commented, 'Shocked to hear of the death of my former colleague from Chelsea FC, Dermot Drummy. Very sad. Rest In Peace.' Indeed, rest in peace Dermot and thanks for the short spell that you had with the Seasiders.
June 27, 2017
An often unsung hero : Peter ('Uwe') Noble 1944-2017
Peter Noble was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 19 August 1944 and was a forward cum midfield player who had started his senior football career with Consett. From there he was signed by Newcastle United in November 1964. He went on to play 22 League games, make three substitute appearances and scored seven goals for Newcastle before he was transferred to Swindon Town in January 1968 for a fee of £8,000.
He was Swindon Town's top goalscorer in the 1969/70, 1970/71 and 1971/72 seasons with 16 League goals, 12 and 14 respectively and overall he played 251 games for Swindon, plus making five substitute appearances, and scoring 80 goals. He also helped the club to a treble in1968/69 season when the club won promotion from the Third Division, won the League Cup and also won the Anglo-Italian Cup.
Swindon fans were disappointed when he was transferred to Burnley in June 1973 for a fee of £35,000, although some reports state £40,000. Perhaps surprisingly, Burnley originally played him as a full back but, being (sensibly) moved to midfield he became the club's top scorer for three of the following four seasons. He went on to play 241 League games, make two substitute appearances (299 appearances overall) and score 63 goals for the club.
By the time he joined Blackpool, for a fee of £25,000 in January 1980, he had already earned the nickname Uwe, which came from the fact that he had a similar hairstyle to the then=German ace Uwe Seeler.
He made his League debut for Blackpool against Southend United on 18 January 1980 when he scored Blackpool’s goal in a 1-0 victory and by the end of the 1979/80 season he played 14 League games and had scored two goals for the club; his second goal came in a 2-2 draw with Millwall on 29 March 1980.
He missed the start of the 1980/81 season due to a reoccurrence of an old knee injury and the nature of the injury meant that there was serious doubt about his first team future at Bloomfield Road. This was especially so when, after just three games, he broke down again but his determination was such that by the later stages of the season he was ready for first team action once more. And he played 13 of the final 14 League games of the season, scoring one goal in a 3-2 defeat by Chesterfield on 21 March 1981. But his efforts were not enough to prevent Blackpool from finishing 23rd in Division Three and suffering relegation to Division Four.
When manager Alan Ball had been in charge of Blackpool in the 1980/81 season Noble was seriously considered as reserve team coach but, although he was considered an inspired choice he still had plenty of appetite for playing and was not keen on relinquishing that role. Similarly he had been in with a chance of the manager’s job at both Tranmere Rovers and Carlisle United but he preferred to carry on playing.
He had his most prolific season with Blackpool in 1981/82 when he missed only two League games, playing 44 League games and scoring nine goals in addition to playing in all five FA Cup ties and one League Cup tie. But age was beginning to catch up with him in 1982/83 and although he was always an inspiration to his side, he was in and out of the team, playing 21 League games plus making five substitute appearances and scoring two goals plus playing in two FA Cup ties and two League Cup ties. Even so it was a sad day for supporters when he severed his connection with Blackpool after that 182/83 season for his 100% commitment was always an inspiration to any side in which he played.
One record that he was pleased to have was that as a regular penalty taker he never missed from the spot, scoring all 28 penalties that he took.
Life after football saw him run a sportswear business in Burnley, Peter Noble Sport Ltd, but he decided to retire when the larger companies moved into the town.
Speaking of his career in May 2004 he said, “I went down the pit when I left school but soon decided it wasn’t for me. I tried for a job as an electrician, only to find it had been filled so I ended up as a painter and decorator. One night a pal was playing a trial game at Consett and I went along to watch. They were a man short and the manager asked if I fancied a game. I had my boots in the car so I gave it a go. I got chosen and my pal didn’t. I scored a lot of goals and before long Newcastle offered me terms. My Dad couldn’t believe it. He was a fanatical Sunderland fan and refused to set foot in St James’s Park, even though his son was playing there! He only went to away games.” Of his move to Burnley he commented, “I had seven great years at Turf Moor, they were in the old First Division during my first few seasons with Jimmy Adamson in charge. But after Jimmy left, they started selling players and gradually fell away. I never wanted to leave and thought there might be a chance for me on the coaching side. But that didn’t work out and I ended up finishing my career at Blackpool.” He concluded by saying that, bad knees allowing, he would still sometimes go down to Turf Moor to watch Burnley.
A fitting tribute to Peter Noble was that In 2006 at a special dinner at Turf Moor, along with a number of other players, he was officially declared a 'Burnley Football Club Legend' by the East Lancashire club.
He died on 6 May 2017.
He was Swindon Town's top goalscorer in the 1969/70, 1970/71 and 1971/72 seasons with 16 League goals, 12 and 14 respectively and overall he played 251 games for Swindon, plus making five substitute appearances, and scoring 80 goals. He also helped the club to a treble in1968/69 season when the club won promotion from the Third Division, won the League Cup and also won the Anglo-Italian Cup.
Swindon fans were disappointed when he was transferred to Burnley in June 1973 for a fee of £35,000, although some reports state £40,000. Perhaps surprisingly, Burnley originally played him as a full back but, being (sensibly) moved to midfield he became the club's top scorer for three of the following four seasons. He went on to play 241 League games, make two substitute appearances (299 appearances overall) and score 63 goals for the club.
By the time he joined Blackpool, for a fee of £25,000 in January 1980, he had already earned the nickname Uwe, which came from the fact that he had a similar hairstyle to the then=German ace Uwe Seeler.
He made his League debut for Blackpool against Southend United on 18 January 1980 when he scored Blackpool’s goal in a 1-0 victory and by the end of the 1979/80 season he played 14 League games and had scored two goals for the club; his second goal came in a 2-2 draw with Millwall on 29 March 1980.
He missed the start of the 1980/81 season due to a reoccurrence of an old knee injury and the nature of the injury meant that there was serious doubt about his first team future at Bloomfield Road. This was especially so when, after just three games, he broke down again but his determination was such that by the later stages of the season he was ready for first team action once more. And he played 13 of the final 14 League games of the season, scoring one goal in a 3-2 defeat by Chesterfield on 21 March 1981. But his efforts were not enough to prevent Blackpool from finishing 23rd in Division Three and suffering relegation to Division Four.
When manager Alan Ball had been in charge of Blackpool in the 1980/81 season Noble was seriously considered as reserve team coach but, although he was considered an inspired choice he still had plenty of appetite for playing and was not keen on relinquishing that role. Similarly he had been in with a chance of the manager’s job at both Tranmere Rovers and Carlisle United but he preferred to carry on playing.
He had his most prolific season with Blackpool in 1981/82 when he missed only two League games, playing 44 League games and scoring nine goals in addition to playing in all five FA Cup ties and one League Cup tie. But age was beginning to catch up with him in 1982/83 and although he was always an inspiration to his side, he was in and out of the team, playing 21 League games plus making five substitute appearances and scoring two goals plus playing in two FA Cup ties and two League Cup ties. Even so it was a sad day for supporters when he severed his connection with Blackpool after that 182/83 season for his 100% commitment was always an inspiration to any side in which he played.
One record that he was pleased to have was that as a regular penalty taker he never missed from the spot, scoring all 28 penalties that he took.
Life after football saw him run a sportswear business in Burnley, Peter Noble Sport Ltd, but he decided to retire when the larger companies moved into the town.
Speaking of his career in May 2004 he said, “I went down the pit when I left school but soon decided it wasn’t for me. I tried for a job as an electrician, only to find it had been filled so I ended up as a painter and decorator. One night a pal was playing a trial game at Consett and I went along to watch. They were a man short and the manager asked if I fancied a game. I had my boots in the car so I gave it a go. I got chosen and my pal didn’t. I scored a lot of goals and before long Newcastle offered me terms. My Dad couldn’t believe it. He was a fanatical Sunderland fan and refused to set foot in St James’s Park, even though his son was playing there! He only went to away games.” Of his move to Burnley he commented, “I had seven great years at Turf Moor, they were in the old First Division during my first few seasons with Jimmy Adamson in charge. But after Jimmy left, they started selling players and gradually fell away. I never wanted to leave and thought there might be a chance for me on the coaching side. But that didn’t work out and I ended up finishing my career at Blackpool.” He concluded by saying that, bad knees allowing, he would still sometimes go down to Turf Moor to watch Burnley.
A fitting tribute to Peter Noble was that In 2006 at a special dinner at Turf Moor, along with a number of other players, he was officially declared a 'Burnley Football Club Legend' by the East Lancashire club.
He died on 6 May 2017.
September 2, 2016
Local Boy Makes Good
David George Durie 1931-2016
Dave Durie was born in Blackpool on 13 August 1931 and played his junior football as an inside left for Baines Grammar School, which he attended, Waterloo Welfare Youth Club and Oxford Amateurs. It was from the last named club that Blackpool signed him as an amateur on 10 March 1952.
After playing a few games in the Blackpool 'B' side, he made his Central League debut in a 2-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday reserves at Hillsborough on 19 April 1952. He also played in the final Central League game of the season, a 0-0 draw with Chesterfield reserves on 26 April 1952. He then made his first team debut in a friendly game against Hamburg Sport Verein on 30 April 1952 when he 'showed flashes of the skill that promised well for the future' as Blackpool lost 2 0. These were the only three senior games he played for the club in the 1951/52 season.
Blackpool were pleased with his early showing so he was signed as a part time professional on 5 May 1952. Thereafter he always maintained his part time status saying, 'I believe that a job outside football helps your mental and physical outlook, especially towards training. I know that after a spell at work training comes as a pleasure. I look forward to it, and because of that I feel I get real benefit from my training.' He added 'I advocate strongly a footballer taking a part time job, providing that he is given time off in the day to train and, provided also he does not take a job that is too exhausting. Not hod carrying for instance!' He worked in the family wholesale green grocery business in Elizabeth Street, Blackpool.
After a number of Central League games in the early part of the 1952/53 season, he made his League debut at inside left against Charlton Athletic on 23 February 1953 when Blackpool lost 2-0. Then on 25 March 1953 as Cardiff City defeated Blackpool 1-0 he helped set a precedent as the local press reported, 'The Durie-Wright left wing is one of the first comprising two players out of Fylde football to be fielded by Blackpool in the First Division.'
He went on to score his first League goal in a 5-1 defeat by Middlesbrough on 11 April 1953 and a week later, returning to Central League action on 18 April, he scored three goals in a 4-0 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday reserves when 'Wright and Durie, Blackpool’s left wing played havoc with Wednesday’s defence, and even Lythgoe on the right appeared formidable.' He ended the season having played eight League games, scoring one goal, and 31 Central League games, scoring 10 goals and in the League he played five games in his accustomed inside left position, two games at outside left and one game at inside right. Not surprisingly at the close of the 1952/53 season he was regarded as one 'destined to win fame', along with Cyril Robinson, Billy Wright, Stanley Hepton and Ken Booth.
In the following two seasons he only made occasional first team appearances, mainly playing in the Central League side, and there was talk of him not being retained for the 1955/56 season but the part timer stayed on and made an immediate impression by starting the Central League season with five goals in seven games. He worked his way back into the League side and ended the season with 14 goals in 16 games as well as playing in one FA Cup tie and 22 Central League games, in which he scored 13 goals. He was regarded as having a 'somewhat awkward style to watch' - he was affectionately nicknamed 'Legs' because of his long gangling legs - but he was deemed 'a hard working, conscientious clubman and a difficult man to subdue.'
He scored his first League hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Everton on 22 August 1956 and his form was such that he was selected for a representative honour, playing for an FA XI against the RAF on 10 October 1956. Despite scoring four goals in that game he found himself only as travelling reserve for the following game against the Army on 7 November 1956. Then he was selected for England ‘B’ against Scotland ‘B’ at St Andrews on 6 February 1957 but he was obliged to miss the game through injury.
He scored his second League hat-trick of the 1956/57 season in a 4-3 win over Cardiff City on 9 March 1957 and he finished the season with 20 goals, second only to Mudie's 32, in 38 League games. He also scored two goals in four FA Cup ties.
He played for an FA XI against the RAF on 9 October 1957 and later that season, in his 100th League and Cup game for the club he scored his 50th goal after 61 minutes to put Blackpool 3-1 in front against Manchester City on 1 March 1958. Unfortunately Blackpool lost the game 4-3. In 33 League games in the 1957/58 season he scored 14 goals and he also played one FA Cup tie.
His weekly wage for the 1958/59 season was increased to £13 in the summer and £15 in the winter and this wage structure was to last through to the end of the 1960/61 season.
He added another string to his bow when against Leeds United on 15 November 1958 following a collision with Alan Shackleton, George Farm was carried off on a stretcher and David Durie had to take over in goal. In the final minute he 'pulled off a magnificent save when he fell to his right to punch out Shackleton’s shot' as the game was drawn 1-1 [The game was at Elland Road and having gone with my Dad, I remember the game and more particularly the save well!] He went on to play 38 League games, scoring nine goals, and six FA Cup ties, scoring two goals, in that 1958/59 season.
In the 1959/60 season he scored two hat tricks, the first against Burnley, who went on to become champions, in a 4 1 win at Turf Moor on 10 October 1959 and the second against Mansfield Town in the FA Cup third round tie on 9 January 1960. [I was fortunately at both games.] But later in the season manager Ron Suart moved him to left half and in his first game in that position he still managed to score one of Blackpool’s goals in a 4-2 victory over Leeds United on 5 March 1960. Then after a few games in the new position he said, 'I’m still very much an apprentice, as it were, and in each game I am learning new things. But I must say I have settled into the position much quicker than I expected.' He later added, 'I prefer to play in a position where I am enjoying my game and at present I am enjoying my game at left half.' That season he played 32 League games, scoring 10 goals, and three FA Cup ties, scoring three goals.
Thereafter he appeared mostly at left half, and he was so successful that his name was one of the first on the team sheet each week for the following three seasons. And in recognition of his performances his all-year-round weekly wage for the following two seasons was increased to a basic £15 with an extra £5 when he played in the first team. And he was regularly earning that maximum £20 per week for he played 36 League games, scoring six goals, and two League Cup ties, scoring one goal, in the 1960/61 season, 40 League games, scoring one goal, two FA Cup ties and eight League Cup ties in the 1961/62 season and 40 League games, scoring four goals, two FA Cup ties and three League Cup ties in the 1962/63 season.
He did on one further occasion demonstrate his goalkeeping skills as, after 10 minutes of the game against Leicester City on 10 March 1962 goalkeeper Tony Waiters was injured and had to leave the field. Durie took over in goal and, with Blackpool winning 2-1, he earned the headline in that night’s Green THIS WAS DAVE DURIE’S DAY Waiters hurt, deputy ‘keeper makes saves galore. The comment to support the headline was 'Dave Durie’s display as an emergency goalkeeper might have been unorthodox. It was certainly unconventional at times, but however you wish to describe it, his performance helped to lift this game out of the rut. There were times when he seemed to weave a good luck spell around his goal, but more often than not he displayed astonishing anticipation, confidence and agility, and some of his saves were straight out of the soccer textbook.'
By the 1963/64 season Bill Cranston was pressing for a first team place and Durie shared the duties with him until Cranston finally took over full time. So Durie played his final seven League games for Blackpool back in the forward line, at inside left, inside right and even at centre forward. And it was while replacing the injured Ray Charnley at centre forward that he played his 300th League game, when after 11 years’ sterling service as a part time professional, he returned to the side and scored a consolation goal in a 5 1 defeat by Chelsea on 26 December. And what turned out to be his final League game for the club was also against Chelsea in the return match on 28 December when Blackpool lost 1-0.
It was in a way ironic that his final games for the club should be over the Christmas period for Durie always exercised the privilege, contained in every professional footballer’s contract at the time, of not playing on Christmas Day and Good Friday. He said of his decision 'I have nothing against those who do play on those days. I think it’s a matter for the individual.' And he chose not to play.
In December 1963 he received arguably the ultimate accolade when club managers, players and the PFA voted David Durie as the best example of a player who had never been sent off, never been booked and never been guilty of any petty actions after over 300 League and Cup games. It certainly summed up the man, who was a gentleman through and through.
He played out the remainder of the 1963/64 season in the Central League side, captaining the side in his final game at Bloomfield Road on 25 April 1964 when, fittingly, he scored the goal, a penalty, in a 1 0 win over Burnley reserves. He played 12 League games, scoring three goals, two League Cup ties, scoring one goal, and 25 Central League games, scoring four goals, in that final 1963/64 season. And his Blackpool career had encompassed 301 League games, scoring 84 goals, 19 FA Cup ties, scoring seven goals, 15 League Cup ties, scoring two goals, and 130 Central League games, scoring 39 goals.
He retired when his contract expired at Bloomfield Road on 30 June 1964 and Blackpool manager Ronnie Suart commented, 'Dave feels that he hasn’t much future as far as our first team is concerned, but I can tell you we are sorry to see him retire. He has been a great servant to the club, a credit to us, both on and off the field. I hope we have many more like Dave Durie at Bloomfield Road.'
Having declined an offer to become player manager of Lancashire combination side Morecambe in February 1964 and commenting on his decision with 'The future, my future that is, is uncertain. We shall just have to wait on events' and not being interested in Oldham Athletic's interest in signing him as a part time professional, he signed a full time contract for former Blackpool team-mate Peter Hauser’s Chester in September 1964. Justifying his decision, he said that he couldn’t bear to be on the sidelines and commented, 'I just had to come back.' He went on to play 87 League games, make two substitute appearances and score four goals for Chester, finishing with the club in the 1966/67 season.
He later joined Fleetwood as player-coach under former team-mate Jimmy Kelly and he subsequently took charge of the club when Kelly emigrated to Australia. But, as player-manager, he broke his leg and that set him thinking. He later commented, 'It gave me time to take a long look at the game and I realised that managership wasn’t for me.' He left Fleetwood in October 1968 when the club hit a lean spell in the newly formed Northern Premier League; he commented briefly that he regarded the dismissal as 'unfair'. However he did continue his association with football for he spent some time from 1970 onwards on the coaching staff of the Lancashire Schools’ Football Association.
After retirement from the game altogether, he taught physical education and religious instruction at Palatine School, Blackpool, and he later became a driving instructor, running his own business until final retirement.
He continued to live in Blackpool and was always delighted to chat with fans about the club. And, reflecting on his Blackpool career in October 1976, he recalled, 'I never saw the inside of a football ground as a player until I was 21. If that happened now I would be considered too old. I didn’t make the first team until I was 23, having gone through the colts, ‘A’, ‘B’ and reserve teams. I have never been coached in my life. You didn’t get trained under the old regime. But I am an FA coach myself which helped me to get this job [teaching at Palatine School].' He described his coaching work as rewarding but frustrating and added, 'You coach lads and see them mature then they go up a year and you have to start all over again. It is like a football club manager having to sell all his players at the end of every season.' After his stint in management he went to college and remembering that he commented, 'I had always been sport-minded and I worked out that the ideal profession would be to teach sport, and qualify as an FA coach so I could combine teaching and football. I went to college for three years at Chorley and marked time until qualifying. For four years now I have been at Palatine. During that spell I realised the unfairness of soccer. It was insecure.' He continued, 'I was born within sight of the ground and I watch Blackpool quite often. It is nice to see them playing wingers. They must come back because they are the most effective means of attack when you have two good strikers.' As to the future he said, 'I am not very ambitious really. I have left it too late to get to the top in teaching. I am happy and that is the main thing. I am a keen churchgoer and get involved in that sort of thing, and I like walking our Labrador dog. Also, I’m paid to keep myself fit. I could have done better at school and it is important to strike a happy medium between lessons and sport. Not like me. I was putting my boots on under the desk waiting for the bell to go before a game. That was bad. I would cycle to and from Baines Grammar School and I would arrive home at all hours after matches. But how can you regret something that has given you enormous pleasure?' A fitting final comment from one of the games nicest men.
He died after a long illness on 30 August 2016.
Dave Durie was born in Blackpool on 13 August 1931 and played his junior football as an inside left for Baines Grammar School, which he attended, Waterloo Welfare Youth Club and Oxford Amateurs. It was from the last named club that Blackpool signed him as an amateur on 10 March 1952.
After playing a few games in the Blackpool 'B' side, he made his Central League debut in a 2-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday reserves at Hillsborough on 19 April 1952. He also played in the final Central League game of the season, a 0-0 draw with Chesterfield reserves on 26 April 1952. He then made his first team debut in a friendly game against Hamburg Sport Verein on 30 April 1952 when he 'showed flashes of the skill that promised well for the future' as Blackpool lost 2 0. These were the only three senior games he played for the club in the 1951/52 season.
Blackpool were pleased with his early showing so he was signed as a part time professional on 5 May 1952. Thereafter he always maintained his part time status saying, 'I believe that a job outside football helps your mental and physical outlook, especially towards training. I know that after a spell at work training comes as a pleasure. I look forward to it, and because of that I feel I get real benefit from my training.' He added 'I advocate strongly a footballer taking a part time job, providing that he is given time off in the day to train and, provided also he does not take a job that is too exhausting. Not hod carrying for instance!' He worked in the family wholesale green grocery business in Elizabeth Street, Blackpool.
After a number of Central League games in the early part of the 1952/53 season, he made his League debut at inside left against Charlton Athletic on 23 February 1953 when Blackpool lost 2-0. Then on 25 March 1953 as Cardiff City defeated Blackpool 1-0 he helped set a precedent as the local press reported, 'The Durie-Wright left wing is one of the first comprising two players out of Fylde football to be fielded by Blackpool in the First Division.'
He went on to score his first League goal in a 5-1 defeat by Middlesbrough on 11 April 1953 and a week later, returning to Central League action on 18 April, he scored three goals in a 4-0 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday reserves when 'Wright and Durie, Blackpool’s left wing played havoc with Wednesday’s defence, and even Lythgoe on the right appeared formidable.' He ended the season having played eight League games, scoring one goal, and 31 Central League games, scoring 10 goals and in the League he played five games in his accustomed inside left position, two games at outside left and one game at inside right. Not surprisingly at the close of the 1952/53 season he was regarded as one 'destined to win fame', along with Cyril Robinson, Billy Wright, Stanley Hepton and Ken Booth.
In the following two seasons he only made occasional first team appearances, mainly playing in the Central League side, and there was talk of him not being retained for the 1955/56 season but the part timer stayed on and made an immediate impression by starting the Central League season with five goals in seven games. He worked his way back into the League side and ended the season with 14 goals in 16 games as well as playing in one FA Cup tie and 22 Central League games, in which he scored 13 goals. He was regarded as having a 'somewhat awkward style to watch' - he was affectionately nicknamed 'Legs' because of his long gangling legs - but he was deemed 'a hard working, conscientious clubman and a difficult man to subdue.'
He scored his first League hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Everton on 22 August 1956 and his form was such that he was selected for a representative honour, playing for an FA XI against the RAF on 10 October 1956. Despite scoring four goals in that game he found himself only as travelling reserve for the following game against the Army on 7 November 1956. Then he was selected for England ‘B’ against Scotland ‘B’ at St Andrews on 6 February 1957 but he was obliged to miss the game through injury.
He scored his second League hat-trick of the 1956/57 season in a 4-3 win over Cardiff City on 9 March 1957 and he finished the season with 20 goals, second only to Mudie's 32, in 38 League games. He also scored two goals in four FA Cup ties.
He played for an FA XI against the RAF on 9 October 1957 and later that season, in his 100th League and Cup game for the club he scored his 50th goal after 61 minutes to put Blackpool 3-1 in front against Manchester City on 1 March 1958. Unfortunately Blackpool lost the game 4-3. In 33 League games in the 1957/58 season he scored 14 goals and he also played one FA Cup tie.
His weekly wage for the 1958/59 season was increased to £13 in the summer and £15 in the winter and this wage structure was to last through to the end of the 1960/61 season.
He added another string to his bow when against Leeds United on 15 November 1958 following a collision with Alan Shackleton, George Farm was carried off on a stretcher and David Durie had to take over in goal. In the final minute he 'pulled off a magnificent save when he fell to his right to punch out Shackleton’s shot' as the game was drawn 1-1 [The game was at Elland Road and having gone with my Dad, I remember the game and more particularly the save well!] He went on to play 38 League games, scoring nine goals, and six FA Cup ties, scoring two goals, in that 1958/59 season.
In the 1959/60 season he scored two hat tricks, the first against Burnley, who went on to become champions, in a 4 1 win at Turf Moor on 10 October 1959 and the second against Mansfield Town in the FA Cup third round tie on 9 January 1960. [I was fortunately at both games.] But later in the season manager Ron Suart moved him to left half and in his first game in that position he still managed to score one of Blackpool’s goals in a 4-2 victory over Leeds United on 5 March 1960. Then after a few games in the new position he said, 'I’m still very much an apprentice, as it were, and in each game I am learning new things. But I must say I have settled into the position much quicker than I expected.' He later added, 'I prefer to play in a position where I am enjoying my game and at present I am enjoying my game at left half.' That season he played 32 League games, scoring 10 goals, and three FA Cup ties, scoring three goals.
Thereafter he appeared mostly at left half, and he was so successful that his name was one of the first on the team sheet each week for the following three seasons. And in recognition of his performances his all-year-round weekly wage for the following two seasons was increased to a basic £15 with an extra £5 when he played in the first team. And he was regularly earning that maximum £20 per week for he played 36 League games, scoring six goals, and two League Cup ties, scoring one goal, in the 1960/61 season, 40 League games, scoring one goal, two FA Cup ties and eight League Cup ties in the 1961/62 season and 40 League games, scoring four goals, two FA Cup ties and three League Cup ties in the 1962/63 season.
He did on one further occasion demonstrate his goalkeeping skills as, after 10 minutes of the game against Leicester City on 10 March 1962 goalkeeper Tony Waiters was injured and had to leave the field. Durie took over in goal and, with Blackpool winning 2-1, he earned the headline in that night’s Green THIS WAS DAVE DURIE’S DAY Waiters hurt, deputy ‘keeper makes saves galore. The comment to support the headline was 'Dave Durie’s display as an emergency goalkeeper might have been unorthodox. It was certainly unconventional at times, but however you wish to describe it, his performance helped to lift this game out of the rut. There were times when he seemed to weave a good luck spell around his goal, but more often than not he displayed astonishing anticipation, confidence and agility, and some of his saves were straight out of the soccer textbook.'
By the 1963/64 season Bill Cranston was pressing for a first team place and Durie shared the duties with him until Cranston finally took over full time. So Durie played his final seven League games for Blackpool back in the forward line, at inside left, inside right and even at centre forward. And it was while replacing the injured Ray Charnley at centre forward that he played his 300th League game, when after 11 years’ sterling service as a part time professional, he returned to the side and scored a consolation goal in a 5 1 defeat by Chelsea on 26 December. And what turned out to be his final League game for the club was also against Chelsea in the return match on 28 December when Blackpool lost 1-0.
It was in a way ironic that his final games for the club should be over the Christmas period for Durie always exercised the privilege, contained in every professional footballer’s contract at the time, of not playing on Christmas Day and Good Friday. He said of his decision 'I have nothing against those who do play on those days. I think it’s a matter for the individual.' And he chose not to play.
In December 1963 he received arguably the ultimate accolade when club managers, players and the PFA voted David Durie as the best example of a player who had never been sent off, never been booked and never been guilty of any petty actions after over 300 League and Cup games. It certainly summed up the man, who was a gentleman through and through.
He played out the remainder of the 1963/64 season in the Central League side, captaining the side in his final game at Bloomfield Road on 25 April 1964 when, fittingly, he scored the goal, a penalty, in a 1 0 win over Burnley reserves. He played 12 League games, scoring three goals, two League Cup ties, scoring one goal, and 25 Central League games, scoring four goals, in that final 1963/64 season. And his Blackpool career had encompassed 301 League games, scoring 84 goals, 19 FA Cup ties, scoring seven goals, 15 League Cup ties, scoring two goals, and 130 Central League games, scoring 39 goals.
He retired when his contract expired at Bloomfield Road on 30 June 1964 and Blackpool manager Ronnie Suart commented, 'Dave feels that he hasn’t much future as far as our first team is concerned, but I can tell you we are sorry to see him retire. He has been a great servant to the club, a credit to us, both on and off the field. I hope we have many more like Dave Durie at Bloomfield Road.'
Having declined an offer to become player manager of Lancashire combination side Morecambe in February 1964 and commenting on his decision with 'The future, my future that is, is uncertain. We shall just have to wait on events' and not being interested in Oldham Athletic's interest in signing him as a part time professional, he signed a full time contract for former Blackpool team-mate Peter Hauser’s Chester in September 1964. Justifying his decision, he said that he couldn’t bear to be on the sidelines and commented, 'I just had to come back.' He went on to play 87 League games, make two substitute appearances and score four goals for Chester, finishing with the club in the 1966/67 season.
He later joined Fleetwood as player-coach under former team-mate Jimmy Kelly and he subsequently took charge of the club when Kelly emigrated to Australia. But, as player-manager, he broke his leg and that set him thinking. He later commented, 'It gave me time to take a long look at the game and I realised that managership wasn’t for me.' He left Fleetwood in October 1968 when the club hit a lean spell in the newly formed Northern Premier League; he commented briefly that he regarded the dismissal as 'unfair'. However he did continue his association with football for he spent some time from 1970 onwards on the coaching staff of the Lancashire Schools’ Football Association.
After retirement from the game altogether, he taught physical education and religious instruction at Palatine School, Blackpool, and he later became a driving instructor, running his own business until final retirement.
He continued to live in Blackpool and was always delighted to chat with fans about the club. And, reflecting on his Blackpool career in October 1976, he recalled, 'I never saw the inside of a football ground as a player until I was 21. If that happened now I would be considered too old. I didn’t make the first team until I was 23, having gone through the colts, ‘A’, ‘B’ and reserve teams. I have never been coached in my life. You didn’t get trained under the old regime. But I am an FA coach myself which helped me to get this job [teaching at Palatine School].' He described his coaching work as rewarding but frustrating and added, 'You coach lads and see them mature then they go up a year and you have to start all over again. It is like a football club manager having to sell all his players at the end of every season.' After his stint in management he went to college and remembering that he commented, 'I had always been sport-minded and I worked out that the ideal profession would be to teach sport, and qualify as an FA coach so I could combine teaching and football. I went to college for three years at Chorley and marked time until qualifying. For four years now I have been at Palatine. During that spell I realised the unfairness of soccer. It was insecure.' He continued, 'I was born within sight of the ground and I watch Blackpool quite often. It is nice to see them playing wingers. They must come back because they are the most effective means of attack when you have two good strikers.' As to the future he said, 'I am not very ambitious really. I have left it too late to get to the top in teaching. I am happy and that is the main thing. I am a keen churchgoer and get involved in that sort of thing, and I like walking our Labrador dog. Also, I’m paid to keep myself fit. I could have done better at school and it is important to strike a happy medium between lessons and sport. Not like me. I was putting my boots on under the desk waiting for the bell to go before a game. That was bad. I would cycle to and from Baines Grammar School and I would arrive home at all hours after matches. But how can you regret something that has given you enormous pleasure?' A fitting final comment from one of the games nicest men.
He died after a long illness on 30 August 2016.
August 4, 2016
A Combative and Skilful Midfield Player
Russell James Coughlin 1960-2016
Russell Coughlin was born in Swansea on 15 February 1960 and after playing junior football as a midfield player and representing the Welsh Schools side and Wales Youth he was spotted by Manchester City and signed for the club as an amateur in July 1976. It was during his time with City that he had his first flirtation with Blackpool Football Club when he played for City Youth against Blackpool Youth in an FA Youth Cup first round tie in November 1976. He turned professional with Manchester City in March 1978.
But despite his undoubted talent he was unable to break into the then strong City first team and he was transferred to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £40,000 in March 1979. It was at Rovers that he had his second flirtation with Blackpool for in a pre-season Anglo-Scottish Cup tie against the Seasiders that was drawn 2-2 on 1 August 1979 he was unfortunately sent off. During his time at Ewood Park he played 22 League games and made two substitute appearances and one League Cup tie plus making one substitute appearance in that competition.
He was on the move again in October 1980 when Rovers transferred him to Carlisle United for a fee of £20,000. He was a popular player at Carlisle, where he was later to settle, and he played 114 League games, made 16 substitute appearances and scored 13 goals for the club before moving on once again.
This time he joined Plymouth Argyle for a fee of £20,000 in July 1984. He played 128 League games, made three substitute appearances and scored 18 goals for Plymouth and won Third Division promotion honours with the club in the 1985/86 season. And then came his third, and most important, connection with Blackpool when Plymouth transferred him to the club in November 1987 for a fee of £75,000 after Blackpool manager Sam Ellis had taken a distinct liking to his style of play.
He made his League debut for Blackpool against Chesterfield on 12 December 1987 when the game was drawn 1-1 and in his fourth game he scored his first Blackpool goal in a 1-1 draw with Notts County on 28 December 1987. He went on to play 24 League games, scoring two goals, and four FA Cup ties in the 1987/88 season when Blackpool finished 10th in Division Three.
He was the first name on the team sheet the following season and he only missed three League games, and those through injury, playing 42 League games plus making one substitute appearance and scoring five goals when he often played out of position, partnering Andy Garner up front. He also played three FA Cup ties and five League Cup ties, scoring one goal, in that 1988/89 season when Blackpool declined to 19th position in Division Three.
Having played the opening three games of the 1989/90 season, it seemed that his time at Bloomfield Road was perhaps coming to an end and manager Jimmy Mullen loaned him to Shrewsbury Town in September 1990 and he played four League games and made one substitute appearance for the club. But he returned to Blackpool and with Mullen restoring him back to his favoured midfield position he ended up playing 33 League games plus making one substitute appearance and scoring one goal, six FA Cup ties and four League Cup ties in a disastrous season for the Seasiders as they were relegated to Division Four.
Mullen had resigned towards the end of the 1989/90 season and the new manager did not have him in his plans so, although he remained at the club for some months he did not return to first team action and was transferred to Swansea Town in October 1990. While at Blackpool he was considered 'a solid and creative midfielder' and he had played 99 League games, plus making two substitute appearances and scoring eight goals, 13 FA Cup ties and nine League Cup ties, scoring one goal, up to the time of his transfer.
He went on to play 99 League games, make two substitute appearances and score two goals for Swansea before, in July 1993, being transferred to Exeter City where he played 64 League games and made four substitute appearances. And then his final League club was also in the west country when he joined Torquay United to whom he was transferred in October 1995. He remained only one season, playing 22 League games and making three substitute appearances. By the time of his retirement from League football he had made over 600 first team appearances for his various clubs during his illustrious career.
He later had spells with non-league clubs Dorchester Town and Gretna Green before settling in Carlisle, where he continued to play football of the five-a-side variety.
Sadly he died at the wheel of his car following an accident in Carlisle on 3 August 2016. Tributes from all his clubs were fulsome and he will be sadly missed by family, friends and supporters.
Russell Coughlin was born in Swansea on 15 February 1960 and after playing junior football as a midfield player and representing the Welsh Schools side and Wales Youth he was spotted by Manchester City and signed for the club as an amateur in July 1976. It was during his time with City that he had his first flirtation with Blackpool Football Club when he played for City Youth against Blackpool Youth in an FA Youth Cup first round tie in November 1976. He turned professional with Manchester City in March 1978.
But despite his undoubted talent he was unable to break into the then strong City first team and he was transferred to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £40,000 in March 1979. It was at Rovers that he had his second flirtation with Blackpool for in a pre-season Anglo-Scottish Cup tie against the Seasiders that was drawn 2-2 on 1 August 1979 he was unfortunately sent off. During his time at Ewood Park he played 22 League games and made two substitute appearances and one League Cup tie plus making one substitute appearance in that competition.
He was on the move again in October 1980 when Rovers transferred him to Carlisle United for a fee of £20,000. He was a popular player at Carlisle, where he was later to settle, and he played 114 League games, made 16 substitute appearances and scored 13 goals for the club before moving on once again.
This time he joined Plymouth Argyle for a fee of £20,000 in July 1984. He played 128 League games, made three substitute appearances and scored 18 goals for Plymouth and won Third Division promotion honours with the club in the 1985/86 season. And then came his third, and most important, connection with Blackpool when Plymouth transferred him to the club in November 1987 for a fee of £75,000 after Blackpool manager Sam Ellis had taken a distinct liking to his style of play.
He made his League debut for Blackpool against Chesterfield on 12 December 1987 when the game was drawn 1-1 and in his fourth game he scored his first Blackpool goal in a 1-1 draw with Notts County on 28 December 1987. He went on to play 24 League games, scoring two goals, and four FA Cup ties in the 1987/88 season when Blackpool finished 10th in Division Three.
He was the first name on the team sheet the following season and he only missed three League games, and those through injury, playing 42 League games plus making one substitute appearance and scoring five goals when he often played out of position, partnering Andy Garner up front. He also played three FA Cup ties and five League Cup ties, scoring one goal, in that 1988/89 season when Blackpool declined to 19th position in Division Three.
Having played the opening three games of the 1989/90 season, it seemed that his time at Bloomfield Road was perhaps coming to an end and manager Jimmy Mullen loaned him to Shrewsbury Town in September 1990 and he played four League games and made one substitute appearance for the club. But he returned to Blackpool and with Mullen restoring him back to his favoured midfield position he ended up playing 33 League games plus making one substitute appearance and scoring one goal, six FA Cup ties and four League Cup ties in a disastrous season for the Seasiders as they were relegated to Division Four.
Mullen had resigned towards the end of the 1989/90 season and the new manager did not have him in his plans so, although he remained at the club for some months he did not return to first team action and was transferred to Swansea Town in October 1990. While at Blackpool he was considered 'a solid and creative midfielder' and he had played 99 League games, plus making two substitute appearances and scoring eight goals, 13 FA Cup ties and nine League Cup ties, scoring one goal, up to the time of his transfer.
He went on to play 99 League games, make two substitute appearances and score two goals for Swansea before, in July 1993, being transferred to Exeter City where he played 64 League games and made four substitute appearances. And then his final League club was also in the west country when he joined Torquay United to whom he was transferred in October 1995. He remained only one season, playing 22 League games and making three substitute appearances. By the time of his retirement from League football he had made over 600 first team appearances for his various clubs during his illustrious career.
He later had spells with non-league clubs Dorchester Town and Gretna Green before settling in Carlisle, where he continued to play football of the five-a-side variety.
Sadly he died at the wheel of his car following an accident in Carlisle on 3 August 2016. Tributes from all his clubs were fulsome and he will be sadly missed by family, friends and supporters.
