(Me playing football in the mid fifties)
I’m 64 now so I only watch football (soccer) on TV. I
must have learnt to play football in the school yard at Upper Wortley Junior
School, Leeds. Until 1963 we lived at “Ashley Road”, otherwise called “School
Street”. There is now a “Special Needs” Home where our terraced house once
stood. The caretaker kindly let us play in the yard even when the school was
closed.
I remember around 1960 when my talented footballer
cousin Jimmy Butters Junior brought his school team mates to play. I ran rings
round them, pretending I was Bobby Charlton! That was probably my best ever
footballing performance, though something of a flash in the pan.
We have a photograph of me playing football at a
caravan site near Flamborough Head. That was maybe the best pass I ever played.
I was about 5 years old.
I’ve just checked out the first professional football
match I ever attended (as far as I can recall). On the 24th April
1962, my Dad took me to watch Leeds United draw 0-0 with Bury in the old
Division Two. We were in what is now The Revie Stand (“Kop”) but then just a
massive black hill. My only recollection of the match was that Leeds hit the
post twice in the same attack!!!
The next match I remember was against Newcastle when I
went with my Swinnow Estate friend David Bray to watch Leeds win 3-0. We went
in the “Schoolboy Pen” and I have vivid images in my mind of a sea of waving
scarves appearing when we scored.
Just Googled that: it was on Saturday 30th April, 1966 in Division One. We were having a lovely sunny spell just then, with blue skies and a brown horizon. Watched a rather interesting England international towards the end of July on telly that year (in black and white)…
Just Googled that: it was on Saturday 30th April, 1966 in Division One. We were having a lovely sunny spell just then, with blue skies and a brown horizon. Watched a rather interesting England international towards the end of July on telly that year (in black and white)…
Around this time I started going on the bus to
Yorkshire Amateur AFC with trainer Alf Sennett, to help him put kit out etc.
That was a wonderful football education. In the autumn of 1966 “Ammers” lost
0-1 at Farsley Celtic in the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round. I feel
sure I was there: if not then, then some other cup match.
I also remember being told to sweep all the water off
of the goalmouth at Bracken Edge (the Ammers’ home ground) before an FA Cup
match. The damned drain didn’t work! One of the opposing players shouted, “Get
out of that lake, kid!” The referee came up and said, “If you can’t clear this
I’ll have to abandon the match!” Some people came to help me and we just swept
all the water behind the goal. The ref was satisfied. Phew!
WHEN exactly this was, I’m not sure. Ammers lost for certain.
Indeed they had poor league seasons (Yorkshire League Division Two) while I was
there. They sacked one manager. That FA Cup match might have been in 1964 when
they lost 0-1 to Bridlington Town. Or in 65 when they lost 2-4 to Hull
Brunswick.
An abiding memory for me was watching a film at The
Ammers Social Club of Real Madrid beating Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 in the 1960
European Cup Final. What an incredible display by Puskas and company! Ken Wolstenholme was commentator. Real
conceded first but led 6-1 at one point. The only match that might better that
is the World Cup Final of 1970: Brazil 4 Italy 1.
Late in the 1960s I left The Ammers completely to go
to Elland Road and watch just about every Leeds United home match. I was joined
by friends such as Margaret Briggs (later Tones), Michael “Joe” Rose, the late
Brian Hawkhead, Andrew Allen, John Gallagher and Paul Smith. We saw the great
Don Revie side at their glorious best.
In the autumn of 1973 Leeds usually
scored well within the first five minutes. They went on the win The League
magnificently (in spite of a stutter near the end). Manchester United were
relegated in that near-perfect season.
Leeds were Runners Up in the League FIVE times around
then. But that’s another story.
Before my mates turned up, however, my sister Joan came
with me! She was forever admiring the scarves and banners etc. instead of watching
the match. As we were leaving the ground once, she screamed that she’d lost her
shoe and her foot was getting trampled!
Suddenly some blokes picked her up and carried her outside onto the Gelderd Road pavement (as we’d gone in the East Stand that day). That was surprising enough, but then a lady handed us Joan’s shoe! It had been thrown onto car but then rescued by someone. (There must have been good communication amongst those supporters!).
Without wishing to namedrop, in the 1960s I played football with my cousin Martin Haresign. We used a tennis ball on the narrow path outside my parent’s house, 139 Swinnow Lane. Mum’s cat Sandy once came out of the garden and saved one of Martin’s shots! Martin always insisted that cat was the best out of the three of us. Lol.
I thrashed Martin at “Marble Football”, my own version of “Subbuteo”, 5-2 (from 0-2 down) and 7-0 on a good week. He must have learnt something: Martin became a semi-professional footballer and manager with Farsley Celtic and Harrogate Railway amongst others.
Suddenly some blokes picked her up and carried her outside onto the Gelderd Road pavement (as we’d gone in the East Stand that day). That was surprising enough, but then a lady handed us Joan’s shoe! It had been thrown onto car but then rescued by someone. (There must have been good communication amongst those supporters!).
Without wishing to namedrop, in the 1960s I played football with my cousin Martin Haresign. We used a tennis ball on the narrow path outside my parent’s house, 139 Swinnow Lane. Mum’s cat Sandy once came out of the garden and saved one of Martin’s shots! Martin always insisted that cat was the best out of the three of us. Lol.
I thrashed Martin at “Marble Football”, my own version of “Subbuteo”, 5-2 (from 0-2 down) and 7-0 on a good week. He must have learnt something: Martin became a semi-professional footballer and manager with Farsley Celtic and Harrogate Railway amongst others.
All these memories keep coming back to me…But hey,
that’s enough for now.
Let’s leave it at that.
Paul
Butters
©
PB 8\8\2016.
PS - Posted on Facebook 15\12\16 but will blog here too -
"Woke around 3AM so... Think I have only played 1 competitive football match: for Tapp and Toothill (Printers) in the Leeds Sunday League lower divisions (late 1960s - maybe 1970). We lost 1-2 but it should have been more! Recall attackers running at us and being difficult to tackle. The only other 11 a side match I remember was one arranged by school pal Joe Rose: we lost 0-6 but 2 brothers on the other side had a fight so they conceded victory to us!!!"
PS - Posted on Facebook 15\12\16 but will blog here too -
"Woke around 3AM so... Think I have only played 1 competitive football match: for Tapp and Toothill (Printers) in the Leeds Sunday League lower divisions (late 1960s - maybe 1970). We lost 1-2 but it should have been more! Recall attackers running at us and being difficult to tackle. The only other 11 a side match I remember was one arranged by school pal Joe Rose: we lost 0-6 but 2 brothers on the other side had a fight so they conceded victory to us!!!"
