Gerry Wolstenholme's Blog - Posts Tagged "association-football"
A Combative Midfield Player
William (Billy) Ronson 1957-2015
Billy Ronson was born in Fleetwood, where his father Percy was a record-breaking Fleetwood FC player, on 22 January 1957. After schoolboy football, Blackpool signed him as an apprentice professional on 14 August 1972. At the time he was a forward but later became a midfield player. He played only in the junior sides in the 1972/73 season before being signed as a full-time professional on 31 January 1974.
He made his senior debut for Blackpool as a 60th-minute substitute for Micky Walsh in the Lancashire Senior Cup second round tie against Bolton Wanderers on 12 February 1974 when he 'made a lively entry, giving the Blackpool attack more width but the finishing let the visitors down'. Blackpool lost the game 1-0. He also played in the final Central League game of the season against Nottingham Forest reserves on 29 April 1974 when Blackpool won with a Mickey Walsh goal.
Although only playing Central League football at the start of the
1974/75 season his form was good enough to attract attention and he was selected for training with the England Youth team at Lilleshall in September 1974 and again in October 1974.
He subsequently made his League debut for Blackpool against Nottingham Forest in a 0-0 draw on 29 March 1975, also played in a 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa on 19 April 1975 and he made two League appearances and 27 Central League appearances, scoring five goals, in the 1974/75 season. And to crown a fine season, he won the Blackpool Young Player of the Year award, the Harry Glossop Trophy.
He started the 1975/76 season at an unaccustomed centre forward position in the League side, appearing in a 0-0 draw with Fulham on 16 August 1975, but thereafter he was an infrequent member of the League side. His combative style caused Blackpool to suspended him for three games after he had been sent off in a reserve game against Leeds United on 20 March 1976. But, having missed three Central League games, fresh from his suspension, he played what was described as 'his best-yet senior game' in a 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion on 31 March 1976 although he 'spurned a couple of good chances by electing to pass square when a dip was in order'. However, up front, he was 'always a handful'. Unfortunately, The Football Association suspended him for three games starting on 1 April 1976 for the same sending offence against Leeds United reserves.
He returned to League action against York City on 19 April 1976 and he scored Blackpool’s equaliser three minutes from time in a 1-1 draw. His 'second League goal crowned a lively second half showing, despite the fact that he had found himself thrust into a strange midfield role'. The goal came after manager Harry Potts 'waved him to the right wing and Alan Ainscow back in midfield'.
And after a 1-0 victory over Sunderland on 20 April 1976 he earned the headlines RONSON LEADS CHAMPAGNE PARADE. Amplifying the headline the comment was 'Young Billy Ronson led the parade with a magnificent display of non-stop effort and skill, which marked his best game for the club. In only his second game back after suspension [sic], Ronson, who scored the equaliser at York, covered every inch of turf in a remarkably assured show of generalship. One minute he was back in defence cooling things down and mopping up anything loose. The next he was sweeping into the attack, prompting and probing. It was a shame he could not score to cap the performance.'
He played 17 League games plus making two substitute appearances, scoring two goals, one League Cup tie and 15 Central League games, scoring two goals, in the 1975/76 season.
He began the 1976/77 season in the pre-season Anglo-Scottish Cup ties and against Burnley on 11 August 1976 he 'had a fine match' and looked 'a more confident player' as he 'did well to keep ticking away in his first match after injury'. Blackpool won 2-1.
Having established himself as a combative midfield player he was rarely out of the side and after a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the League Cup on 21 September 1976 he earned the headlines RONSON’S DISPLAY ONE TO TREASURE and the supporting comment was 'But only Ronson was getting up regularly in support and I cannot praise his almost single-handed efforts too highly. It was his best game for Blackpool, and one he should treasure.'
In mid-December 1976 manager Allan Brown felt that Dave Tong and Billy Ronson could have been in the reckoning for England Under-21 honours and only Tong’s ankle injury and Ronson’s switch to midfield kept them out of Don Revie’s reckoning. Of Ronson he said, 'If Billy had still been on the wing he would have stood out. Forwards always take glory, but since Billy has moved into midfield he has done all the hard work, but it is seldom the workers who get noticed.'
He missed only one game that season, playing 41 League games, scoring four goals, two FA Cup ties, and four League Cup ties, scoring one goal.
The 1977/78 side saw him in and out of the League side and when substituted against Southampton on 17 December 1977 he was 'clearly upset' and went 'straight to the dressing room after looking angrily at manager Allan Brown' as Blackpool lost 1-0. Knowing that he was unsettled, he was a target for Aston Villa in December 1977 but he said that he would be content to stay at Blackpool provided he played in the first team. Brown commented, 'They want first team soccer and it is only natural that they are upset when they are dropped. But they must always remember that a manager cannot play for them. If they want to stay in the first team they have to fight to maintain their form. If they want a move they have to fight to impress prospective buyers. If they don’t put the effort and tight attitude into their play they will be dropped from the first team and have no chance of moving. It has always been a two-way process. And my experience shows that once a player is reinstated in the first team and he and the team are playing well everyone forgets he is transfer-listed. Really it is meaningless.'
Ronson didn't let the talk of a possible transfer affect his performances and the press comment was 'Ronson battled incessantly to keep Blackpool ticking over when it seemed to many fans that both sides had left the pitch a fortnight ago. He has played consistently well for the past four games' as Blackpool drew 2-2 with Notts County on 7 March 1978. And he finished the 1977/78 season having played 32 League games plus making two substitute appearances, scoring three goals, one FA Cup tie, two League Cup ties and two Central League games.
Along with Jimmy Weston, he missed the start of the 1978/79 season through having played football in the North American League during the summer and on 14 August 1978 manager Bob Stokoe commented. 'As far as we know they are involved in regional play-offs, which could take until the end of the month. We want them back as soon as possible.' In the event he was four weeks late in returning and then Blackpool had to rush clearance through so that he could play for the club.
On his return he said that he would not be keen to go back to America unless it was on a two-year contract. He commented, 'The only way to make it big out there is to sign up a lucrative two-year contract but I have ambitions in English football and I will see if I can fulfil them.' He added, 'The standard of football was remarkably high and they give you the four-star treatment but England is still tops for me.'
He returned to action in a second round League Cup tie against Ipswich Town on 30 August 1978 when his 'presence in midfield was decisive' as he 'buzzed around adding defensive solidity and accuracy in distribution to the department, inspiring his team-mates in counter attacks and directing things with composure and authority' as Blackpool won 2-0.
His consistently good performances were attracting scouts from other clubs and in mid-September 1978 a number of First and Second Division clubs were regularly watching him but Blackpool announced that they were not prepared to sell him. Even so, subsequently moves to Ipswich Town and Aston Villa fell through because neither club would meet Blackpool’s valuation of £150,000, a price tag made to put other clubs off signing him.
In a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in a third round League Cup tie on 4 October 1978 he 'did everything he does best, picking up well, using the ball nicely and controlling the midfield flow with a performance full of authority'. But by mid-November all was not well with manager Bob Stokoe saying that had he had a stronger squad Ronson would have been in the reserve team following some of his displays at the time. He felt that the player’s heart was not in Third Division football.
Stokoe commented, 'Billy thinks I should pat him on the back when I believe he should be criticised for aspects of his game. I am only trying to help the lad become a better player. Had Alan Waldron’s form and attitude been better he would have replaced Billy in the side. I have spoken to Billy about his future at Blackpool. If he wants First division football he has got to prove his ability. I don’t want to keep players who don’t want to play for the club but the current state of the squad means everyone must knuckle down. Billy plays his last game today [11 November 1978] before possibly a three week suspension [he had accumulated 20 penalty points and was to appear before a tribunal the following Tuesday]. If clubs come in for him and he is not prepared to stay and fight for us we will consider it in the appropriate light but I want him to stay and play well for us.'
Ipswich were then back interested in signing him, as were Wolverhampton Wanderers and Millwall. Stokoe spoke of his appearance before the FA hearing and said, 'I have tried my best to help Billy understand that he cannot take out his own personal frustrations by getting involved in incidents on the pitch. In view of some of the blatant offences he has committed to pick up the 20 penalty points I felt I could not defend his conduct.' Rosnon earned a two-match ban.
He knuckled down after the disappointment of suspension and hearing the transfer news and in January 1979 Stokoe commented, 'I am thrilled with Billy’s attitude. It must have been frustrating for him to undergo trials with Villa and Ipswich and then find that neither were prepared to pay what we wanted, but Billy’s first debt is to himself and the team and if he continues to play well he will get his reward.'
But Stokoe had to apologise publicly to Ronson on 21 February 1979 after the news that he had been placed on the transfer list on 19 February had been leaked to the national press before the player had been told. Stokoe commented, 'I am trying to get everyone pulling together and someone in the boardroom has let me and Billy down. Billy had to bind out about it when he picked up his daily paper and this is just not on.' Stokoe then explained that Ronson’s suspension was over the following Saturday and that he would play for the reserve team on the Monday after. He added, 'I have told Billy he will continue in the first team squad although I hope our midfield trio can prove they have the stuff to battle for points away as well as at home. I have not put a fee on Billy. I will try and get the best deal I can and I would prefer player exchanges. We were fined heavily by the FA last season and are already past 100 [penalty points] with 30 matches to go. The way Billy was going he’d get them on his own and the club cannot afford this problem of Billy niggling at referees.'
Scoring two goals in the League game against Chesterfield on 14 March 1979 earned him the headlines with Ronson Shines As Pool Glow. He 'got into good attacking positions and his finishing was clinical' as Blackpool won 3-1.
In late March 1979 there still had been no bids for Ronson from clubs in the First Division, where he wanted to play. He said that should no club bid for him he was happy to give 100% to the Blackpool cause and added, 'I am not upset that clubs have not come in. I’m happy to do my best for Blackpool as I promised I would.' He had bought a house in the area and was to be married in June and had recently appeared on television. Of that Stokoe commented, 'I let Billy go on television recently to state his case and he has had ample chance to say his piece. Now I want him to keep his mouth shut and let the future take care of itself. I have preached to all the players the need to build a team to have players who respect each other and enjoy playing together.'
The club served him with a two-week ban starting with the game against Bury on 7 April 1979 and he went on to miss four matches because on 14 April he received a two-match ban from the FA, but in effect he only missed one game through the suspension for his club ban did not finish until the first of his two games had passed. The FA suspension was his third of the season and encompassed seven matches as he was banned for reaching 20, 30 and then 40 penalty points. He had gathered 19 bookings in two seasons. He stated that he intended to keep out of trouble adding, 'I have not gone out looking for bother with referees, but I will obviously have to do something about it.'
Despite his disciplinary problems, he played 32 League games, scoring three goals, one FA Cup tie, three League Cup ties and two Central League games for Blackpool in the 1978/79 season. But it was to be his final season in the tangerine jersey.
Blackpool transferred him to Cardiff City for a fee of £135,000 on 14 July 1979 and he missed only one League game for Cardiff in his first season at the club and he won the Cardiff Supporters’ Club ‘Player of the Season’ award. He did even better in his second season for he was an ever-present, was deservedly made club captain and he once again won the ‘Player of the Season’ award.
He had played 90 League games and scored four goals for Cardiff City when he was transferred to Wrexham for a fee of £90,000 in October 1981. He played 31 League games plus making one substitute appearance, scoring one goal, four FA Cup ties and three Welsh Cup ties for Wrexham before he was transferred to Barnsley in August 1982 for a fee of £50,000.
Barnsley loaned him out to Birmingham City on 8 November 1985 and he played two League games for the Midlands club. Back at Barnsley, he went on to play 111 League games, make two substitute appearances and score three goals.
He re-joined Blackpool as a non-contract player on a month’s trial in January 1986 but he played only three League games and was not on the winning side in any of them. Blackpool drew 0-0 with Reading on 18 January 1986, and lost 1-0 to Derby County and similarly to Chesterfield on 1 and 4 February 1986.
The club released him after three League games in the 1985/86 season by which time he had played over 200 senior games for the club.
After being released by Blackpool he almost immediately jetted off to America after signing for Baltimore Blast on a two-year contract under ex-Fleetwood goalkeeper Kenny Cooper. He subsequently settled in the United States of America, where he died, aged just 58, on 8 April 2015.
Billy Ronson was born in Fleetwood, where his father Percy was a record-breaking Fleetwood FC player, on 22 January 1957. After schoolboy football, Blackpool signed him as an apprentice professional on 14 August 1972. At the time he was a forward but later became a midfield player. He played only in the junior sides in the 1972/73 season before being signed as a full-time professional on 31 January 1974.
He made his senior debut for Blackpool as a 60th-minute substitute for Micky Walsh in the Lancashire Senior Cup second round tie against Bolton Wanderers on 12 February 1974 when he 'made a lively entry, giving the Blackpool attack more width but the finishing let the visitors down'. Blackpool lost the game 1-0. He also played in the final Central League game of the season against Nottingham Forest reserves on 29 April 1974 when Blackpool won with a Mickey Walsh goal.
Although only playing Central League football at the start of the
1974/75 season his form was good enough to attract attention and he was selected for training with the England Youth team at Lilleshall in September 1974 and again in October 1974.
He subsequently made his League debut for Blackpool against Nottingham Forest in a 0-0 draw on 29 March 1975, also played in a 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa on 19 April 1975 and he made two League appearances and 27 Central League appearances, scoring five goals, in the 1974/75 season. And to crown a fine season, he won the Blackpool Young Player of the Year award, the Harry Glossop Trophy.
He started the 1975/76 season at an unaccustomed centre forward position in the League side, appearing in a 0-0 draw with Fulham on 16 August 1975, but thereafter he was an infrequent member of the League side. His combative style caused Blackpool to suspended him for three games after he had been sent off in a reserve game against Leeds United on 20 March 1976. But, having missed three Central League games, fresh from his suspension, he played what was described as 'his best-yet senior game' in a 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion on 31 March 1976 although he 'spurned a couple of good chances by electing to pass square when a dip was in order'. However, up front, he was 'always a handful'. Unfortunately, The Football Association suspended him for three games starting on 1 April 1976 for the same sending offence against Leeds United reserves.
He returned to League action against York City on 19 April 1976 and he scored Blackpool’s equaliser three minutes from time in a 1-1 draw. His 'second League goal crowned a lively second half showing, despite the fact that he had found himself thrust into a strange midfield role'. The goal came after manager Harry Potts 'waved him to the right wing and Alan Ainscow back in midfield'.
And after a 1-0 victory over Sunderland on 20 April 1976 he earned the headlines RONSON LEADS CHAMPAGNE PARADE. Amplifying the headline the comment was 'Young Billy Ronson led the parade with a magnificent display of non-stop effort and skill, which marked his best game for the club. In only his second game back after suspension [sic], Ronson, who scored the equaliser at York, covered every inch of turf in a remarkably assured show of generalship. One minute he was back in defence cooling things down and mopping up anything loose. The next he was sweeping into the attack, prompting and probing. It was a shame he could not score to cap the performance.'
He played 17 League games plus making two substitute appearances, scoring two goals, one League Cup tie and 15 Central League games, scoring two goals, in the 1975/76 season.
He began the 1976/77 season in the pre-season Anglo-Scottish Cup ties and against Burnley on 11 August 1976 he 'had a fine match' and looked 'a more confident player' as he 'did well to keep ticking away in his first match after injury'. Blackpool won 2-1.
Having established himself as a combative midfield player he was rarely out of the side and after a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the League Cup on 21 September 1976 he earned the headlines RONSON’S DISPLAY ONE TO TREASURE and the supporting comment was 'But only Ronson was getting up regularly in support and I cannot praise his almost single-handed efforts too highly. It was his best game for Blackpool, and one he should treasure.'
In mid-December 1976 manager Allan Brown felt that Dave Tong and Billy Ronson could have been in the reckoning for England Under-21 honours and only Tong’s ankle injury and Ronson’s switch to midfield kept them out of Don Revie’s reckoning. Of Ronson he said, 'If Billy had still been on the wing he would have stood out. Forwards always take glory, but since Billy has moved into midfield he has done all the hard work, but it is seldom the workers who get noticed.'
He missed only one game that season, playing 41 League games, scoring four goals, two FA Cup ties, and four League Cup ties, scoring one goal.
The 1977/78 side saw him in and out of the League side and when substituted against Southampton on 17 December 1977 he was 'clearly upset' and went 'straight to the dressing room after looking angrily at manager Allan Brown' as Blackpool lost 1-0. Knowing that he was unsettled, he was a target for Aston Villa in December 1977 but he said that he would be content to stay at Blackpool provided he played in the first team. Brown commented, 'They want first team soccer and it is only natural that they are upset when they are dropped. But they must always remember that a manager cannot play for them. If they want to stay in the first team they have to fight to maintain their form. If they want a move they have to fight to impress prospective buyers. If they don’t put the effort and tight attitude into their play they will be dropped from the first team and have no chance of moving. It has always been a two-way process. And my experience shows that once a player is reinstated in the first team and he and the team are playing well everyone forgets he is transfer-listed. Really it is meaningless.'
Ronson didn't let the talk of a possible transfer affect his performances and the press comment was 'Ronson battled incessantly to keep Blackpool ticking over when it seemed to many fans that both sides had left the pitch a fortnight ago. He has played consistently well for the past four games' as Blackpool drew 2-2 with Notts County on 7 March 1978. And he finished the 1977/78 season having played 32 League games plus making two substitute appearances, scoring three goals, one FA Cup tie, two League Cup ties and two Central League games.
Along with Jimmy Weston, he missed the start of the 1978/79 season through having played football in the North American League during the summer and on 14 August 1978 manager Bob Stokoe commented. 'As far as we know they are involved in regional play-offs, which could take until the end of the month. We want them back as soon as possible.' In the event he was four weeks late in returning and then Blackpool had to rush clearance through so that he could play for the club.
On his return he said that he would not be keen to go back to America unless it was on a two-year contract. He commented, 'The only way to make it big out there is to sign up a lucrative two-year contract but I have ambitions in English football and I will see if I can fulfil them.' He added, 'The standard of football was remarkably high and they give you the four-star treatment but England is still tops for me.'
He returned to action in a second round League Cup tie against Ipswich Town on 30 August 1978 when his 'presence in midfield was decisive' as he 'buzzed around adding defensive solidity and accuracy in distribution to the department, inspiring his team-mates in counter attacks and directing things with composure and authority' as Blackpool won 2-0.
His consistently good performances were attracting scouts from other clubs and in mid-September 1978 a number of First and Second Division clubs were regularly watching him but Blackpool announced that they were not prepared to sell him. Even so, subsequently moves to Ipswich Town and Aston Villa fell through because neither club would meet Blackpool’s valuation of £150,000, a price tag made to put other clubs off signing him.
In a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in a third round League Cup tie on 4 October 1978 he 'did everything he does best, picking up well, using the ball nicely and controlling the midfield flow with a performance full of authority'. But by mid-November all was not well with manager Bob Stokoe saying that had he had a stronger squad Ronson would have been in the reserve team following some of his displays at the time. He felt that the player’s heart was not in Third Division football.
Stokoe commented, 'Billy thinks I should pat him on the back when I believe he should be criticised for aspects of his game. I am only trying to help the lad become a better player. Had Alan Waldron’s form and attitude been better he would have replaced Billy in the side. I have spoken to Billy about his future at Blackpool. If he wants First division football he has got to prove his ability. I don’t want to keep players who don’t want to play for the club but the current state of the squad means everyone must knuckle down. Billy plays his last game today [11 November 1978] before possibly a three week suspension [he had accumulated 20 penalty points and was to appear before a tribunal the following Tuesday]. If clubs come in for him and he is not prepared to stay and fight for us we will consider it in the appropriate light but I want him to stay and play well for us.'
Ipswich were then back interested in signing him, as were Wolverhampton Wanderers and Millwall. Stokoe spoke of his appearance before the FA hearing and said, 'I have tried my best to help Billy understand that he cannot take out his own personal frustrations by getting involved in incidents on the pitch. In view of some of the blatant offences he has committed to pick up the 20 penalty points I felt I could not defend his conduct.' Rosnon earned a two-match ban.
He knuckled down after the disappointment of suspension and hearing the transfer news and in January 1979 Stokoe commented, 'I am thrilled with Billy’s attitude. It must have been frustrating for him to undergo trials with Villa and Ipswich and then find that neither were prepared to pay what we wanted, but Billy’s first debt is to himself and the team and if he continues to play well he will get his reward.'
But Stokoe had to apologise publicly to Ronson on 21 February 1979 after the news that he had been placed on the transfer list on 19 February had been leaked to the national press before the player had been told. Stokoe commented, 'I am trying to get everyone pulling together and someone in the boardroom has let me and Billy down. Billy had to bind out about it when he picked up his daily paper and this is just not on.' Stokoe then explained that Ronson’s suspension was over the following Saturday and that he would play for the reserve team on the Monday after. He added, 'I have told Billy he will continue in the first team squad although I hope our midfield trio can prove they have the stuff to battle for points away as well as at home. I have not put a fee on Billy. I will try and get the best deal I can and I would prefer player exchanges. We were fined heavily by the FA last season and are already past 100 [penalty points] with 30 matches to go. The way Billy was going he’d get them on his own and the club cannot afford this problem of Billy niggling at referees.'
Scoring two goals in the League game against Chesterfield on 14 March 1979 earned him the headlines with Ronson Shines As Pool Glow. He 'got into good attacking positions and his finishing was clinical' as Blackpool won 3-1.
In late March 1979 there still had been no bids for Ronson from clubs in the First Division, where he wanted to play. He said that should no club bid for him he was happy to give 100% to the Blackpool cause and added, 'I am not upset that clubs have not come in. I’m happy to do my best for Blackpool as I promised I would.' He had bought a house in the area and was to be married in June and had recently appeared on television. Of that Stokoe commented, 'I let Billy go on television recently to state his case and he has had ample chance to say his piece. Now I want him to keep his mouth shut and let the future take care of itself. I have preached to all the players the need to build a team to have players who respect each other and enjoy playing together.'
The club served him with a two-week ban starting with the game against Bury on 7 April 1979 and he went on to miss four matches because on 14 April he received a two-match ban from the FA, but in effect he only missed one game through the suspension for his club ban did not finish until the first of his two games had passed. The FA suspension was his third of the season and encompassed seven matches as he was banned for reaching 20, 30 and then 40 penalty points. He had gathered 19 bookings in two seasons. He stated that he intended to keep out of trouble adding, 'I have not gone out looking for bother with referees, but I will obviously have to do something about it.'
Despite his disciplinary problems, he played 32 League games, scoring three goals, one FA Cup tie, three League Cup ties and two Central League games for Blackpool in the 1978/79 season. But it was to be his final season in the tangerine jersey.
Blackpool transferred him to Cardiff City for a fee of £135,000 on 14 July 1979 and he missed only one League game for Cardiff in his first season at the club and he won the Cardiff Supporters’ Club ‘Player of the Season’ award. He did even better in his second season for he was an ever-present, was deservedly made club captain and he once again won the ‘Player of the Season’ award.
He had played 90 League games and scored four goals for Cardiff City when he was transferred to Wrexham for a fee of £90,000 in October 1981. He played 31 League games plus making one substitute appearance, scoring one goal, four FA Cup ties and three Welsh Cup ties for Wrexham before he was transferred to Barnsley in August 1982 for a fee of £50,000.
Barnsley loaned him out to Birmingham City on 8 November 1985 and he played two League games for the Midlands club. Back at Barnsley, he went on to play 111 League games, make two substitute appearances and score three goals.
He re-joined Blackpool as a non-contract player on a month’s trial in January 1986 but he played only three League games and was not on the winning side in any of them. Blackpool drew 0-0 with Reading on 18 January 1986, and lost 1-0 to Derby County and similarly to Chesterfield on 1 and 4 February 1986.
The club released him after three League games in the 1985/86 season by which time he had played over 200 senior games for the club.
After being released by Blackpool he almost immediately jetted off to America after signing for Baltimore Blast on a two-year contract under ex-Fleetwood goalkeeper Kenny Cooper. He subsequently settled in the United States of America, where he died, aged just 58, on 8 April 2015.
Promotion with Blackpool - A life-saver at Burnley!
Ian Britton was born in Dundee on 19 May 1954. He began his football career as a midfield player with Scottish junior club Hillside Rangers before being spotted by Chelsea for whom he initially signed as a 17-year-old apprentice before signing as a professional in July 1971. He went on to play 279 League and Cup games, make 10 substitute appearances and score 34 goals for Chelsea where he had a reputation for 'a willingness to run for 90 minutes'.
After leaving Chelsea he joined Dundee United in August 1982 and he was a member of the Dundee United squad that won the Scottish League title for the only time in the club's history in 1982/83. He played two games for Arbroath at the start of the 1983/84 season and was signed by Blackpool in November 1983 on a month’s trial from Dundee United, who held his registration.
He made a modest first appearance for Blackpool in the Central League side against Port Vale reserves on 8 November 1983 when Blackpool lost 4-1. Then
on 12 November 1983 he made his first League appearance for Blackpool as a 55th-minute substitute against Doncaster Rovers when he replaced Billy Rodaway in a 2-1 defeat. After another Central League appearance, he made his first Blackpool start in the FA Cup first round tie against Gainsborough Trinity on 19 November 1983 when Blackpool won 2-0. And then the following week he made his first League start for Blackpool against Hereford United on 26 November 1983 when Blackpool won 2-1.
He had impressed in his short time at the club and Blackpool were keen to sign him full-time with manager Sam Ellis commenting, 'Ian has intimated that he would like to stay with us. The exact terms and offer will be finalised on Monday [5 December 1983] and hopefully he’ll sign a contract with us.' Fortunately Dundee United were willing to let him go and Blackpool signed him permanently for 'a small fee' in early December 1983.
He scored his first goals for Blackpool, two of them, in a 5-0 defeat of Aldershot on 2 January 1984 and he finished his goalscoring for the season with a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory over Halifax Town on 7 May 1984. In total he scored nine goals in his 29 League games, plus one as substitute, and he also played in five FA Cup ties and three Central League games in the 1983/84 season.
He was a regular choice in the 1984/85 season and he was an ever-present in the Fourth Division promotion side, playing in all 46 League games, scoring five goals. He also played one FA Cup tie, four League Cup ties, scoring one goal, three Lancashire Cup ties, two Associate Members’ Cup ties, scoring one goal, and four friendly games.
He was regularly the star man in the team and when Blackpool defeated Southend United 1-0 on 23 February 1985, the Gazette reported, 'It was only right that Ian Britton should score the winner. His poise and purpose was a constant shaft of light through a fog of muddled play, He popped up in the 50th minute to thread a left-foot shot past the Southend goalkeeper after efforts by Alex Dyer and Paul Stewart were beaten out. Thanks to Britton's promptings, Blackpool at least carved out some decent second-half chances.'
He played the first four League games of the following season before losing his place in the side. But he returned on and off during the remainder of the season and in all he played in 25 League games, plus making four substitute appearances, scoring one goal, one FA Cup tie, two League Cup ties, two Lancashire Cup ties, plus making one substitute appearance, 11 Central League games and one pre-season friendly game in the 1985/86 season.
As the 1986/87 was about to begin, Blackpool made the decision to loan him to Burnley for a month in August 1986 and on 22 September 1986 the club gave permission for him to stay at Burnley for a second month’s loan.
He was later transferred to Burnley on a permanent basis after his Blackpool career had encompassed 100 League games, plus five substitute appearances, scoring 15 goals, seven FA Cup ties, plus one substitute appearance, scoring one goal, four League Cup ties, scoring one goal, 14 Central League appearances, two Associate Members Cup ties, scoring one goal, two Lancashire League Cup ties, plus making one substitute appearance, and five friendly games. In all of his games he always gave 100 per cent and although his goalscoring was relatively modest, his approach play created many goals for the club.
And it was at Burnley that he wrote his name large in the annals of the history of Burnley Football Club when, on the final day of the season, he scored the goal that preserved their League status on 9 May 1987. His 48th-minute headed goal saw Orient defeated 2-1 and Burnley remained in The Football League by a single point. He went on to play 102 League games, make six substitute appearances and score 10 goals for Burnley up to the 1988/89 season, after which the club released him.
He had a short spell managing non-league Nelson in the mid-1990s and thereafter he continued to play football, turning out on occasions for the Chelsea Old Boys side, appearing for the team as late as 2008.
He continued to live in East Lancashire where he was the manager of the Seedhill Athletics and Fitness Centre operated by Pendle Leisure Trust and he was a regular attendee at Burnley games, often as a guest of honour.
After a long illness with prostate cancer, he died on 31 March 2016. His funeral in Burnley was attended by his former Chelsea team-mates Ray Wilkins and Clive Walker, along with many other former players who wanted to pay their tributes to a player who had made over 500 appearances during his stellar career.
After leaving Chelsea he joined Dundee United in August 1982 and he was a member of the Dundee United squad that won the Scottish League title for the only time in the club's history in 1982/83. He played two games for Arbroath at the start of the 1983/84 season and was signed by Blackpool in November 1983 on a month’s trial from Dundee United, who held his registration.
He made a modest first appearance for Blackpool in the Central League side against Port Vale reserves on 8 November 1983 when Blackpool lost 4-1. Then
on 12 November 1983 he made his first League appearance for Blackpool as a 55th-minute substitute against Doncaster Rovers when he replaced Billy Rodaway in a 2-1 defeat. After another Central League appearance, he made his first Blackpool start in the FA Cup first round tie against Gainsborough Trinity on 19 November 1983 when Blackpool won 2-0. And then the following week he made his first League start for Blackpool against Hereford United on 26 November 1983 when Blackpool won 2-1.
He had impressed in his short time at the club and Blackpool were keen to sign him full-time with manager Sam Ellis commenting, 'Ian has intimated that he would like to stay with us. The exact terms and offer will be finalised on Monday [5 December 1983] and hopefully he’ll sign a contract with us.' Fortunately Dundee United were willing to let him go and Blackpool signed him permanently for 'a small fee' in early December 1983.
He scored his first goals for Blackpool, two of them, in a 5-0 defeat of Aldershot on 2 January 1984 and he finished his goalscoring for the season with a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory over Halifax Town on 7 May 1984. In total he scored nine goals in his 29 League games, plus one as substitute, and he also played in five FA Cup ties and three Central League games in the 1983/84 season.
He was a regular choice in the 1984/85 season and he was an ever-present in the Fourth Division promotion side, playing in all 46 League games, scoring five goals. He also played one FA Cup tie, four League Cup ties, scoring one goal, three Lancashire Cup ties, two Associate Members’ Cup ties, scoring one goal, and four friendly games.
He was regularly the star man in the team and when Blackpool defeated Southend United 1-0 on 23 February 1985, the Gazette reported, 'It was only right that Ian Britton should score the winner. His poise and purpose was a constant shaft of light through a fog of muddled play, He popped up in the 50th minute to thread a left-foot shot past the Southend goalkeeper after efforts by Alex Dyer and Paul Stewart were beaten out. Thanks to Britton's promptings, Blackpool at least carved out some decent second-half chances.'
He played the first four League games of the following season before losing his place in the side. But he returned on and off during the remainder of the season and in all he played in 25 League games, plus making four substitute appearances, scoring one goal, one FA Cup tie, two League Cup ties, two Lancashire Cup ties, plus making one substitute appearance, 11 Central League games and one pre-season friendly game in the 1985/86 season.
As the 1986/87 was about to begin, Blackpool made the decision to loan him to Burnley for a month in August 1986 and on 22 September 1986 the club gave permission for him to stay at Burnley for a second month’s loan.
He was later transferred to Burnley on a permanent basis after his Blackpool career had encompassed 100 League games, plus five substitute appearances, scoring 15 goals, seven FA Cup ties, plus one substitute appearance, scoring one goal, four League Cup ties, scoring one goal, 14 Central League appearances, two Associate Members Cup ties, scoring one goal, two Lancashire League Cup ties, plus making one substitute appearance, and five friendly games. In all of his games he always gave 100 per cent and although his goalscoring was relatively modest, his approach play created many goals for the club.
And it was at Burnley that he wrote his name large in the annals of the history of Burnley Football Club when, on the final day of the season, he scored the goal that preserved their League status on 9 May 1987. His 48th-minute headed goal saw Orient defeated 2-1 and Burnley remained in The Football League by a single point. He went on to play 102 League games, make six substitute appearances and score 10 goals for Burnley up to the 1988/89 season, after which the club released him.
He had a short spell managing non-league Nelson in the mid-1990s and thereafter he continued to play football, turning out on occasions for the Chelsea Old Boys side, appearing for the team as late as 2008.
He continued to live in East Lancashire where he was the manager of the Seedhill Athletics and Fitness Centre operated by Pendle Leisure Trust and he was a regular attendee at Burnley games, often as a guest of honour.
After a long illness with prostate cancer, he died on 31 March 2016. His funeral in Burnley was attended by his former Chelsea team-mates Ray Wilkins and Clive Walker, along with many other former players who wanted to pay their tributes to a player who had made over 500 appearances during his stellar career.
Local boy makes good
John William (Billy) Wright 1931-2020
Billy Wright was born in Blackpool on 4 March 1931. He played his junior football for Highfield Youth Club and then Oxford Amateurs in the Blackpool & District Amateur Football League. An outside left or outside right (winger) he was good enough to have been chosen for the Amateur League side against Stockport on Easter Saturday 1949. And that was when the directors at Blackpool Football Club noticed him and he was signed by the club as an amateur on 6 August 1949.
He made his debut at outside right for the Blackpool ‘B’ side against Bolton Wanderers ‘B’ on 22 October 1949 at the Co-operative Ground, Marton when Blackpool sealed a 4-0 victory. He scored one of his earliest goals for Blackpool in the Blackpool ‘B’ side’s 2-1 victory over Clitheroe early in the 1949/50 season when he was deemed to be 'more at home foraging rather than finishing'. 'Wright, Rogers and Terry were prominent' when Blackpool ‘A’ defeated Atherton Colliery 2-0 in the 1949/50 season and his form was such that he was selected for an under-18 years of age Lancashire League side to play a Northern Intermediate League XI at Oakwell.
Blackpool liked his progress enough to sign him as a part-time professional on 11 May 1950 with his terms to be £3 10s 0d [£3.50] per week from 11 May 1950 to 31 July 1951 plus an additional £2 10s 0d [£2.50] if and when he played in the Central League side. As a part-time player he retained his job outside football as an apprentice painter and decorator.
He began the 1950/51 season in good form, scoring one of the goals as Blackpool defeated Southport 2-0 in a Lancashire Mid-Week League fixture on 25 October 1950 when 'a right wing of Stanley Hepton and Billy Wright had class in it whenever it could escape the relentless tackling of the Southport defence'. Then, playing at centre forward, he 'led the Blackpool attack well with strong support from Whittaker' and the pair were 'dangerous forwards' as the Lancashire Mid-Week League side lost 2-1 to Preston North End and he 'had a good game' and scored twice as Blackpool 'B' defeated Marine 6-0. Even when the side lost 1-0 to Netherfield he was praised as the match report stated, 'Wright and Levy combined to give Netherfield some anxious moments'.
This success led to his Central League (reserve team) debut at outside right against Derby County reserves on 3 February 1951 when the game was drawn 0-0. And he scored his first senior goal for the club in his second Central League appearance, this time at outside left, in a 3-1 defeat by Manchester City reserves on 17 March 1951. In that 1950/51 season he played in six Central League games, scoring two goals. Then he made his European debut when he played his initial first team game, at outside right when Blackpool defeated Stade Rennais 3-0 at Bloomfield Road in a Festival of Britain Exhibition Game on 14 May 1951.
He then went on the club's close season tour of Switzerland and played in all three games, a 4-3 victory over Grasshoppers, a 4-0 victory over a Geneva-Zurich XI and a 0-2 defeat by a Basel-Zurich XI. This led to him being regarded as a young player to watch in August 1951 when he was spoken of as a product of Fylde school soccer who had 'deputised for Stan Matthews on the close season tour of Switzerland and impressed everyone'.
He was expected to make the Central League team in the 1951/52 season and Blackpool manager Joe Smith said, 'I cannot recall when the standard of junior football was so high' after watching 22 of his young apprentices in a trial game at Ballam Road, Lytham. Then in the Blackpool ‘B’ side’s first home game of the 1951/52 season he, Len Stephenson and Cyril Robinson had 'excellent games' as Rossendale United were beaten 3-1.
Injuries gave him an opportunity in the Central League side at inside left against Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves at Bloomfield Road on 8 September 1951 but Blackpool lost 2-0 to the reigning champions. In the second half he and Rex Adams switched wings and 'for a time the Blackpool forwards looked dangerous but there was still a tendency, particularly on the part of Ken Smith, to try an extra pass instead of a shot'.
Then, after scoring one of Blackpool’s goals in a very dramatic 4-3 Lancashire Senior Cup first round victory over Everton on 24 October 1951. This was followed when he earned the press comment 'Billy Wright confirmed in elusive flashes that one day he may be a great footballer' as Blackpool ‘B’ defeated Burnley ‘B’ 5-1.
A change of position followed as, due to a long injury list, he was moved to centre forward for the Central League side's 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 1 December 1951. And, when Stan Mortensen failed a fitness test, and the Blackpool injury list contained four centre forwards, he was told by Joe Smith, 'You’re playing for Blackpool against Spurs tomorrow at centre forward.'
He duly made his League debut at centre forward on a quagmire pitch against Tottenham Hotspur on 8 December 1951 when Blackpool won 1-0 and it was classed as 'a baptism by water'. Tottenham’s tough tackling centre half Harry Clarke was a difficult first opponent but the post-match verdict was 'On a day when criticism would be ungracious, Billy Wright disarmed it. He was not a lot in the game with the ball seldom being played down the centre for him to chase, and obviously he has not yet the resource to pit himself against a heavyweight defence. Yet he played football when he could, which was true of both teams, qualifying both of them for compliments.' And one national newspaper reported, 'Young Wright worked tirelessly and with considerable success to make a good impression in his first League game.'
He retained his place for the game against Chelsea on 15 December 1951 when once again he came up against a tough opponent in John Harris. And although 'young Wright wasted several headed chances', he scored Blackpool’s consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat when he forced the ball over the line with 'a mass of men packed and milling beneath the bar'. One of the national newspapers reported the goal thus, 'It was Wright who reduced Chelsea’s lead. He wandered back into the centre, took a pass from Perry, danced round Bathgate and scored on the run' and described him as 'a centre forward of promise'. Although, in fairness, Blackpool switched 'their two Billys, centre forward Wright and outside left Perry, in the second half ' and 'although neither player succeeded in mastering Chelsea’s John Harris, it was their joint effort which enabled Wright to reduce the arrears from a move started by Ernie Taylor'.
After the match, Blackpool chairman Harry Evans said of Wright's first two appearances, 'We’ve no regrets. This boy has football in him and when he’s stronger he’ll justify all our hopes. He has natural talent, is modest and willing to learn.'
But Mortensen was fit for the following game and he returned to the Central League side. However, due to injury to Stan Matthews and the illness of Matthews' understudy Albert Hobson’s wife, he returned to League action at outside right against Fulham on 8 March 1952 when Blackpool won 4-2 and he 'gave Lowe a troublesome time, and pleased by his ability to centre accurately and quickly'. One national newspaper reported, 'Every credit to Blackpool’s young right winger, Billy Wright, who was deputising for Matthews. Although he showed none of the maestro’s trickery, he was effective with his centres.'
His terms were amended by Blackpool on 29 March 1952 due to his beginning his national service. He was to receive £4 per match from 29 March to 3 May 1952 and £3 per week from 4 May to 30 June 1952. These terms were further amended on 4 July 1952 when he was to receive the standard £1 per week for players completing their national service from 5 July 1952 to 30 June 1953 plus an extra £5 per match from 1 August 1952 to 2 May 1953.
He returned to the League side at outside left against Stoke City on 12 April 1952 when 'The three players reintroduced into the side, Crosland, Stephenson and Billy Wright acquitted themselves well' as Blackpool won 3-2. Another critic wrote, 'Blackpool’s three reserves fitted well into the side. Their only fault was that they persisted in waiting for the ball to come to them.' And he retained the outside left spot against Arsenal on 14 April 1952 when Blackpool lost 4-1 in what was to be his final League game of a season in which he proved his versatility with five League appearances, two at centre forward, one at outside right and two at outside left, in which he scored one goal. He also played 18 Central League games in which he scored four goals.
At the end of that 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.'
National service interrupted his career in the 1952/53 season but he made his first League appearance of the season at outside right against Portsmouth on 20 December 1952 when Blackpool won 3-2. He kept his place for the two games against Manchester United on 25 and 26 December 1952 when Blackpool drew 0-0 at Bloomfield Road and lost 2-1 at Old Trafford. And, after a number of reserve games, he was back in League action replacing the injured Bill Perry at outside left against Cardiff City on 25 March 1953 when Blackpool lost 1-0. And a record of sorts was created for it was 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 played three Easter games at outside left against Derby County, twice, and West Bromwich Albion on 3, 4 and 6 April 1953 - yes, three games in four days! Blackpool beat Derby County 2-1, defeated West Bromwich Albion 2-0 and drew the return game with Derby County 1-1 and this gave him a total of seven League games and 15 Central League games, in which he scored three goals, in the 1952/53 season. And, along with Dave Durie, Cyril Robinson, Stanley Hepton and Ken Booth, he was regarded as one 'destined to win fame' at the close of the season.
During the 1952/53 season he also played for RAF North Coates in the Lincolnshire Services’ Association Football League Division One and he appeared for them in the Cusworth Senior Football Challenge Cup Final against Spilsby.
As a player on national service in the 1953/54 season he was paid the standard £1 per week in accordance with Football Association Regulation No 31 from 1 July 1953 to 30 June 1954. He was also to receive £5 per match from 1 August 1953 to 1 May 1954.
National service once again restricted his 1953/54 season as he played in only eight Central League games for Blackpool. But an amusing story did come out of the season. Having completed his National Service with the RAF on 19 March 1954, Blackburn Rovers player Bryan Douglas told a story at Jimmy Armfield’s 70th birthday celebration on 23 September 2005 of travelling home with Billy. He laughingly related, 'Billy obviously had money for when we arrived at Manchester, too late to travel to Blackpool and Blackburn, we stayed overnight. He booked in at the Piccadilly Hotel while I had to stay in a dormitory at the YMCA, sharing the room with three strangers! He never invited me to share his room at the Hotel!'
His terms for the 1954/55 season were £8 per week from 6 July to 31 July 1954, £10 per week from 1 August 1954 to 7 May 1955 plus an extra £5 per match when playing in the first team.
He appeared mostly in the Central League side in the 1954/55 season and it was not until 12 February 1955 that he was re-introduced into the League side at outside left in place of the injured Bill Perry for the game against Tottenham Hotspur. And he scored one of Blackpool’s goals in a 3-2 defeat. His consolation goal came in the 89th minute when 'Matthews centred, and when Hepton shot, Reynolds juggled with the ball on the ground, Wright nipped in and pushed the ball between the goalkeeper’s legs into the net.'
He kept his place for two further games until Perry returned, appearing in a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on 19 February 1955, incredibly Blackpool’s first home victory since 6 November 1954, and a 3-1 defeat by Preston North End on 26 February 1955 before Perry returned from injury. In the game against Sheffield Wednesday 'the left wing was in the game only in a few forays by Wright' and in the second against Preston, which turned out to be his last for Blackpool, he very nearly scored when 'Matthews swung the ball cunningly across the goalmouth, and Wright, racing in, slid forward and got his foot to it near the left-hand post. It seemed a certain goal, but the ball either rebounded clear off the base of the post or was scrambled away by Wilson, who had been challenging Wright.'
He played in three League games, scoring one goal, and 17 Central League games, scoring four goals, in that final season at Bloomfield Road. His five-year Blackpool career had encompassed 15 League games in which he scored two goals and 64 Central League games in which he scored 13 goals.
Although for the 1955/56 season he was offered terms, which were £8 per week from 1 July to 31 July 1955, £10 per week from 1 August 1955 to 5 May 1956 and £8 per week from 6 May 1956 to 30 June 1956 plus £5 per week extra when playing in the first team, he was transferred to Leicester City on 12 August 1955.
He went on to play 27 League games and score 10 goals for Leicester City before he was transferred to Newcastle United in July 1958 for a fee of £7,500. He was to earn £14 per week from 1 to 31 July 1958, £17 per week from 1 August 1958 to 2 May 1959 and £14 per week from 3 May to 30 June 1959. Ironically he made his League debut for Newcastle United against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on 25 August 1958 when his side lost 3-0 but, although classed as 'a direct winger' while at St James’s Park, unfortunately injury blighted his time there and he was said to be 'too often on the treatment table'. As a consequence he played only five League games, scoring three goals, for the club.
Newcastle transferred him to Plymouth Argyle for a fee of £5,150 in August 1959 and he played 42 League games and scored nine goals for the club. He did contemplate a move to Hull City in August 1961 and he even featured for the club in the 1961/62 pre-season. Ultimately he decided that the move was not for him and he joined his final club, Millwall, in August 1961. He played 15 League games for Millwall in the single season that he was there.
He ended his football career in non-league football, firstly with Southern League Tonbridge, a club that he joined in the close season of 1962, and then with Southern League Bexley United before he retired from the game at the age of 35. He later worked as a games coach, a teacher and a self-employed gardener before he finally retired at the age of 70.
Latterly he lived in Blackheath, London, in retirement but he regularly visited the Fylde to see his sister at Singleton. He was a lovely man who it was always a delight to meet up with when he was on the Fylde Coast and attending games at Bloomfield Road.
He died on 17 April 2020; rest in peace Billy Wright.
Billy Wright was born in Blackpool on 4 March 1931. He played his junior football for Highfield Youth Club and then Oxford Amateurs in the Blackpool & District Amateur Football League. An outside left or outside right (winger) he was good enough to have been chosen for the Amateur League side against Stockport on Easter Saturday 1949. And that was when the directors at Blackpool Football Club noticed him and he was signed by the club as an amateur on 6 August 1949.
He made his debut at outside right for the Blackpool ‘B’ side against Bolton Wanderers ‘B’ on 22 October 1949 at the Co-operative Ground, Marton when Blackpool sealed a 4-0 victory. He scored one of his earliest goals for Blackpool in the Blackpool ‘B’ side’s 2-1 victory over Clitheroe early in the 1949/50 season when he was deemed to be 'more at home foraging rather than finishing'. 'Wright, Rogers and Terry were prominent' when Blackpool ‘A’ defeated Atherton Colliery 2-0 in the 1949/50 season and his form was such that he was selected for an under-18 years of age Lancashire League side to play a Northern Intermediate League XI at Oakwell.
Blackpool liked his progress enough to sign him as a part-time professional on 11 May 1950 with his terms to be £3 10s 0d [£3.50] per week from 11 May 1950 to 31 July 1951 plus an additional £2 10s 0d [£2.50] if and when he played in the Central League side. As a part-time player he retained his job outside football as an apprentice painter and decorator.
He began the 1950/51 season in good form, scoring one of the goals as Blackpool defeated Southport 2-0 in a Lancashire Mid-Week League fixture on 25 October 1950 when 'a right wing of Stanley Hepton and Billy Wright had class in it whenever it could escape the relentless tackling of the Southport defence'. Then, playing at centre forward, he 'led the Blackpool attack well with strong support from Whittaker' and the pair were 'dangerous forwards' as the Lancashire Mid-Week League side lost 2-1 to Preston North End and he 'had a good game' and scored twice as Blackpool 'B' defeated Marine 6-0. Even when the side lost 1-0 to Netherfield he was praised as the match report stated, 'Wright and Levy combined to give Netherfield some anxious moments'.
This success led to his Central League (reserve team) debut at outside right against Derby County reserves on 3 February 1951 when the game was drawn 0-0. And he scored his first senior goal for the club in his second Central League appearance, this time at outside left, in a 3-1 defeat by Manchester City reserves on 17 March 1951. In that 1950/51 season he played in six Central League games, scoring two goals. Then he made his European debut when he played his initial first team game, at outside right when Blackpool defeated Stade Rennais 3-0 at Bloomfield Road in a Festival of Britain Exhibition Game on 14 May 1951.
He then went on the club's close season tour of Switzerland and played in all three games, a 4-3 victory over Grasshoppers, a 4-0 victory over a Geneva-Zurich XI and a 0-2 defeat by a Basel-Zurich XI. This led to him being regarded as a young player to watch in August 1951 when he was spoken of as a product of Fylde school soccer who had 'deputised for Stan Matthews on the close season tour of Switzerland and impressed everyone'.
He was expected to make the Central League team in the 1951/52 season and Blackpool manager Joe Smith said, 'I cannot recall when the standard of junior football was so high' after watching 22 of his young apprentices in a trial game at Ballam Road, Lytham. Then in the Blackpool ‘B’ side’s first home game of the 1951/52 season he, Len Stephenson and Cyril Robinson had 'excellent games' as Rossendale United were beaten 3-1.
Injuries gave him an opportunity in the Central League side at inside left against Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves at Bloomfield Road on 8 September 1951 but Blackpool lost 2-0 to the reigning champions. In the second half he and Rex Adams switched wings and 'for a time the Blackpool forwards looked dangerous but there was still a tendency, particularly on the part of Ken Smith, to try an extra pass instead of a shot'.
Then, after scoring one of Blackpool’s goals in a very dramatic 4-3 Lancashire Senior Cup first round victory over Everton on 24 October 1951. This was followed when he earned the press comment 'Billy Wright confirmed in elusive flashes that one day he may be a great footballer' as Blackpool ‘B’ defeated Burnley ‘B’ 5-1.
A change of position followed as, due to a long injury list, he was moved to centre forward for the Central League side's 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 1 December 1951. And, when Stan Mortensen failed a fitness test, and the Blackpool injury list contained four centre forwards, he was told by Joe Smith, 'You’re playing for Blackpool against Spurs tomorrow at centre forward.'
He duly made his League debut at centre forward on a quagmire pitch against Tottenham Hotspur on 8 December 1951 when Blackpool won 1-0 and it was classed as 'a baptism by water'. Tottenham’s tough tackling centre half Harry Clarke was a difficult first opponent but the post-match verdict was 'On a day when criticism would be ungracious, Billy Wright disarmed it. He was not a lot in the game with the ball seldom being played down the centre for him to chase, and obviously he has not yet the resource to pit himself against a heavyweight defence. Yet he played football when he could, which was true of both teams, qualifying both of them for compliments.' And one national newspaper reported, 'Young Wright worked tirelessly and with considerable success to make a good impression in his first League game.'
He retained his place for the game against Chelsea on 15 December 1951 when once again he came up against a tough opponent in John Harris. And although 'young Wright wasted several headed chances', he scored Blackpool’s consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat when he forced the ball over the line with 'a mass of men packed and milling beneath the bar'. One of the national newspapers reported the goal thus, 'It was Wright who reduced Chelsea’s lead. He wandered back into the centre, took a pass from Perry, danced round Bathgate and scored on the run' and described him as 'a centre forward of promise'. Although, in fairness, Blackpool switched 'their two Billys, centre forward Wright and outside left Perry, in the second half ' and 'although neither player succeeded in mastering Chelsea’s John Harris, it was their joint effort which enabled Wright to reduce the arrears from a move started by Ernie Taylor'.
After the match, Blackpool chairman Harry Evans said of Wright's first two appearances, 'We’ve no regrets. This boy has football in him and when he’s stronger he’ll justify all our hopes. He has natural talent, is modest and willing to learn.'
But Mortensen was fit for the following game and he returned to the Central League side. However, due to injury to Stan Matthews and the illness of Matthews' understudy Albert Hobson’s wife, he returned to League action at outside right against Fulham on 8 March 1952 when Blackpool won 4-2 and he 'gave Lowe a troublesome time, and pleased by his ability to centre accurately and quickly'. One national newspaper reported, 'Every credit to Blackpool’s young right winger, Billy Wright, who was deputising for Matthews. Although he showed none of the maestro’s trickery, he was effective with his centres.'
His terms were amended by Blackpool on 29 March 1952 due to his beginning his national service. He was to receive £4 per match from 29 March to 3 May 1952 and £3 per week from 4 May to 30 June 1952. These terms were further amended on 4 July 1952 when he was to receive the standard £1 per week for players completing their national service from 5 July 1952 to 30 June 1953 plus an extra £5 per match from 1 August 1952 to 2 May 1953.
He returned to the League side at outside left against Stoke City on 12 April 1952 when 'The three players reintroduced into the side, Crosland, Stephenson and Billy Wright acquitted themselves well' as Blackpool won 3-2. Another critic wrote, 'Blackpool’s three reserves fitted well into the side. Their only fault was that they persisted in waiting for the ball to come to them.' And he retained the outside left spot against Arsenal on 14 April 1952 when Blackpool lost 4-1 in what was to be his final League game of a season in which he proved his versatility with five League appearances, two at centre forward, one at outside right and two at outside left, in which he scored one goal. He also played 18 Central League games in which he scored four goals.
At the end of that 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.'
National service interrupted his career in the 1952/53 season but he made his first League appearance of the season at outside right against Portsmouth on 20 December 1952 when Blackpool won 3-2. He kept his place for the two games against Manchester United on 25 and 26 December 1952 when Blackpool drew 0-0 at Bloomfield Road and lost 2-1 at Old Trafford. And, after a number of reserve games, he was back in League action replacing the injured Bill Perry at outside left against Cardiff City on 25 March 1953 when Blackpool lost 1-0. And a record of sorts was created for it was 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 played three Easter games at outside left against Derby County, twice, and West Bromwich Albion on 3, 4 and 6 April 1953 - yes, three games in four days! Blackpool beat Derby County 2-1, defeated West Bromwich Albion 2-0 and drew the return game with Derby County 1-1 and this gave him a total of seven League games and 15 Central League games, in which he scored three goals, in the 1952/53 season. And, along with Dave Durie, Cyril Robinson, Stanley Hepton and Ken Booth, he was regarded as one 'destined to win fame' at the close of the season.
During the 1952/53 season he also played for RAF North Coates in the Lincolnshire Services’ Association Football League Division One and he appeared for them in the Cusworth Senior Football Challenge Cup Final against Spilsby.
As a player on national service in the 1953/54 season he was paid the standard £1 per week in accordance with Football Association Regulation No 31 from 1 July 1953 to 30 June 1954. He was also to receive £5 per match from 1 August 1953 to 1 May 1954.
National service once again restricted his 1953/54 season as he played in only eight Central League games for Blackpool. But an amusing story did come out of the season. Having completed his National Service with the RAF on 19 March 1954, Blackburn Rovers player Bryan Douglas told a story at Jimmy Armfield’s 70th birthday celebration on 23 September 2005 of travelling home with Billy. He laughingly related, 'Billy obviously had money for when we arrived at Manchester, too late to travel to Blackpool and Blackburn, we stayed overnight. He booked in at the Piccadilly Hotel while I had to stay in a dormitory at the YMCA, sharing the room with three strangers! He never invited me to share his room at the Hotel!'
His terms for the 1954/55 season were £8 per week from 6 July to 31 July 1954, £10 per week from 1 August 1954 to 7 May 1955 plus an extra £5 per match when playing in the first team.
He appeared mostly in the Central League side in the 1954/55 season and it was not until 12 February 1955 that he was re-introduced into the League side at outside left in place of the injured Bill Perry for the game against Tottenham Hotspur. And he scored one of Blackpool’s goals in a 3-2 defeat. His consolation goal came in the 89th minute when 'Matthews centred, and when Hepton shot, Reynolds juggled with the ball on the ground, Wright nipped in and pushed the ball between the goalkeeper’s legs into the net.'
He kept his place for two further games until Perry returned, appearing in a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on 19 February 1955, incredibly Blackpool’s first home victory since 6 November 1954, and a 3-1 defeat by Preston North End on 26 February 1955 before Perry returned from injury. In the game against Sheffield Wednesday 'the left wing was in the game only in a few forays by Wright' and in the second against Preston, which turned out to be his last for Blackpool, he very nearly scored when 'Matthews swung the ball cunningly across the goalmouth, and Wright, racing in, slid forward and got his foot to it near the left-hand post. It seemed a certain goal, but the ball either rebounded clear off the base of the post or was scrambled away by Wilson, who had been challenging Wright.'
He played in three League games, scoring one goal, and 17 Central League games, scoring four goals, in that final season at Bloomfield Road. His five-year Blackpool career had encompassed 15 League games in which he scored two goals and 64 Central League games in which he scored 13 goals.
Although for the 1955/56 season he was offered terms, which were £8 per week from 1 July to 31 July 1955, £10 per week from 1 August 1955 to 5 May 1956 and £8 per week from 6 May 1956 to 30 June 1956 plus £5 per week extra when playing in the first team, he was transferred to Leicester City on 12 August 1955.
He went on to play 27 League games and score 10 goals for Leicester City before he was transferred to Newcastle United in July 1958 for a fee of £7,500. He was to earn £14 per week from 1 to 31 July 1958, £17 per week from 1 August 1958 to 2 May 1959 and £14 per week from 3 May to 30 June 1959. Ironically he made his League debut for Newcastle United against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on 25 August 1958 when his side lost 3-0 but, although classed as 'a direct winger' while at St James’s Park, unfortunately injury blighted his time there and he was said to be 'too often on the treatment table'. As a consequence he played only five League games, scoring three goals, for the club.
Newcastle transferred him to Plymouth Argyle for a fee of £5,150 in August 1959 and he played 42 League games and scored nine goals for the club. He did contemplate a move to Hull City in August 1961 and he even featured for the club in the 1961/62 pre-season. Ultimately he decided that the move was not for him and he joined his final club, Millwall, in August 1961. He played 15 League games for Millwall in the single season that he was there.
He ended his football career in non-league football, firstly with Southern League Tonbridge, a club that he joined in the close season of 1962, and then with Southern League Bexley United before he retired from the game at the age of 35. He later worked as a games coach, a teacher and a self-employed gardener before he finally retired at the age of 70.
Latterly he lived in Blackheath, London, in retirement but he regularly visited the Fylde to see his sister at Singleton. He was a lovely man who it was always a delight to meet up with when he was on the Fylde Coast and attending games at Bloomfield Road.
He died on 17 April 2020; rest in peace Billy Wright.
A Northern Ireland Schoolboy International
Samuel Edward (Sammy) Nelson 1924 -2019
Sammy Nelson was born in Belfast on 26 May 1924. Having been a Northern Ireland Schoolboy international, he joined Linfield Swifts for the 1943/44 season as an outside right. With their then strong scouting system Blackpool were alerted to his talent and the club signed him as an amateur in September 1946.
He made his Blackpool debut for the Central League (reserve) side against Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves on 21 September 1946 when Blackpool lost 3 1.By October of 1946 his consistently good displays for the reserve side led to the comment that he 'may be the outside right Blackpool have been hunting for a season and a quarter'. This, of course, was unfortunately not to be the case when Blackpool made their next outside right signing.
He became a regular in the Central League side and scored his first goal for the club in a 4-0 defeat of Leeds United reserves on 2 November 1946.
Injury to Alec Munro gave him his League debut against Blackburn Rovers on 26 December 1946 when Blackpool won 1-0. He went on to play 10 successive games in the outside right position, with Munro, when fit again, moving to inside right.
He ‘played well’ as Blackpool defeated Preston North End 4-0 on 15 February 1947 but, after two successive defeats, 3-0 by Manchester United and 1-0 by Bolton Wanderers on 22 February and 1 March respectively, he was left out of the side while Munro returned to outside right. He returned to Central League action the following week and scored twice in Blackpool’s 11-0 thrashing of Leeds United reserves.
But he did return for one final League game in the 1946/47 season, a 3-2 victory at Grimsby Town on 22 March 1947. He had played 11 games in the First Division in the 1946/47 season and he also played 23 Central League games, scoring five goals.
His Blackpool career was seriously affected when the club signed Stanley Matthews for the 1947/48 season and, consequently, his first team appearances were restricted and, as with so many others later, he played in the League side only as understudy to Matthews.
He missed the opening two games of the 1947/48 season but returned to action, at inside right, in a 2-1 victory over Bury reserves on 30 August 1947. Thereafter he was a regular member of the Central League side until earning a recall to League action.
His first League appearance of the season came against Portsmouth on 18 October 1947 when Matthews was on international duty; Blackpool won the game 1-0. A niggling injury to Matthews gave him two further opportunities when he played in a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United and a 4-0 defeat by Middlesbrough on 15 and 22 November respectively. The latter game was his final League game for Blackpool as Matthews returned to the side.
His final game for the club was in a 2-1 defeat by Bury reserves on 3 January 1948. In addition to the three League games, he played 19 Central League games in which he scored two goals in the 1947/48 season.
Late in 1947 he left his job in Preston, where he worked as a draughtsman, and moved to London to continue his career. Not surprisingly he found travelling back to Blackpool for football rather difficult and he therefore requested a transfer.
Luton Town had been spoken of as being interested in signing him. And the Blackpool directors had sympathy with his situation and he was duly transferred to Luton Town on 9 January 1948. He had played 14 League games and 41 Central League games, scoring seven goals, for Blackpool in his season and a half at Bloomfield Road.
He played four League games, scoring one goal, in the 1947/48 season for Luton Town before retiring to concentrate on his career outside the game.
He died on 15 April 2019.
Sammy Nelson was born in Belfast on 26 May 1924. Having been a Northern Ireland Schoolboy international, he joined Linfield Swifts for the 1943/44 season as an outside right. With their then strong scouting system Blackpool were alerted to his talent and the club signed him as an amateur in September 1946.
He made his Blackpool debut for the Central League (reserve) side against Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves on 21 September 1946 when Blackpool lost 3 1.By October of 1946 his consistently good displays for the reserve side led to the comment that he 'may be the outside right Blackpool have been hunting for a season and a quarter'. This, of course, was unfortunately not to be the case when Blackpool made their next outside right signing.
He became a regular in the Central League side and scored his first goal for the club in a 4-0 defeat of Leeds United reserves on 2 November 1946.
Injury to Alec Munro gave him his League debut against Blackburn Rovers on 26 December 1946 when Blackpool won 1-0. He went on to play 10 successive games in the outside right position, with Munro, when fit again, moving to inside right.
He ‘played well’ as Blackpool defeated Preston North End 4-0 on 15 February 1947 but, after two successive defeats, 3-0 by Manchester United and 1-0 by Bolton Wanderers on 22 February and 1 March respectively, he was left out of the side while Munro returned to outside right. He returned to Central League action the following week and scored twice in Blackpool’s 11-0 thrashing of Leeds United reserves.
But he did return for one final League game in the 1946/47 season, a 3-2 victory at Grimsby Town on 22 March 1947. He had played 11 games in the First Division in the 1946/47 season and he also played 23 Central League games, scoring five goals.
His Blackpool career was seriously affected when the club signed Stanley Matthews for the 1947/48 season and, consequently, his first team appearances were restricted and, as with so many others later, he played in the League side only as understudy to Matthews.
He missed the opening two games of the 1947/48 season but returned to action, at inside right, in a 2-1 victory over Bury reserves on 30 August 1947. Thereafter he was a regular member of the Central League side until earning a recall to League action.
His first League appearance of the season came against Portsmouth on 18 October 1947 when Matthews was on international duty; Blackpool won the game 1-0. A niggling injury to Matthews gave him two further opportunities when he played in a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United and a 4-0 defeat by Middlesbrough on 15 and 22 November respectively. The latter game was his final League game for Blackpool as Matthews returned to the side.
His final game for the club was in a 2-1 defeat by Bury reserves on 3 January 1948. In addition to the three League games, he played 19 Central League games in which he scored two goals in the 1947/48 season.
Late in 1947 he left his job in Preston, where he worked as a draughtsman, and moved to London to continue his career. Not surprisingly he found travelling back to Blackpool for football rather difficult and he therefore requested a transfer.
Luton Town had been spoken of as being interested in signing him. And the Blackpool directors had sympathy with his situation and he was duly transferred to Luton Town on 9 January 1948. He had played 14 League games and 41 Central League games, scoring seven goals, for Blackpool in his season and a half at Bloomfield Road.
He played four League games, scoring one goal, in the 1947/48 season for Luton Town before retiring to concentrate on his career outside the game.
He died on 15 April 2019.
An Anglo-Italian Cup Winner
William (Willie) McGrotty 1952-2020
Willie McGrotty was born in Glasgow on 12 August 1952. After junior football as a forward he joined Scottish junior club Yoker Athletic. With a strong Scottish scouting system in place Blackpool spotted his potential and he was signed by the club as an apprentice professional for a fee of £400 on 22 June 1970. Interestingly, he was the first player to have joined Blackpool from Yoker Athletic since Bobby Finan in August 1933.
Scottish selectors never lost sight of him and in December 1970 he was selected by the Scottish Football Association to attend Scottish Youth team trials.
In one of his first senior games in the Blackpool Central League side, he was introduced as a second half substitute for John McNicholas in the game against Bury reserves on 20 January 1971. And he ‘produced some intelligent distributional and positional play’ as Blackpool won 1-0. In addition he was ‘one of the most impressive players on view’ and the longer term view was ‘He could be a big star of the future for Blackpool.’
He had a number of good games before a critic reported that neither he nor Johnny Johnston ‘shone as they had in recent performances’ in the Central League side as Blackpool lost 4-0 to Newcastle United reserves on 27 March 1971. But overall he maintained his improving reputation and he made his League debut as an 80th-minute substitute for Mickey Burns against Burnley on 10 April 1971 when Blackpool lost 1-0.
The following week he was selected for his first League start in the First Division against Nottingham Forest on 17 April 1971 and on the evening prior to the game he commented, ‘I’m delighted. I don’t feel nervous at the moment but I know I will when I get up in the morning.’ In the game he ‘showed some fine touches’ but the same critic considered he had ‘some way to go yet’. Blackpool lost 3-2 although he did score one of Blackpool’s goals. He played his third League game against Everton on 24 April 1971 but he was replaced by Peter Nicholson in the second half as the game was drawn 0-0.
In the summer of 1971 he was selected for the Blackpool squad that were to compete in the Anglo-Italian Cup Competition and he was in the starting line-up for the opening game of the tournament against Hellas Verona on 26 May 1971. An exciting match was drawn 3-3 as he was replaced late on by Johnny Johnston. He also played in the second game of the tournament against AS Roma on 29 May 1971 when Blackpool lost 3-1 [their only defeat] and he was in the squad, but did not play, that subsequently won the trophy with a 2-1 victory over Bologna in Rome on 12 June 1971.
He had played two League games, made one substitute appearance and scored one goal in the 1970/71 season. He also played two Anglo-Italian Cup games and a number of Central League games.
He could not break into the Blackpool League side in the 1971/72 season but he was a regular member of the Central League side, playing in 37 games, in which he scored 13 goals. He continued in the Central League side in the 1972/73 season and he earned the headlines in the opening Central League game of the season with ‘McGrotty takes his chances’ as he scored in the 80th and 88th minutes to give Blackpool a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest reserves on 12 August 1972. And on 25 November 1972, ‘McGrotty, Corrigan and Tully provided flashes of enthusiasm, but they were few and far between’ as Blackpool’s Central League side lost 2-0 to the League leaders Coventry City reserves.
After being out of the League side for almost two years he rather unexpectedly earned a recall when he returned to the side as a substitute for Chris Simpkin in a 2-0 defeat by Orient on 10 February 1973. And, with Blackpool in the Anglo-Italian Cup Competition once more, he returned to the first team squad for the game against Como on 21 March 1973 when Blackpool won 3-0 but he was an unused substitute. He made one substitute appearance in the League and played 30 Central League games, scoring seven goals, in the 1972/73 season. By then his Blackpool career record comprised two League games, plus two substitute appearances in the League, in which he scored one goal. He had also made two appearances in the Anglo-Italian Cup competition as well as playing in more than 75 Central League games.
Blackpool were prepared to release him after the 1972/73 season and he went to Australia where he spent some time with Western Suburbs FC before Blackpool transferred him to Safeway United Soccer Club of the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, for a fee of £1,000 on 22 May 1973. He went on to play 22 games for Safeway United, scoring seven goals.
After Australia were looking for new blood following their appearance in the 1974 World Cup Finals, he was one of eight new players in a squad of 19 selected in January 1975 for the Socceroos, Australia’s national side. The coach Eric Worthington said at the time, ‘The new boys completely understand that they are going along for the ride. It is up to them to force their way into final team calculations.’ He did go on to make one substitute appearance for the Socceroos in a game against Legia Warsaw in Brisbane on 12 February 1975.
He later returned to Scotland where he managed a junior side, Mill United in Hamilton.
He died in Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow on 3 July 2020. Despite his relatively short stay at Bloomfield Road, he will always be remembered in the annals of Blackpool Football Club history.
Willie McGrotty was born in Glasgow on 12 August 1952. After junior football as a forward he joined Scottish junior club Yoker Athletic. With a strong Scottish scouting system in place Blackpool spotted his potential and he was signed by the club as an apprentice professional for a fee of £400 on 22 June 1970. Interestingly, he was the first player to have joined Blackpool from Yoker Athletic since Bobby Finan in August 1933.
Scottish selectors never lost sight of him and in December 1970 he was selected by the Scottish Football Association to attend Scottish Youth team trials.
In one of his first senior games in the Blackpool Central League side, he was introduced as a second half substitute for John McNicholas in the game against Bury reserves on 20 January 1971. And he ‘produced some intelligent distributional and positional play’ as Blackpool won 1-0. In addition he was ‘one of the most impressive players on view’ and the longer term view was ‘He could be a big star of the future for Blackpool.’
He had a number of good games before a critic reported that neither he nor Johnny Johnston ‘shone as they had in recent performances’ in the Central League side as Blackpool lost 4-0 to Newcastle United reserves on 27 March 1971. But overall he maintained his improving reputation and he made his League debut as an 80th-minute substitute for Mickey Burns against Burnley on 10 April 1971 when Blackpool lost 1-0.
The following week he was selected for his first League start in the First Division against Nottingham Forest on 17 April 1971 and on the evening prior to the game he commented, ‘I’m delighted. I don’t feel nervous at the moment but I know I will when I get up in the morning.’ In the game he ‘showed some fine touches’ but the same critic considered he had ‘some way to go yet’. Blackpool lost 3-2 although he did score one of Blackpool’s goals. He played his third League game against Everton on 24 April 1971 but he was replaced by Peter Nicholson in the second half as the game was drawn 0-0.
In the summer of 1971 he was selected for the Blackpool squad that were to compete in the Anglo-Italian Cup Competition and he was in the starting line-up for the opening game of the tournament against Hellas Verona on 26 May 1971. An exciting match was drawn 3-3 as he was replaced late on by Johnny Johnston. He also played in the second game of the tournament against AS Roma on 29 May 1971 when Blackpool lost 3-1 [their only defeat] and he was in the squad, but did not play, that subsequently won the trophy with a 2-1 victory over Bologna in Rome on 12 June 1971.
He had played two League games, made one substitute appearance and scored one goal in the 1970/71 season. He also played two Anglo-Italian Cup games and a number of Central League games.
He could not break into the Blackpool League side in the 1971/72 season but he was a regular member of the Central League side, playing in 37 games, in which he scored 13 goals. He continued in the Central League side in the 1972/73 season and he earned the headlines in the opening Central League game of the season with ‘McGrotty takes his chances’ as he scored in the 80th and 88th minutes to give Blackpool a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest reserves on 12 August 1972. And on 25 November 1972, ‘McGrotty, Corrigan and Tully provided flashes of enthusiasm, but they were few and far between’ as Blackpool’s Central League side lost 2-0 to the League leaders Coventry City reserves.
After being out of the League side for almost two years he rather unexpectedly earned a recall when he returned to the side as a substitute for Chris Simpkin in a 2-0 defeat by Orient on 10 February 1973. And, with Blackpool in the Anglo-Italian Cup Competition once more, he returned to the first team squad for the game against Como on 21 March 1973 when Blackpool won 3-0 but he was an unused substitute. He made one substitute appearance in the League and played 30 Central League games, scoring seven goals, in the 1972/73 season. By then his Blackpool career record comprised two League games, plus two substitute appearances in the League, in which he scored one goal. He had also made two appearances in the Anglo-Italian Cup competition as well as playing in more than 75 Central League games.
Blackpool were prepared to release him after the 1972/73 season and he went to Australia where he spent some time with Western Suburbs FC before Blackpool transferred him to Safeway United Soccer Club of the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, for a fee of £1,000 on 22 May 1973. He went on to play 22 games for Safeway United, scoring seven goals.
After Australia were looking for new blood following their appearance in the 1974 World Cup Finals, he was one of eight new players in a squad of 19 selected in January 1975 for the Socceroos, Australia’s national side. The coach Eric Worthington said at the time, ‘The new boys completely understand that they are going along for the ride. It is up to them to force their way into final team calculations.’ He did go on to make one substitute appearance for the Socceroos in a game against Legia Warsaw in Brisbane on 12 February 1975.
He later returned to Scotland where he managed a junior side, Mill United in Hamilton.
He died in Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow on 3 July 2020. Despite his relatively short stay at Bloomfield Road, he will always be remembered in the annals of Blackpool Football Club history.
An Ancell Babe at Blackpool:
Patrick (Pat) Quinn 1936-2020
Pat Quinn was born in Glasgow on 26 April 1936 and played his junior football as an inside forward with Bridgeton Waverley. At a young age he was a prodigious talent and he joined Albion Rovers but he had played just two games for them when Motherwell spotted his potential and signed him in December 1955. Joining Motherwell as manager around the same time was Bobby Ancell, who had previously managed Berwick Rangers (then a non-League club) and Dunfermline Athletic, taking the latter club up to the Scottish First Division for the first time in 18 years. Ancell had a reputation for developing young talent and he put his principles into practice and developed a dynamic set of youngsters at Motherwell who were known as the 'Ancell Babes'. Eight of his young side went on to win Scottish international honours.
By October 1960 Blackpool, then bottom of the top flight of English football, were keeping an eye on Ancell’s Motherwell side and wanted to sign one of the inside forward trio, Ian St John, Pat Quinn or John Hunter. However, Motherwell did not want to part with any of their star men and were said to be ‘hanging on’ at that time. But Blackpool’s persistence paid off and Quinn was signed by Blackpool for a then club record fee of £34,000 on 16 November 1962. His weekly wage was agreed at £33 15s 0d [£33.75] with an extra £10 whenever he played in the first team.
He had played 196 League games for Motherwell in which he scored 83 goals and he won the Motherwell Supports Player of the Year Award at the end of the 1960/61 season. He recalled his debut for Motherwell as a substitute against Preston North End with, ‘It was the time before the regular use of substitutes had arrived, we could only use them in friendlies. They nominated me for the floodlit game with Preston. I was petrified. There I was sitting on the bench in voluminous track suit – It could have housed another couple of subs – when Billy Reid was injured, Mr Ancell gave me the nod and I was on! I was so excited. I was told I must have covered every blade of grass that night. Unfortunately we lost 3-2, but playing against Tommy Doherty and Tom Finney was a great experience.’ While with Motherwell he had also won four Scottish international caps between 1961 and 1962, making his debut in the infamous 9-3 Wembley defeat by England in 1961. He had also played six times for the Scottish League XI, for whom he scored one goal.
He made his League debut for Blackpool the day after he signed against Bolton Wanderers on 17 November 1962 [I was there!] and he immediately endeared himself to the crowd by scoring one of Blackpool’s goals in a 3-1 victory.
It was the season of the big freeze so between his debut and 2 March 1963 the club played only seven League games and Quinn scored his second goal in a 2-1 defeat by Liverpool on 15 December 1962. Then on 6 March 1963 he was involved in a controversial incident in a third round FA Cup replay with Norwich City at Bloomfield Road. The game had been postponed 11 times and then, belatedly, the two clubs had drawn the original fixture two days earlier.
With the score at 0-0 he appeared to have given Blackpool the lead when he had the ball in the net. The referee, Ernie Crawford of Doncaster, immediately awarded a goal but protestations from the Norwich players prompted him and his linesman to have a look at the goal net. [I was there, stood right behind the net and there was no doubt that the ball had gone in ... I am, of course, bias!] However, after a lot of pulling at the net, they somehow managed to find a hole in the side netting and eventually decided that the ball had entered the net through this hole and the ‘goal’ was disallowed. The crowd went wild but he later gave Blackpool the lead when he ‘timed Ray Parry’s excellent cross perfectly to ram the ball home’ it looked as though justice had been done. But Norwich equalised with four minutes remaining and went on to controversially win 3-1 after extra time.
After the match Quinn said of the disallowed effort, ‘The only time the ball touched the netting was after it had come to rest in the far wall of the goal. I saw the goalkeeper Sandy Kennon standing by the near post, swaying outwards as if expecting a centre, so I decided to try a shot. The ball hit the outside edge of the post, struck Kennon’s knee, dropped to the ground in the goalmouth and spun off the mud into the far wall of the net. Only when the referee awarded a goal did Kennon and others start tugging at the net to show a hole in it.’
The League season restarted in earnest after the Cup tie and Quinn played a starring role as Blackpool climbed out of the relegation zone to finish in a respectable 12th position in the table. Towards the end of the season he was hugely influential in the club winning four successive League games scoring 16 goals in the process, defeating Birmingham City 6-3, Blackburn Rovers 4-1, Arsenal 3-2 and Manchester City 3-0. And he finished his first season at the club having played 25 League games, scoring eight goals, and two FA Cup ties, scoring one goal.
He began the 1963/64 season in style with one of Blackpool’s goals in the opening day 2-2 draw with Sheffield United and he went on to appear in the first nine games. However, he was moved to inside left for the final two of those games because a certain Alan Ball finally broke through to the League side so he took the inside right spot. After two games at inside left, Quinn was left out of the side.
What turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool was against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 21 September 1963 when Blackpool lost 2-1 and then he was rested after what was said to be a disappointing run of ‘on off form’. He was philosophical about his exclusion from the first team, stated that he was well aware of his jaded form and announced that he was determined to ‘get back into top gear’ as soon as possible. And he made his first appearance in the Central League side against Bury reserves on 4 October 1963 when Blackpool won 2-1. He was also in the Central League side that drew 2-2 with Burnley reserves on 8 October 1963.
Hibernian noticed that he was out of favour at Bloomfield Road and they came in with an offer of £25,000 for his transfer. Blackpool agreed the sum and he joined Hibernian on 10 October 1963. Up to that point he had played nine League games, scoring one goal, and two Central League games in the 1963/64 season; his total Blackpool appearances were 34 League games, scoring nine goals, two FA Cup ties, scoring one goal, and two Central League games.
In September 1964 there were strong rumours that Hibernian were going to transfer him to Ipswich Town but they proved to be false and he became a key man, on the right wing, in the club’s revival in March 1965. After playing 131 League games and scoring 19 goals, in addition to being Hibernian’s first-ever used substitute against Clyde in November 1966 and also scoring a marvellous goal in a 5-0 demolition of Napoli in the Inter-City Fairs Cup when Hibernian were 4-1 down from the first leg, he was transferred to East Fife, where he eventually took over as player-manager and the club won promotion from the Scottish Second Division. He played 64 games for East Fife in which he scored six goals.
In March 1974 he joined Icelandic club Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar as manager and he led the club to the Icelandic First Division after they had been out of the top flight for 10 years. He later said of his time in Iceland, ‘Our season extended from March 1974 to October 1974. It was a marvellous experience. The Icelanders are a wonderful nation. The hospitality was the finest I have ever experienced. They asked me to stay but I wanted to go back home. I was invited to go back the following year. They offered me excellent conditions but I had to reluctantly turn them down.’
In 1980 he became coach at Partick Thistle and assistant-manager to Bertie Auld. Interestingly all the Partick Thistle players were part-time and Pat Quinn acted in a part-time capacity as coach while pursuing his full-time job as a caretaker with the Sighthill Youth Centre in Glasgow. He later spent some time coaching at Hibernian, Motherwell and Hamilton Academical.
Commenting on his time in football in December 1976 he said, ‘Looking back on these years with Motherwell, they were among the happiest in my playing career. Motherwell and good football were synonymous with the result that we drew crowds everywhere. The understanding in all departments of the side was a sheer delight and I get great pleasure thinking back on the fact that I was a member of the team.’
Of his move to Bloomfield Road he said, ‘It was great to sample First Division football for the first time. I was particularly pleased to find among my club mates at that time John McPhee, who had been a colleague at Motherwell. The Blackpool team included Jimmy Armfield, the present Leeds United manager. He was skipper of the side. Big Tony Waiters, the current Plymouth Argyle boss, was in goal. A fellow Scot in Billy Cranston also played at that time and I can also vividly recall such dandy forwards as Alan Ball, Ray Charnley and Ray Parry. During season 1962/63 I played in 25 First Division matches and scored eight goals. We finished mid-way up the table. I have very happy memories of my stay at Bloomfield Road. I enjoyed it immensely. But Alan Ball was breaking through. We were both very small and it did not look as if the two of us would play in the same side because of our height and build. Ronnie Suart, the then manager, came to me in October 1963 to tell me that Hibs were interested in me and would I be willing to go back home? He also stated that they club were willing to let me and I took the opportunity to join a club which had such a good name in Scotland as Hibs.’
After his season in Iceland he went home. He recalled, ‘I returned to my native Glasgow and in January 1975 Bertie Auld, the Partick Thistle manager, approached me and asked me to join his club as coach to their reserve string. I did so and was delighted when my protégés won the Second Eleven Cup, the national trophy for reserve teams. Last season Thistle’s first team won the First Division championship and the second eleven clinched the Scottish Reserve League championship. Two of my boys have won through to the first team this season in Brian Whittaker and John Marr and I’m delighted. Now I’m coaching the first team and am over the moon. Thistle are a very good club and I’m very happy with them. But I still take an interest in Blackpool and follow their progress avidly. If they go back to the First Division this season – and I sincerely hope they do – nothing will give me greater pleasure. It would be wonderful to see top class football returning to Bloomfield Road next season.’
In later life he was a well-respected and popular member of Bothwell Castle Golf Club for many years. He used to tell members how he would play golf on a Saturday morning at Bothwell before heading off to play in important matches for Motherwell in the afternoon!
Pat Quinn was adored by the fans at all his clubs, especially at Bloomfield Road, and, even though his stay was relatively short, he will be remembered for his silky skills and, of course, by those of us who were there, for his goal that never was! He died on 13 July 2020 and will be sorely missed by family and friends alike.
Pat Quinn was born in Glasgow on 26 April 1936 and played his junior football as an inside forward with Bridgeton Waverley. At a young age he was a prodigious talent and he joined Albion Rovers but he had played just two games for them when Motherwell spotted his potential and signed him in December 1955. Joining Motherwell as manager around the same time was Bobby Ancell, who had previously managed Berwick Rangers (then a non-League club) and Dunfermline Athletic, taking the latter club up to the Scottish First Division for the first time in 18 years. Ancell had a reputation for developing young talent and he put his principles into practice and developed a dynamic set of youngsters at Motherwell who were known as the 'Ancell Babes'. Eight of his young side went on to win Scottish international honours.
By October 1960 Blackpool, then bottom of the top flight of English football, were keeping an eye on Ancell’s Motherwell side and wanted to sign one of the inside forward trio, Ian St John, Pat Quinn or John Hunter. However, Motherwell did not want to part with any of their star men and were said to be ‘hanging on’ at that time. But Blackpool’s persistence paid off and Quinn was signed by Blackpool for a then club record fee of £34,000 on 16 November 1962. His weekly wage was agreed at £33 15s 0d [£33.75] with an extra £10 whenever he played in the first team.
He had played 196 League games for Motherwell in which he scored 83 goals and he won the Motherwell Supports Player of the Year Award at the end of the 1960/61 season. He recalled his debut for Motherwell as a substitute against Preston North End with, ‘It was the time before the regular use of substitutes had arrived, we could only use them in friendlies. They nominated me for the floodlit game with Preston. I was petrified. There I was sitting on the bench in voluminous track suit – It could have housed another couple of subs – when Billy Reid was injured, Mr Ancell gave me the nod and I was on! I was so excited. I was told I must have covered every blade of grass that night. Unfortunately we lost 3-2, but playing against Tommy Doherty and Tom Finney was a great experience.’ While with Motherwell he had also won four Scottish international caps between 1961 and 1962, making his debut in the infamous 9-3 Wembley defeat by England in 1961. He had also played six times for the Scottish League XI, for whom he scored one goal.
He made his League debut for Blackpool the day after he signed against Bolton Wanderers on 17 November 1962 [I was there!] and he immediately endeared himself to the crowd by scoring one of Blackpool’s goals in a 3-1 victory.
It was the season of the big freeze so between his debut and 2 March 1963 the club played only seven League games and Quinn scored his second goal in a 2-1 defeat by Liverpool on 15 December 1962. Then on 6 March 1963 he was involved in a controversial incident in a third round FA Cup replay with Norwich City at Bloomfield Road. The game had been postponed 11 times and then, belatedly, the two clubs had drawn the original fixture two days earlier.
With the score at 0-0 he appeared to have given Blackpool the lead when he had the ball in the net. The referee, Ernie Crawford of Doncaster, immediately awarded a goal but protestations from the Norwich players prompted him and his linesman to have a look at the goal net. [I was there, stood right behind the net and there was no doubt that the ball had gone in ... I am, of course, bias!] However, after a lot of pulling at the net, they somehow managed to find a hole in the side netting and eventually decided that the ball had entered the net through this hole and the ‘goal’ was disallowed. The crowd went wild but he later gave Blackpool the lead when he ‘timed Ray Parry’s excellent cross perfectly to ram the ball home’ it looked as though justice had been done. But Norwich equalised with four minutes remaining and went on to controversially win 3-1 after extra time.
After the match Quinn said of the disallowed effort, ‘The only time the ball touched the netting was after it had come to rest in the far wall of the goal. I saw the goalkeeper Sandy Kennon standing by the near post, swaying outwards as if expecting a centre, so I decided to try a shot. The ball hit the outside edge of the post, struck Kennon’s knee, dropped to the ground in the goalmouth and spun off the mud into the far wall of the net. Only when the referee awarded a goal did Kennon and others start tugging at the net to show a hole in it.’
The League season restarted in earnest after the Cup tie and Quinn played a starring role as Blackpool climbed out of the relegation zone to finish in a respectable 12th position in the table. Towards the end of the season he was hugely influential in the club winning four successive League games scoring 16 goals in the process, defeating Birmingham City 6-3, Blackburn Rovers 4-1, Arsenal 3-2 and Manchester City 3-0. And he finished his first season at the club having played 25 League games, scoring eight goals, and two FA Cup ties, scoring one goal.
He began the 1963/64 season in style with one of Blackpool’s goals in the opening day 2-2 draw with Sheffield United and he went on to appear in the first nine games. However, he was moved to inside left for the final two of those games because a certain Alan Ball finally broke through to the League side so he took the inside right spot. After two games at inside left, Quinn was left out of the side.
What turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool was against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 21 September 1963 when Blackpool lost 2-1 and then he was rested after what was said to be a disappointing run of ‘on off form’. He was philosophical about his exclusion from the first team, stated that he was well aware of his jaded form and announced that he was determined to ‘get back into top gear’ as soon as possible. And he made his first appearance in the Central League side against Bury reserves on 4 October 1963 when Blackpool won 2-1. He was also in the Central League side that drew 2-2 with Burnley reserves on 8 October 1963.
Hibernian noticed that he was out of favour at Bloomfield Road and they came in with an offer of £25,000 for his transfer. Blackpool agreed the sum and he joined Hibernian on 10 October 1963. Up to that point he had played nine League games, scoring one goal, and two Central League games in the 1963/64 season; his total Blackpool appearances were 34 League games, scoring nine goals, two FA Cup ties, scoring one goal, and two Central League games.
In September 1964 there were strong rumours that Hibernian were going to transfer him to Ipswich Town but they proved to be false and he became a key man, on the right wing, in the club’s revival in March 1965. After playing 131 League games and scoring 19 goals, in addition to being Hibernian’s first-ever used substitute against Clyde in November 1966 and also scoring a marvellous goal in a 5-0 demolition of Napoli in the Inter-City Fairs Cup when Hibernian were 4-1 down from the first leg, he was transferred to East Fife, where he eventually took over as player-manager and the club won promotion from the Scottish Second Division. He played 64 games for East Fife in which he scored six goals.
In March 1974 he joined Icelandic club Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar as manager and he led the club to the Icelandic First Division after they had been out of the top flight for 10 years. He later said of his time in Iceland, ‘Our season extended from March 1974 to October 1974. It was a marvellous experience. The Icelanders are a wonderful nation. The hospitality was the finest I have ever experienced. They asked me to stay but I wanted to go back home. I was invited to go back the following year. They offered me excellent conditions but I had to reluctantly turn them down.’
In 1980 he became coach at Partick Thistle and assistant-manager to Bertie Auld. Interestingly all the Partick Thistle players were part-time and Pat Quinn acted in a part-time capacity as coach while pursuing his full-time job as a caretaker with the Sighthill Youth Centre in Glasgow. He later spent some time coaching at Hibernian, Motherwell and Hamilton Academical.
Commenting on his time in football in December 1976 he said, ‘Looking back on these years with Motherwell, they were among the happiest in my playing career. Motherwell and good football were synonymous with the result that we drew crowds everywhere. The understanding in all departments of the side was a sheer delight and I get great pleasure thinking back on the fact that I was a member of the team.’
Of his move to Bloomfield Road he said, ‘It was great to sample First Division football for the first time. I was particularly pleased to find among my club mates at that time John McPhee, who had been a colleague at Motherwell. The Blackpool team included Jimmy Armfield, the present Leeds United manager. He was skipper of the side. Big Tony Waiters, the current Plymouth Argyle boss, was in goal. A fellow Scot in Billy Cranston also played at that time and I can also vividly recall such dandy forwards as Alan Ball, Ray Charnley and Ray Parry. During season 1962/63 I played in 25 First Division matches and scored eight goals. We finished mid-way up the table. I have very happy memories of my stay at Bloomfield Road. I enjoyed it immensely. But Alan Ball was breaking through. We were both very small and it did not look as if the two of us would play in the same side because of our height and build. Ronnie Suart, the then manager, came to me in October 1963 to tell me that Hibs were interested in me and would I be willing to go back home? He also stated that they club were willing to let me and I took the opportunity to join a club which had such a good name in Scotland as Hibs.’
After his season in Iceland he went home. He recalled, ‘I returned to my native Glasgow and in January 1975 Bertie Auld, the Partick Thistle manager, approached me and asked me to join his club as coach to their reserve string. I did so and was delighted when my protégés won the Second Eleven Cup, the national trophy for reserve teams. Last season Thistle’s first team won the First Division championship and the second eleven clinched the Scottish Reserve League championship. Two of my boys have won through to the first team this season in Brian Whittaker and John Marr and I’m delighted. Now I’m coaching the first team and am over the moon. Thistle are a very good club and I’m very happy with them. But I still take an interest in Blackpool and follow their progress avidly. If they go back to the First Division this season – and I sincerely hope they do – nothing will give me greater pleasure. It would be wonderful to see top class football returning to Bloomfield Road next season.’
In later life he was a well-respected and popular member of Bothwell Castle Golf Club for many years. He used to tell members how he would play golf on a Saturday morning at Bothwell before heading off to play in important matches for Motherwell in the afternoon!
Pat Quinn was adored by the fans at all his clubs, especially at Bloomfield Road, and, even though his stay was relatively short, he will be remembered for his silky skills and, of course, by those of us who were there, for his goal that never was! He died on 13 July 2020 and will be sorely missed by family and friends alike.
A Springbok Star
Eric Brian Peterson 1936 - 2020
Brian Peterson was born in Durban on 29 October 1936 and was an inside forward who was signed by Blackpool on 8 October 1956 from his Berea Park club. He had apparently taken two years to make the decision to leave amateur football in South Africa and a partnership that he had in a sports store. He had started his football career with Berea Park FC but he had moved to Queens Park and made his senior debut at age 17 before returning to his original club. He represented the Natal Province team, playing in a Curry Cup final, and he also toured Australia with a South African representative XI.
After impressive games for the junior teams, Blackpool manager Joe Smith commented in early November 1956, ‘Peterson is a very promising player. He is the brainy type of player who has fine ball control and whose distribution is excellent’ and he added that he expected him soon to be in the Central League side.
After playing a number of games in the ‘A’ team he duly made his Central League debut against Chesterfield reserves on 10 November 1956 as Blackpool won 2-1. He then made his home debut in the Central League side on a cold, miserable afternoon 17 November 1956 against Stoke City reserves when he ‘was always calling for passes in the early minutes’ and ‘when he was given one [he] sent Booth away to shoot out by the far post’ as Blackpool eventually lost 1-0.
His talent was obvious and he was quickly promoted to 12th man for the League side against Chelsea on 1 December 1956 and many shrewd judges considered him another Ernie Taylor in the making. But, after his first taste of the League scene, he returned to play for the ‘A’ team against Everton ‘A’ on 8 December 1956 when Blackpool lost 3-0.
He returned to Central League action against Bolton Wanderers reserves on 22 December 1956 when he ‘made one or two good passes but the mud and slime made no surface for this lightweight’ as Blackpool lost 3-1. He scored his first Central League goal in a 3-2 defeat by Everton reserves on 25 December 1956 and his second Central League goal came when he was ‘sliding the ball past Rainford as the ‘keeper came out’ in a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers reserves on 5 January 1957. He then switched position and made a surprise appearance at outside left against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 2 March 1957 and he ‘came dangerously near opening his team’s account’ early in the second half but Blackpool lost 3-0 at Hillsborough.
His displays had been watched with interest by Joe Smith and he made his League debut in place of the injured Ernie Taylor against Cardiff City in a 4-3 victory on 9 March 1957. He partnered Stan Matthews on the right flank and it was noted by many a critic that he had not been born when Matthews was making his international debut.
Unfortunately he suffered a cut foot in training during the following week and, along with 10 other players, was declared unfit to play on 16 March 1957. When he recovered he discovered that at the last minute Ernie Taylor had developed a temperature before the game against Chelsea on 13 April 1957 and he was told that he would be in the League team for his second appearance. A Jackie Mudie goal settled the game 1-0 in Blackpool’s favour but Peterson earned the headline PETERSON DOES WELL.
Showing his versatility, for the Good Friday game against Arsenal on 19 April 1957, he switched to inside left to replace David Durie as the game was drawn 1-1. And then he moved to outside right, replacing the unfit Stan Matthews, for the return game against Arsenal on 22 April 1957 when Blackpool lost 4-2. He retained the outside right spot for the final two games of the season, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 27 April 1957 and a 1-0 victory over Burnley on 1 May 1957.
After a promising first season he had played in six League games and 12 Central League games, scoring two goals. And the end of season comment was ‘It will be interesting to look forward to the progress which Brian Peterson is expected to make. He arrived here last October almost an unknown South African. He has not stayed unknown for long.’
He returned home in the summer of 1957 to get married but returned to Blackpool for the following season after he had re-signed for the club for the 1957/58 season at terms of £14 per week in the summer and £17 per week in the football season.
He began the 1957/58 season with his first taste of European football when he was at inside left in the side that defeated Sparta Rotterdam 3-2 in a pre-season friendly game in Holland on 14 August 1957. And then after the Tangerines versus Whites practice match on 16 August 1957 the view was he was ‘developing into a footballer of great promise’ as he scored the Whites goal in a 4-1 defeat. But he missed the opening game of the season and then he played his first Central League game of the 1957/58 season against Sheffield United reserves on 26 August 1957 when the game was drawn 1-1.
He quickly earned a League re-call at inside left in place of the injured David Durie for the game against Luton Town on 4 September 1957 when Blackpool lost 2-0. He went on to score his first League goal for the club in the 79th minute in a 3-0 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday on 12 October 1957 when ‘Matthews took a free-kick and swept the ball across the field to the unmarked Peterson. The South African did not dally. Instead he cracked it first time into the left-hand corner of the net. Peterson threw his arms in the air and danced down the pitch. No wonder. It was his first goal in League football since he arrived from South Africa 12 months ago.’
Back in the Central League side on 19 October 1957 he was the provider for two of Ray Charnley’s three goals, hitting the bar for the first when Charnley scored from the rebound and providing the pass for his second as Blackpool defeated Newcastle United reserves 4-3. He replaced the injured Ernie Taylor in the League side against Nottingham Forest on 26 October 1957 when he partnered Stan Matthews who was playing his first game on the City Ground for 25 years! Blackpool won 2-1.
He scored a 54th-minute winner in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea on 2 November 1957 when overall he ‘did some good things’. He played his first game In the FA Cup in the third round against West Ham United on 4 January 1958 and although Blackpool took the lead in two minutes, they lost 5-1.
Then out of the blue Blackpool were hit with a bombshell when, on 27 January 1958 manager Joe Smith reported that Peterson had told him that he wanted to return to South Africa. But for the immediate future no movement took place.
Following an injury to Stan Matthews at Chelsea on 15 March 1958, Peterson replaced him at outside right for the game against Birmingham City on 22 March 1958. Blackpool went into half time at 2-2 and went on to win 4-2.
He continued at outside right in place of Matthews in a 2-1 defeat by Burnley on 29 March 1958 and his best moment came when he was ‘given an ovation when he cunningly outwitted Winton, but his curling centre was coolly anticipated by McDonald, who pulled down the ball by the right hand post’. Then, after injury ruled him out for a couple of games he returned at outside right for the 2-1 defeat by Preston North End on 7 April.
He created the opening goal for Bill Perry in a 2-1 victory over Portsmouth on 13 April 1958 and he was at outside right for the last game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur on 26 April 1958 because Stan Matthews was unavailable. Blackpool lost 2-1 with an all-South African right wing as Peter Hauser joined Peterson and both were involved in Blackpool’s late consolation goal. His 1957/58 season was a successful one as he played in 26 League games, scoring four goals, one FA Cup tie and 11 Central League games, scoring one goal. He also played in two friendly games.
Although he was due to return to South Africa in May 1958, on 18 April 1958 Blackpool offered him terms for the 1958/59 season. A spokesman for the club said, ‘Although Peterson has announced he is going home, there is nothing to prevent us from offering him terms just in case he changes his mind.’ And on 8 May 1958 he did return to his homeland. Many Blackpool supporters, disappointed at his return home, were worried that he would never return to play for the club especially when they heard that he had been reinstated as an amateur with Berea Park in the Durban League.
Fortunately he returned to Blackpool in November 1958 having sold his interest in the sports outfitters and he was re-signed by Blackpool on 1 December 1958 at a weekly wage of £17 out of season and £20 during the season. He was back in training with the team the day after he arrived in Blackpool. He commented, ‘It is wonderful to be back.’ And
he was back in Central League action against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 13 December 1958 when he ‘distributed one or two neat passes’ as Blackpool lost 3-1.
His long awaited return to League action came against Nottingham Forest on 21 February 1959 when Blackpool won 1-0. And he went on to play 13 League games, scoring one goal, 10 Central League games and one friendly game for Blackpool in his first season back at Bloomfield Road.
In the close season Blackpool fulfilled their obligation to Tranmere Rovers by playing a friendly game at Prenton Park on 27 April 1959 in respect of the transfer of Johnny Green. Green scored Blackpool’s goal in a 2-1 defeat for the Seasiders and the programme noted, ‘Prenton Park fans will be able to assess the tremendous potential of the Maestro’s deputy, Brian Peterson, who returned from South Africa last autumn and now bids fair to create as big a stir in English football as his country-man, Bill Perry, on the opposite wing.’ That potential was recognised when Blackpool revised his terms for 1959/60 and the following season when he was to earn £16 per week out of season and £19 per week during the season.
After three games of the 1959/60 season, two of which were won, he was left out of the side after, in his own words ‘three bad games on the trot’. He duly returned to Central League action against Huddersfield Town reserves on 2 September 1959 and he scored Blackpool’s goal in a 1-1 draw. After missing four League games he returned to action in a 5-3 victory over Leicester City on 14 September and he remained in the side for a run of eight games before a niggling injury saw him sidelined for three games. He returned and showed good form in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 28 November and he looked set to retain his place for the remainder of the season.
Sadly he broke down on 9 January 1960 after 30 minutes of the FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town but ten-man Blackpool went on to win 3-0. He was diagnosed as having cartilage trouble and he was sidelined for a long time. His season was virtually finished and although he tried a comeback in the Central League side against Manchester United reserves on 5 March 1960, he was unable to play again and after the one game, that Blackpool lost 2-1, he had to have further operations. Nevertheless he played 18 League games, scoring two goals, one FA Cup tie, five Central League games, scoring three goals, and one friendly game for Blackpool in the 1959/60 season.
To aid his comeback, he began the 1960/61 season playing junior football in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams where he ‘took things cautiously’. And he began his senior comeback in the Central League side on 1 October 1960 against Preston North End reserves when Blackpool won 1-0. He came through that game unscathed and he returned to the first team on 5 October 1960 for the League Cup tie replay with Leeds United when Blackpool lost 3-1 after extra time. But he aggravated the injury and he was out for the next game.
At the end of October a specialist advised him that he would be out until the following February, possibly until the start of the following season but he did stress that he would play again before the season ended.
It looked likely to be a Happy New Year for him when he visited a specialist in December 1960 and got an encouraging report on the right knee injury that had sidelined him for virtually 12 months. He was expected to be fit to challenge for a first team place early in 1961. And so it was as he made an unexpected comeback in the Central League side on 7 January 1961, a year after his injury, in a 4-0 victory over Chesterfield reserves.
After three successive Central League games, he returned to the League side on 11 February 1961 in 2-2 draw with Chelsea. He was back to full fitness and played every game thereafter until the end of the season and he regularly received good reports such as
at Cardiff City on 24 March 1961 when one critic reported, ‘Brian Peterson and Ray Parry [were] working hard and demonstrating ball control of a high order’ as Blackpool won the game 2-0 to ease their relegation fears. He finished the season having played 16 League games, scoring two goals, one League Cup tie, four Central League games and one friendly game.
He was rewarded for his hard work in recovering from injury by being given revised terms for the 1961/62 season. He was to receive £24 per week plus an extra £5 when he played in the League side. And he began earning that bonus immediately as he started the season at inside right in the League side, playing in the opening game, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 19 August 1961. And in the second game of the season against Blackburn Rovers on 21 August he scored one of the goals in Blackpool’s 2-1 victory. He moved to outside right for three games before a minor injury interrupted his season and he missed a couple of games.
He returned to action with a goal in a 4-0 defeat of Chelsea on 30 September and then after a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal (Stan Matthews’ last game for the club and a game that I attended at Highbury) he scored again in a 2-1 defeat of Bolton Wanderers on 14 October. Then after injury sidelined him once more for two games he returned with a goal in a 4-2 defeat of Manchester City on 2 December 1961. He scored again in the following game, a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on 9 December but after he scored Blackpool’s consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat by Sheffield United on 26 December, he was out of the side once more.
He returned to the League side for a single game, a 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on 24 February 1962 before in a Central League game against Derby County reserves on 17 March 1962 he appeared in the unfamiliar position of right half and he ‘revealed, now and again, the class which is in him as a wing half, but he was in and out, too’. Blackpool lost 2-1.
On 30 March and 3 April he played a couple of games at inside left, a 2-2 draw with Everton, in which he scored one of Blackpool’s goals, and a 2-4 defeat by Sheffield United. Then he played what turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool at inside right against Fulham on 7 April 1962; goals from Ray Charnley and Ray Parry gave Blackpool a 2-1 victory, so he ended on a victorious note.
He did, however, play one further first team game when he played against Norwich City at Carrow Road in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on 11 April when he scored Blackpool’s goal in a catastrophic 1-4 defeat. He missed the second leg, which Blackpool won 2-0 (it was nail-biting as I was there!).
He ended what was his final season at Bloomfield Road having played 24 League games, scoring seven goals, one FA Cup tie, four League Cup ties, scoring one goal, nine Central League games, scoring three goals, two friendly games, plus making one substitute appearance, scoring one goal.
When the season ended he returned home to South Africa on 28 May 1962, his Blackpool career having encompassed 103 League games, in which he scored 16 goals, three FA Cup ties, five League Cup ties, with one goal, 51 Central League games, with nine goals, and seven friendly games, plus making one appearance as a substitute, scoring one goal.
He was reported as playing well for Durban United with brother Keith in November 1964. And when he left Durban United, he had a short spell with Durban City before retiring from the game. After retirement he worked for 27 years for Foschini, a clothing firm.
He made a welcome return to Bloomfield Road, along with brother Keith, as a guest of the club for the game against Northampton Town on 14 April 2007. And he mingled with supporters and reminisced about the wonderful time that he had had at the club. He had been an integral part of a reasonably successful Blackpool side, having finished in fourth, seventh, eighth, 11th, and 13th position in addition to dramatically fighting to escape relegation in 20th position in 1960/61 in his six seasons at the club.
He died on 21 September 2020 after a short illness. His name will long be remembered as having played a significant part in Blackpool Football Club’s illustrious history.
Brian Peterson was born in Durban on 29 October 1936 and was an inside forward who was signed by Blackpool on 8 October 1956 from his Berea Park club. He had apparently taken two years to make the decision to leave amateur football in South Africa and a partnership that he had in a sports store. He had started his football career with Berea Park FC but he had moved to Queens Park and made his senior debut at age 17 before returning to his original club. He represented the Natal Province team, playing in a Curry Cup final, and he also toured Australia with a South African representative XI.
After impressive games for the junior teams, Blackpool manager Joe Smith commented in early November 1956, ‘Peterson is a very promising player. He is the brainy type of player who has fine ball control and whose distribution is excellent’ and he added that he expected him soon to be in the Central League side.
After playing a number of games in the ‘A’ team he duly made his Central League debut against Chesterfield reserves on 10 November 1956 as Blackpool won 2-1. He then made his home debut in the Central League side on a cold, miserable afternoon 17 November 1956 against Stoke City reserves when he ‘was always calling for passes in the early minutes’ and ‘when he was given one [he] sent Booth away to shoot out by the far post’ as Blackpool eventually lost 1-0.
His talent was obvious and he was quickly promoted to 12th man for the League side against Chelsea on 1 December 1956 and many shrewd judges considered him another Ernie Taylor in the making. But, after his first taste of the League scene, he returned to play for the ‘A’ team against Everton ‘A’ on 8 December 1956 when Blackpool lost 3-0.
He returned to Central League action against Bolton Wanderers reserves on 22 December 1956 when he ‘made one or two good passes but the mud and slime made no surface for this lightweight’ as Blackpool lost 3-1. He scored his first Central League goal in a 3-2 defeat by Everton reserves on 25 December 1956 and his second Central League goal came when he was ‘sliding the ball past Rainford as the ‘keeper came out’ in a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers reserves on 5 January 1957. He then switched position and made a surprise appearance at outside left against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 2 March 1957 and he ‘came dangerously near opening his team’s account’ early in the second half but Blackpool lost 3-0 at Hillsborough.
His displays had been watched with interest by Joe Smith and he made his League debut in place of the injured Ernie Taylor against Cardiff City in a 4-3 victory on 9 March 1957. He partnered Stan Matthews on the right flank and it was noted by many a critic that he had not been born when Matthews was making his international debut.
Unfortunately he suffered a cut foot in training during the following week and, along with 10 other players, was declared unfit to play on 16 March 1957. When he recovered he discovered that at the last minute Ernie Taylor had developed a temperature before the game against Chelsea on 13 April 1957 and he was told that he would be in the League team for his second appearance. A Jackie Mudie goal settled the game 1-0 in Blackpool’s favour but Peterson earned the headline PETERSON DOES WELL.
Showing his versatility, for the Good Friday game against Arsenal on 19 April 1957, he switched to inside left to replace David Durie as the game was drawn 1-1. And then he moved to outside right, replacing the unfit Stan Matthews, for the return game against Arsenal on 22 April 1957 when Blackpool lost 4-2. He retained the outside right spot for the final two games of the season, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 27 April 1957 and a 1-0 victory over Burnley on 1 May 1957.
After a promising first season he had played in six League games and 12 Central League games, scoring two goals. And the end of season comment was ‘It will be interesting to look forward to the progress which Brian Peterson is expected to make. He arrived here last October almost an unknown South African. He has not stayed unknown for long.’
He returned home in the summer of 1957 to get married but returned to Blackpool for the following season after he had re-signed for the club for the 1957/58 season at terms of £14 per week in the summer and £17 per week in the football season.
He began the 1957/58 season with his first taste of European football when he was at inside left in the side that defeated Sparta Rotterdam 3-2 in a pre-season friendly game in Holland on 14 August 1957. And then after the Tangerines versus Whites practice match on 16 August 1957 the view was he was ‘developing into a footballer of great promise’ as he scored the Whites goal in a 4-1 defeat. But he missed the opening game of the season and then he played his first Central League game of the 1957/58 season against Sheffield United reserves on 26 August 1957 when the game was drawn 1-1.
He quickly earned a League re-call at inside left in place of the injured David Durie for the game against Luton Town on 4 September 1957 when Blackpool lost 2-0. He went on to score his first League goal for the club in the 79th minute in a 3-0 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday on 12 October 1957 when ‘Matthews took a free-kick and swept the ball across the field to the unmarked Peterson. The South African did not dally. Instead he cracked it first time into the left-hand corner of the net. Peterson threw his arms in the air and danced down the pitch. No wonder. It was his first goal in League football since he arrived from South Africa 12 months ago.’
Back in the Central League side on 19 October 1957 he was the provider for two of Ray Charnley’s three goals, hitting the bar for the first when Charnley scored from the rebound and providing the pass for his second as Blackpool defeated Newcastle United reserves 4-3. He replaced the injured Ernie Taylor in the League side against Nottingham Forest on 26 October 1957 when he partnered Stan Matthews who was playing his first game on the City Ground for 25 years! Blackpool won 2-1.
He scored a 54th-minute winner in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea on 2 November 1957 when overall he ‘did some good things’. He played his first game In the FA Cup in the third round against West Ham United on 4 January 1958 and although Blackpool took the lead in two minutes, they lost 5-1.
Then out of the blue Blackpool were hit with a bombshell when, on 27 January 1958 manager Joe Smith reported that Peterson had told him that he wanted to return to South Africa. But for the immediate future no movement took place.
Following an injury to Stan Matthews at Chelsea on 15 March 1958, Peterson replaced him at outside right for the game against Birmingham City on 22 March 1958. Blackpool went into half time at 2-2 and went on to win 4-2.
He continued at outside right in place of Matthews in a 2-1 defeat by Burnley on 29 March 1958 and his best moment came when he was ‘given an ovation when he cunningly outwitted Winton, but his curling centre was coolly anticipated by McDonald, who pulled down the ball by the right hand post’. Then, after injury ruled him out for a couple of games he returned at outside right for the 2-1 defeat by Preston North End on 7 April.
He created the opening goal for Bill Perry in a 2-1 victory over Portsmouth on 13 April 1958 and he was at outside right for the last game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur on 26 April 1958 because Stan Matthews was unavailable. Blackpool lost 2-1 with an all-South African right wing as Peter Hauser joined Peterson and both were involved in Blackpool’s late consolation goal. His 1957/58 season was a successful one as he played in 26 League games, scoring four goals, one FA Cup tie and 11 Central League games, scoring one goal. He also played in two friendly games.
Although he was due to return to South Africa in May 1958, on 18 April 1958 Blackpool offered him terms for the 1958/59 season. A spokesman for the club said, ‘Although Peterson has announced he is going home, there is nothing to prevent us from offering him terms just in case he changes his mind.’ And on 8 May 1958 he did return to his homeland. Many Blackpool supporters, disappointed at his return home, were worried that he would never return to play for the club especially when they heard that he had been reinstated as an amateur with Berea Park in the Durban League.
Fortunately he returned to Blackpool in November 1958 having sold his interest in the sports outfitters and he was re-signed by Blackpool on 1 December 1958 at a weekly wage of £17 out of season and £20 during the season. He was back in training with the team the day after he arrived in Blackpool. He commented, ‘It is wonderful to be back.’ And
he was back in Central League action against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 13 December 1958 when he ‘distributed one or two neat passes’ as Blackpool lost 3-1.
His long awaited return to League action came against Nottingham Forest on 21 February 1959 when Blackpool won 1-0. And he went on to play 13 League games, scoring one goal, 10 Central League games and one friendly game for Blackpool in his first season back at Bloomfield Road.
In the close season Blackpool fulfilled their obligation to Tranmere Rovers by playing a friendly game at Prenton Park on 27 April 1959 in respect of the transfer of Johnny Green. Green scored Blackpool’s goal in a 2-1 defeat for the Seasiders and the programme noted, ‘Prenton Park fans will be able to assess the tremendous potential of the Maestro’s deputy, Brian Peterson, who returned from South Africa last autumn and now bids fair to create as big a stir in English football as his country-man, Bill Perry, on the opposite wing.’ That potential was recognised when Blackpool revised his terms for 1959/60 and the following season when he was to earn £16 per week out of season and £19 per week during the season.
After three games of the 1959/60 season, two of which were won, he was left out of the side after, in his own words ‘three bad games on the trot’. He duly returned to Central League action against Huddersfield Town reserves on 2 September 1959 and he scored Blackpool’s goal in a 1-1 draw. After missing four League games he returned to action in a 5-3 victory over Leicester City on 14 September and he remained in the side for a run of eight games before a niggling injury saw him sidelined for three games. He returned and showed good form in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 28 November and he looked set to retain his place for the remainder of the season.
Sadly he broke down on 9 January 1960 after 30 minutes of the FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town but ten-man Blackpool went on to win 3-0. He was diagnosed as having cartilage trouble and he was sidelined for a long time. His season was virtually finished and although he tried a comeback in the Central League side against Manchester United reserves on 5 March 1960, he was unable to play again and after the one game, that Blackpool lost 2-1, he had to have further operations. Nevertheless he played 18 League games, scoring two goals, one FA Cup tie, five Central League games, scoring three goals, and one friendly game for Blackpool in the 1959/60 season.
To aid his comeback, he began the 1960/61 season playing junior football in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams where he ‘took things cautiously’. And he began his senior comeback in the Central League side on 1 October 1960 against Preston North End reserves when Blackpool won 1-0. He came through that game unscathed and he returned to the first team on 5 October 1960 for the League Cup tie replay with Leeds United when Blackpool lost 3-1 after extra time. But he aggravated the injury and he was out for the next game.
At the end of October a specialist advised him that he would be out until the following February, possibly until the start of the following season but he did stress that he would play again before the season ended.
It looked likely to be a Happy New Year for him when he visited a specialist in December 1960 and got an encouraging report on the right knee injury that had sidelined him for virtually 12 months. He was expected to be fit to challenge for a first team place early in 1961. And so it was as he made an unexpected comeback in the Central League side on 7 January 1961, a year after his injury, in a 4-0 victory over Chesterfield reserves.
After three successive Central League games, he returned to the League side on 11 February 1961 in 2-2 draw with Chelsea. He was back to full fitness and played every game thereafter until the end of the season and he regularly received good reports such as
at Cardiff City on 24 March 1961 when one critic reported, ‘Brian Peterson and Ray Parry [were] working hard and demonstrating ball control of a high order’ as Blackpool won the game 2-0 to ease their relegation fears. He finished the season having played 16 League games, scoring two goals, one League Cup tie, four Central League games and one friendly game.
He was rewarded for his hard work in recovering from injury by being given revised terms for the 1961/62 season. He was to receive £24 per week plus an extra £5 when he played in the League side. And he began earning that bonus immediately as he started the season at inside right in the League side, playing in the opening game, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 19 August 1961. And in the second game of the season against Blackburn Rovers on 21 August he scored one of the goals in Blackpool’s 2-1 victory. He moved to outside right for three games before a minor injury interrupted his season and he missed a couple of games.
He returned to action with a goal in a 4-0 defeat of Chelsea on 30 September and then after a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal (Stan Matthews’ last game for the club and a game that I attended at Highbury) he scored again in a 2-1 defeat of Bolton Wanderers on 14 October. Then after injury sidelined him once more for two games he returned with a goal in a 4-2 defeat of Manchester City on 2 December 1961. He scored again in the following game, a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on 9 December but after he scored Blackpool’s consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat by Sheffield United on 26 December, he was out of the side once more.
He returned to the League side for a single game, a 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on 24 February 1962 before in a Central League game against Derby County reserves on 17 March 1962 he appeared in the unfamiliar position of right half and he ‘revealed, now and again, the class which is in him as a wing half, but he was in and out, too’. Blackpool lost 2-1.
On 30 March and 3 April he played a couple of games at inside left, a 2-2 draw with Everton, in which he scored one of Blackpool’s goals, and a 2-4 defeat by Sheffield United. Then he played what turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool at inside right against Fulham on 7 April 1962; goals from Ray Charnley and Ray Parry gave Blackpool a 2-1 victory, so he ended on a victorious note.
He did, however, play one further first team game when he played against Norwich City at Carrow Road in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on 11 April when he scored Blackpool’s goal in a catastrophic 1-4 defeat. He missed the second leg, which Blackpool won 2-0 (it was nail-biting as I was there!).
He ended what was his final season at Bloomfield Road having played 24 League games, scoring seven goals, one FA Cup tie, four League Cup ties, scoring one goal, nine Central League games, scoring three goals, two friendly games, plus making one substitute appearance, scoring one goal.
When the season ended he returned home to South Africa on 28 May 1962, his Blackpool career having encompassed 103 League games, in which he scored 16 goals, three FA Cup ties, five League Cup ties, with one goal, 51 Central League games, with nine goals, and seven friendly games, plus making one appearance as a substitute, scoring one goal.
He was reported as playing well for Durban United with brother Keith in November 1964. And when he left Durban United, he had a short spell with Durban City before retiring from the game. After retirement he worked for 27 years for Foschini, a clothing firm.
He made a welcome return to Bloomfield Road, along with brother Keith, as a guest of the club for the game against Northampton Town on 14 April 2007. And he mingled with supporters and reminisced about the wonderful time that he had had at the club. He had been an integral part of a reasonably successful Blackpool side, having finished in fourth, seventh, eighth, 11th, and 13th position in addition to dramatically fighting to escape relegation in 20th position in 1960/61 in his six seasons at the club.
He died on 21 September 2020 after a short illness. His name will long be remembered as having played a significant part in Blackpool Football Club’s illustrious history.
A Springbok Star
Eric Brian Peterson 1936 - 2020
Brian Peterson was born in Durban on 29 October 1936 and was an inside forward who was signed by Blackpool on 8 October 1956 from his Berea Park club. He had apparently taken two years to make the decision to leave amateur football in South Africa and a partnership that he had in a sports store. He had started his football career with Berea Park FC but he had moved to Queens Park and made his senior debut at age 17 before returning to his original club. He represented the Natal Province team, playing in a Curry Cup final, and he also toured Australia with a South African representative XI.
After impressive games for the junior teams, Blackpool manager Joe Smith commented in early November 1956, ‘Peterson is a very promising player. He is the brainy type of player who has fine ball control and whose distribution is excellent’ and he added that he expected him soon to be in the Central League side.
After playing a number of games in the ‘A’ team he duly made his Central League debut against Chesterfield reserves on 10 November 1956 as Blackpool won 2-1. He then made his home debut in the Central League side on a cold, miserable afternoon 17 November 1956 against Stoke City reserves when he ‘was always calling for passes in the early minutes’ and ‘when he was given one [he] sent Booth away to shoot out by the far post’ as Blackpool eventually lost 1-0.
His talent was obvious and he was quickly promoted to 12th man for the League side against Chelsea on 1 December 1956 and many shrewd judges considered him another Ernie Taylor in the making. But, after his first taste of the League scene, he returned to play for the ‘A’ team against Everton ‘A’ on 8 December 1956 when Blackpool lost 3-0.
He returned to Central League action against Bolton Wanderers reserves on 22 December 1956 when he ‘made one or two good passes but the mud and slime made no surface for this lightweight’ as Blackpool lost 3-1. He scored his first Central League goal in a 3-2 defeat by Everton reserves on 25 December 1956 and his second Central League goal came when he was ‘sliding the ball past Rainford as the ‘keeper came out’ in a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers reserves on 5 January 1957. He then switched position and made a surprise appearance at outside left against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 2 March 1957 and he ‘came dangerously near opening his team’s account’ early in the second half but Blackpool lost 3-0 at Hillsborough.
His displays had been watched with interest by Joe Smith and he made his League debut in place of the injured Ernie Taylor against Cardiff City in a 4-3 victory on 9 March 1957. He partnered Stan Matthews on the right flank and it was noted by many a critic that he had not been born when Matthews was making his international debut.
Unfortunately he suffered a cut foot in training during the following week and, along with 10 other players, was declared unfit to play on 16 March 1957. When he recovered he discovered that at the last minute Ernie Taylor had developed a temperature before the game against Chelsea on 13 April 1957 and he was told that he would be in the League team for his second appearance. A Jackie Mudie goal settled the game 1-0 in Blackpool’s favour but Peterson earned the headline PETERSON DOES WELL.
Showing his versatility, for the Good Friday game against Arsenal on 19 April 1957, he switched to inside left to replace David Durie as the game was drawn 1-1. And then he moved to outside right, replacing the unfit Stan Matthews, for the return game against Arsenal on 22 April 1957 when Blackpool lost 4-2. He retained the outside right spot for the final two games of the season, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 27 April 1957 and a 1-0 victory over Burnley on 1 May 1957.
After a promising first season he had played in six League games and 12 Central League games, scoring two goals. And the end of season comment was ‘It will be interesting to look forward to the progress which Brian Peterson is expected to make. He arrived here last October almost an unknown South African. He has not stayed unknown for long.’
He returned home in the summer of 1957 to get married but returned to Blackpool for the following season after he had re-signed for the club for the 1957/58 season at terms of £14 per week in the summer and £17 per week in the football season.
He began the 1957/58 season with his first taste of European football when he was at inside left in the side that defeated Sparta Rotterdam 3-2 in a pre-season friendly game in Holland on 14 August 1957. And then after the Tangerines versus Whites practice match on 16 August 1957 the view was he was ‘developing into a footballer of great promise’ as he scored the Whites goal in a 4-1 defeat. But he missed the opening game of the season and then he played his first Central League game of the 1957/58 season against Sheffield United reserves on 26 August 1957 when the game was drawn 1-1.
He quickly earned a League re-call at inside left in place of the injured David Durie for the game against Luton Town on 4 September 1957 when Blackpool lost 2-0. He went on to score his first League goal for the club in the 79th minute in a 3-0 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday on 12 October 1957 when ‘Matthews took a free-kick and swept the ball across the field to the unmarked Peterson. The South African did not dally. Instead he cracked it first time into the left-hand corner of the net. Peterson threw his arms in the air and danced down the pitch. No wonder. It was his first goal in League football since he arrived from South Africa 12 months ago.’
Back in the Central League side on 19 October 1957 he was the provider for two of Ray Charnley’s three goals, hitting the bar for the first when Charnley scored from the rebound and providing the pass for his second as Blackpool defeated Newcastle United reserves 4-3. He replaced the injured Ernie Taylor in the League side against Nottingham Forest on 26 October 1957 when he partnered Stan Matthews who was playing his first game on the City Ground for 25 years! Blackpool won 2-1.
He scored a 54th-minute winner in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea on 2 November 1957 when overall he ‘did some good things’. He played his first game In the FA Cup in the third round against West Ham United on 4 January 1958 and although Blackpool took the lead in two minutes, they lost 5-1.
Then out of the blue Blackpool were hit with a bombshell when, on 27 January 1958 manager Joe Smith reported that Peterson had told him that he wanted to return to South Africa. But for the immediate future no movement took place.
Following an injury to Stan Matthews at Chelsea on 15 March 1958, Peterson replaced him at outside right for the game against Birmingham City on 22 March 1958. Blackpool went into half time at 2-2 and went on to win 4-2.
He continued at outside right in place of Matthews in a 2-1 defeat by Burnley on 29 March 1958 and his best moment came when he was ‘given an ovation when he cunningly outwitted Winton, but his curling centre was coolly anticipated by McDonald, who pulled down the ball by the right hand post’. Then, after injury ruled him out for a couple of games he returned at outside right for the 2-1 defeat by Preston North End on 7 April.
He created the opening goal for Bill Perry in a 2-1 victory over Portsmouth on 13 April 1958 and he was at outside right for the last game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur on 26 April 1958 because Stan Matthews was unavailable. Blackpool lost 2-1 with an all-South African right wing as Peter Hauser joined Peterson and both were involved in Blackpool’s late consolation goal. His 1957/58 season was a successful one as he played in 26 League games, scoring four goals, one FA Cup tie and 11 Central League games, scoring one goal. He also played in two friendly games.
Although he was due to return to South Africa in May 1958, on 18 April 1958 Blackpool offered him terms for the 1958/59 season. A spokesman for the club said, ‘Although Peterson has announced he is going home, there is nothing to prevent us from offering him terms just in case he changes his mind.’ And on 8 May 1958 he did return to his homeland. Many Blackpool supporters, disappointed at his return home, were worried that he would never return to play for the club especially when they heard that he had been reinstated as an amateur with Berea Park in the Durban League.
Fortunately he returned to Blackpool in November 1958 having sold his interest in the sports outfitters and he was re-signed by Blackpool on 1 December 1958 at a weekly wage of £17 out of season and £20 during the season. He was back in training with the team the day after he arrived in Blackpool. He commented, ‘It is wonderful to be back.’ And
he was back in Central League action against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 13 December 1958 when he ‘distributed one or two neat passes’ as Blackpool lost 3-1.
His long awaited return to League action came against Nottingham Forest on 21 February 1959 when Blackpool won 1-0. And he went on to play 13 League games, scoring one goal, 10 Central League games and one friendly game for Blackpool in his first season back at Bloomfield Road.
In the close season Blackpool fulfilled their obligation to Tranmere Rovers by playing a friendly game at Prenton Park on 27 April 1959 in respect of the transfer of Johnny Green. Green scored Blackpool’s goal in a 2-1 defeat for the Seasiders and the programme noted, ‘Prenton Park fans will be able to assess the tremendous potential of the Maestro’s deputy, Brian Peterson, who returned from South Africa last autumn and now bids fair to create as big a stir in English football as his country-man, Bill Perry, on the opposite wing.’ That potential was recognised when Blackpool revised his terms for 1959/60 and the following season when he was to earn £16 per week out of season and £19 per week during the season.
After three games of the 1959/60 season, two of which were won, he was left out of the side after, in his own words ‘three bad games on the trot’. He duly returned to Central League action against Huddersfield Town reserves on 2 September 1959 and he scored Blackpool’s goal in a 1-1 draw. After missing four League games he returned to action in a 5-3 victory over Leicester City on 14 September and he remained in the side for a run of eight games before a niggling injury saw him sidelined for three games. He returned and showed good form in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 28 November and he looked set to retain his place for the remainder of the season.
Sadly he broke down on 9 January 1960 after 30 minutes of the FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town but ten-man Blackpool went on to win 3-0. He was diagnosed as having cartilage trouble and he was sidelined for a long time. His season was virtually finished and although he tried a comeback in the Central League side against Manchester United reserves on 5 March 1960, he was unable to play again and after the one game, that Blackpool lost 2-1, he had to have further operations. Nevertheless he played 18 League games, scoring two goals, one FA Cup tie, five Central League games, scoring three goals, and one friendly game for Blackpool in the 1959/60 season.
To aid his comeback, he began the 1960/61 season playing junior football in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams where he ‘took things cautiously’. And he began his senior comeback in the Central League side on 1 October 1960 against Preston North End reserves when Blackpool won 1-0. He came through that game unscathed and he returned to the first team on 5 October 1960 for the League Cup tie replay with Leeds United when Blackpool lost 3-1 after extra time. But he aggravated the injury and he was out for the next game.
At the end of October a specialist advised him that he would be out until the following February, possibly until the start of the following season but he did stress that he would play again before the season ended.
It looked likely to be a Happy New Year for him when he visited a specialist in December 1960 and got an encouraging report on the right knee injury that had sidelined him for virtually 12 months. He was expected to be fit to challenge for a first team place early in 1961. And so it was as he made an unexpected comeback in the Central League side on 7 January 1961, a year after his injury, in a 4-0 victory over Chesterfield reserves.
After three successive Central League games, he returned to the League side on 11 February 1961 in 2-2 draw with Chelsea. He was back to full fitness and played every game thereafter until the end of the season and he regularly received good reports such as
at Cardiff City on 24 March 1961 when one critic reported, ‘Brian Peterson and Ray Parry [were] working hard and demonstrating ball control of a high order’ as Blackpool won the game 2-0 to ease their relegation fears. He finished the season having played 16 League games, scoring two goals, one League Cup tie, four Central League games and one friendly game.
He was rewarded for his hard work in recovering from injury by being given revised terms for the 1961/62 season. He was to receive £24 per week plus an extra £5 when he played in the League side. And he began earning that bonus immediately as he started the season at inside right in the League side, playing in the opening game, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 19 August 1961. And in the second game of the season against Blackburn Rovers on 21 August he scored one of the goals in Blackpool’s 2-1 victory. He moved to outside right for three games before a minor injury interrupted his season and he missed a couple of games.
He returned to action with a goal in a 4-0 defeat of Chelsea on 30 September and then after a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal (Stan Matthews’ last game for the club and a game that I attended at Highbury) he scored again in a 2-1 defeat of Bolton Wanderers on 14 October. Then after injury sidelined him once more for two games he returned with a goal in a 4-2 defeat of Manchester City on 2 December 1961. He scored again in the following game, a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on 9 December but after he scored Blackpool’s consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat by Sheffield United on 26 December, he was out of the side once more.
He returned to the League side for a single game, a 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on 24 February 1962 before in a Central League game against Derby County reserves on 17 March 1962 he appeared in the unfamiliar position of right half and he ‘revealed, now and again, the class which is in him as a wing half, but he was in and out, too’. Blackpool lost 2-1.
On 30 March and 3 April he played a couple of games at inside left, a 2-2 draw with Everton, in which he scored one of Blackpool’s goals, and a 2-4 defeat by Sheffield United. Then he played what turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool at inside right against Fulham on 7 April 1962; goals from Ray Charnley and Ray Parry gave Blackpool a 2-1 victory, so he ended on a victorious note.
He did, however, play one further first team game when he played against Norwich City at Carrow Road in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on 11 April when he scored Blackpool’s goal in a catastrophic 1-4 defeat. He missed the second leg, which Blackpool won 2-0 (it was nail-biting as I was there!).
He ended what was his final season at Bloomfield Road having played 24 League games, scoring seven goals, one FA Cup tie, four League Cup ties, scoring one goal, nine Central League games, scoring three goals, two friendly games, plus making one substitute appearance, scoring one goal.
When the season ended he returned home to South Africa on 28 May 1962, his Blackpool career having encompassed 103 League games, in which he scored 16 goals, three FA Cup ties, five League Cup ties, with one goal, 51 Central League games, with nine goals, and seven friendly games, plus making one appearance as a substitute, scoring one goal.
He was reported as playing well for Durban United with brother Keith in November 1964. And when he left Durban United, he had a short spell with Durban City before retiring from the game. After retirement he worked for 27 years for Foschini, a clothing firm.
He made a welcome return to Bloomfield Road, along with brother Keith, as a guest of the club for the game against Northampton Town on 14 April 2007. And he mingled with supporters and reminisced about the wonderful time that he had had at the club. He had been an integral part of a reasonably successful Blackpool side, having finished in fourth, seventh, eighth, 11th, and 13th position in addition to dramatically fighting to escape relegation in 20th position in 1960/61 in his six seasons at the club.
He died on 21 September 2020 after a short illness. His name will long be remembered as having played a significant part in Blackpool Football Club’s illustrious history.
Brian Peterson was born in Durban on 29 October 1936 and was an inside forward who was signed by Blackpool on 8 October 1956 from his Berea Park club. He had apparently taken two years to make the decision to leave amateur football in South Africa and a partnership that he had in a sports store. He had started his football career with Berea Park FC but he had moved to Queens Park and made his senior debut at age 17 before returning to his original club. He represented the Natal Province team, playing in a Curry Cup final, and he also toured Australia with a South African representative XI.
After impressive games for the junior teams, Blackpool manager Joe Smith commented in early November 1956, ‘Peterson is a very promising player. He is the brainy type of player who has fine ball control and whose distribution is excellent’ and he added that he expected him soon to be in the Central League side.
After playing a number of games in the ‘A’ team he duly made his Central League debut against Chesterfield reserves on 10 November 1956 as Blackpool won 2-1. He then made his home debut in the Central League side on a cold, miserable afternoon 17 November 1956 against Stoke City reserves when he ‘was always calling for passes in the early minutes’ and ‘when he was given one [he] sent Booth away to shoot out by the far post’ as Blackpool eventually lost 1-0.
His talent was obvious and he was quickly promoted to 12th man for the League side against Chelsea on 1 December 1956 and many shrewd judges considered him another Ernie Taylor in the making. But, after his first taste of the League scene, he returned to play for the ‘A’ team against Everton ‘A’ on 8 December 1956 when Blackpool lost 3-0.
He returned to Central League action against Bolton Wanderers reserves on 22 December 1956 when he ‘made one or two good passes but the mud and slime made no surface for this lightweight’ as Blackpool lost 3-1. He scored his first Central League goal in a 3-2 defeat by Everton reserves on 25 December 1956 and his second Central League goal came when he was ‘sliding the ball past Rainford as the ‘keeper came out’ in a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers reserves on 5 January 1957. He then switched position and made a surprise appearance at outside left against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 2 March 1957 and he ‘came dangerously near opening his team’s account’ early in the second half but Blackpool lost 3-0 at Hillsborough.
His displays had been watched with interest by Joe Smith and he made his League debut in place of the injured Ernie Taylor against Cardiff City in a 4-3 victory on 9 March 1957. He partnered Stan Matthews on the right flank and it was noted by many a critic that he had not been born when Matthews was making his international debut.
Unfortunately he suffered a cut foot in training during the following week and, along with 10 other players, was declared unfit to play on 16 March 1957. When he recovered he discovered that at the last minute Ernie Taylor had developed a temperature before the game against Chelsea on 13 April 1957 and he was told that he would be in the League team for his second appearance. A Jackie Mudie goal settled the game 1-0 in Blackpool’s favour but Peterson earned the headline PETERSON DOES WELL.
Showing his versatility, for the Good Friday game against Arsenal on 19 April 1957, he switched to inside left to replace David Durie as the game was drawn 1-1. And then he moved to outside right, replacing the unfit Stan Matthews, for the return game against Arsenal on 22 April 1957 when Blackpool lost 4-2. He retained the outside right spot for the final two games of the season, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 27 April 1957 and a 1-0 victory over Burnley on 1 May 1957.
After a promising first season he had played in six League games and 12 Central League games, scoring two goals. And the end of season comment was ‘It will be interesting to look forward to the progress which Brian Peterson is expected to make. He arrived here last October almost an unknown South African. He has not stayed unknown for long.’
He returned home in the summer of 1957 to get married but returned to Blackpool for the following season after he had re-signed for the club for the 1957/58 season at terms of £14 per week in the summer and £17 per week in the football season.
He began the 1957/58 season with his first taste of European football when he was at inside left in the side that defeated Sparta Rotterdam 3-2 in a pre-season friendly game in Holland on 14 August 1957. And then after the Tangerines versus Whites practice match on 16 August 1957 the view was he was ‘developing into a footballer of great promise’ as he scored the Whites goal in a 4-1 defeat. But he missed the opening game of the season and then he played his first Central League game of the 1957/58 season against Sheffield United reserves on 26 August 1957 when the game was drawn 1-1.
He quickly earned a League re-call at inside left in place of the injured David Durie for the game against Luton Town on 4 September 1957 when Blackpool lost 2-0. He went on to score his first League goal for the club in the 79th minute in a 3-0 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday on 12 October 1957 when ‘Matthews took a free-kick and swept the ball across the field to the unmarked Peterson. The South African did not dally. Instead he cracked it first time into the left-hand corner of the net. Peterson threw his arms in the air and danced down the pitch. No wonder. It was his first goal in League football since he arrived from South Africa 12 months ago.’
Back in the Central League side on 19 October 1957 he was the provider for two of Ray Charnley’s three goals, hitting the bar for the first when Charnley scored from the rebound and providing the pass for his second as Blackpool defeated Newcastle United reserves 4-3. He replaced the injured Ernie Taylor in the League side against Nottingham Forest on 26 October 1957 when he partnered Stan Matthews who was playing his first game on the City Ground for 25 years! Blackpool won 2-1.
He scored a 54th-minute winner in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea on 2 November 1957 when overall he ‘did some good things’. He played his first game In the FA Cup in the third round against West Ham United on 4 January 1958 and although Blackpool took the lead in two minutes, they lost 5-1.
Then out of the blue Blackpool were hit with a bombshell when, on 27 January 1958 manager Joe Smith reported that Peterson had told him that he wanted to return to South Africa. But for the immediate future no movement took place.
Following an injury to Stan Matthews at Chelsea on 15 March 1958, Peterson replaced him at outside right for the game against Birmingham City on 22 March 1958. Blackpool went into half time at 2-2 and went on to win 4-2.
He continued at outside right in place of Matthews in a 2-1 defeat by Burnley on 29 March 1958 and his best moment came when he was ‘given an ovation when he cunningly outwitted Winton, but his curling centre was coolly anticipated by McDonald, who pulled down the ball by the right hand post’. Then, after injury ruled him out for a couple of games he returned at outside right for the 2-1 defeat by Preston North End on 7 April.
He created the opening goal for Bill Perry in a 2-1 victory over Portsmouth on 13 April 1958 and he was at outside right for the last game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur on 26 April 1958 because Stan Matthews was unavailable. Blackpool lost 2-1 with an all-South African right wing as Peter Hauser joined Peterson and both were involved in Blackpool’s late consolation goal. His 1957/58 season was a successful one as he played in 26 League games, scoring four goals, one FA Cup tie and 11 Central League games, scoring one goal. He also played in two friendly games.
Although he was due to return to South Africa in May 1958, on 18 April 1958 Blackpool offered him terms for the 1958/59 season. A spokesman for the club said, ‘Although Peterson has announced he is going home, there is nothing to prevent us from offering him terms just in case he changes his mind.’ And on 8 May 1958 he did return to his homeland. Many Blackpool supporters, disappointed at his return home, were worried that he would never return to play for the club especially when they heard that he had been reinstated as an amateur with Berea Park in the Durban League.
Fortunately he returned to Blackpool in November 1958 having sold his interest in the sports outfitters and he was re-signed by Blackpool on 1 December 1958 at a weekly wage of £17 out of season and £20 during the season. He was back in training with the team the day after he arrived in Blackpool. He commented, ‘It is wonderful to be back.’ And
he was back in Central League action against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 13 December 1958 when he ‘distributed one or two neat passes’ as Blackpool lost 3-1.
His long awaited return to League action came against Nottingham Forest on 21 February 1959 when Blackpool won 1-0. And he went on to play 13 League games, scoring one goal, 10 Central League games and one friendly game for Blackpool in his first season back at Bloomfield Road.
In the close season Blackpool fulfilled their obligation to Tranmere Rovers by playing a friendly game at Prenton Park on 27 April 1959 in respect of the transfer of Johnny Green. Green scored Blackpool’s goal in a 2-1 defeat for the Seasiders and the programme noted, ‘Prenton Park fans will be able to assess the tremendous potential of the Maestro’s deputy, Brian Peterson, who returned from South Africa last autumn and now bids fair to create as big a stir in English football as his country-man, Bill Perry, on the opposite wing.’ That potential was recognised when Blackpool revised his terms for 1959/60 and the following season when he was to earn £16 per week out of season and £19 per week during the season.
After three games of the 1959/60 season, two of which were won, he was left out of the side after, in his own words ‘three bad games on the trot’. He duly returned to Central League action against Huddersfield Town reserves on 2 September 1959 and he scored Blackpool’s goal in a 1-1 draw. After missing four League games he returned to action in a 5-3 victory over Leicester City on 14 September and he remained in the side for a run of eight games before a niggling injury saw him sidelined for three games. He returned and showed good form in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 28 November and he looked set to retain his place for the remainder of the season.
Sadly he broke down on 9 January 1960 after 30 minutes of the FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town but ten-man Blackpool went on to win 3-0. He was diagnosed as having cartilage trouble and he was sidelined for a long time. His season was virtually finished and although he tried a comeback in the Central League side against Manchester United reserves on 5 March 1960, he was unable to play again and after the one game, that Blackpool lost 2-1, he had to have further operations. Nevertheless he played 18 League games, scoring two goals, one FA Cup tie, five Central League games, scoring three goals, and one friendly game for Blackpool in the 1959/60 season.
To aid his comeback, he began the 1960/61 season playing junior football in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams where he ‘took things cautiously’. And he began his senior comeback in the Central League side on 1 October 1960 against Preston North End reserves when Blackpool won 1-0. He came through that game unscathed and he returned to the first team on 5 October 1960 for the League Cup tie replay with Leeds United when Blackpool lost 3-1 after extra time. But he aggravated the injury and he was out for the next game.
At the end of October a specialist advised him that he would be out until the following February, possibly until the start of the following season but he did stress that he would play again before the season ended.
It looked likely to be a Happy New Year for him when he visited a specialist in December 1960 and got an encouraging report on the right knee injury that had sidelined him for virtually 12 months. He was expected to be fit to challenge for a first team place early in 1961. And so it was as he made an unexpected comeback in the Central League side on 7 January 1961, a year after his injury, in a 4-0 victory over Chesterfield reserves.
After three successive Central League games, he returned to the League side on 11 February 1961 in 2-2 draw with Chelsea. He was back to full fitness and played every game thereafter until the end of the season and he regularly received good reports such as
at Cardiff City on 24 March 1961 when one critic reported, ‘Brian Peterson and Ray Parry [were] working hard and demonstrating ball control of a high order’ as Blackpool won the game 2-0 to ease their relegation fears. He finished the season having played 16 League games, scoring two goals, one League Cup tie, four Central League games and one friendly game.
He was rewarded for his hard work in recovering from injury by being given revised terms for the 1961/62 season. He was to receive £24 per week plus an extra £5 when he played in the League side. And he began earning that bonus immediately as he started the season at inside right in the League side, playing in the opening game, a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 19 August 1961. And in the second game of the season against Blackburn Rovers on 21 August he scored one of the goals in Blackpool’s 2-1 victory. He moved to outside right for three games before a minor injury interrupted his season and he missed a couple of games.
He returned to action with a goal in a 4-0 defeat of Chelsea on 30 September and then after a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal (Stan Matthews’ last game for the club and a game that I attended at Highbury) he scored again in a 2-1 defeat of Bolton Wanderers on 14 October. Then after injury sidelined him once more for two games he returned with a goal in a 4-2 defeat of Manchester City on 2 December 1961. He scored again in the following game, a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on 9 December but after he scored Blackpool’s consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat by Sheffield United on 26 December, he was out of the side once more.
He returned to the League side for a single game, a 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on 24 February 1962 before in a Central League game against Derby County reserves on 17 March 1962 he appeared in the unfamiliar position of right half and he ‘revealed, now and again, the class which is in him as a wing half, but he was in and out, too’. Blackpool lost 2-1.
On 30 March and 3 April he played a couple of games at inside left, a 2-2 draw with Everton, in which he scored one of Blackpool’s goals, and a 2-4 defeat by Sheffield United. Then he played what turned out to be his final League game for Blackpool at inside right against Fulham on 7 April 1962; goals from Ray Charnley and Ray Parry gave Blackpool a 2-1 victory, so he ended on a victorious note.
He did, however, play one further first team game when he played against Norwich City at Carrow Road in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on 11 April when he scored Blackpool’s goal in a catastrophic 1-4 defeat. He missed the second leg, which Blackpool won 2-0 (it was nail-biting as I was there!).
He ended what was his final season at Bloomfield Road having played 24 League games, scoring seven goals, one FA Cup tie, four League Cup ties, scoring one goal, nine Central League games, scoring three goals, two friendly games, plus making one substitute appearance, scoring one goal.
When the season ended he returned home to South Africa on 28 May 1962, his Blackpool career having encompassed 103 League games, in which he scored 16 goals, three FA Cup ties, five League Cup ties, with one goal, 51 Central League games, with nine goals, and seven friendly games, plus making one appearance as a substitute, scoring one goal.
He was reported as playing well for Durban United with brother Keith in November 1964. And when he left Durban United, he had a short spell with Durban City before retiring from the game. After retirement he worked for 27 years for Foschini, a clothing firm.
He made a welcome return to Bloomfield Road, along with brother Keith, as a guest of the club for the game against Northampton Town on 14 April 2007. And he mingled with supporters and reminisced about the wonderful time that he had had at the club. He had been an integral part of a reasonably successful Blackpool side, having finished in fourth, seventh, eighth, 11th, and 13th position in addition to dramatically fighting to escape relegation in 20th position in 1960/61 in his six seasons at the club.
He died on 21 September 2020 after a short illness. His name will long be remembered as having played a significant part in Blackpool Football Club’s illustrious history.
From lifeguard to England international goalkeeper:
Anthony Keith (Tony) Waiters 1937-2020
Tony Waiters was born in Southport on 1 February 1937. As a schoolboy he played his football at centre half but in joining the RAF for National Service he became a goalkeeper at which position he won one England amateur international cap in a 3-1 victory over Luxembourg on 24 May 1959 and he was a trialist for the 1956 Great Britain Olympic team; he eventually lost out to Harry Sharratt, who had been with Blackpool in 1952/53.
He had played for a variety of teams such as Bishop Auckland, Southport amateurs, various RAF teams, Middlesbrough second team in the North Eastern League, English Universities and a Midlands amateur side but it was from Macclesfield Town that Blackpool signed him as an amateur in August 1959 after being alerted to his potential by Verdi Godwin, a journeyman professional footballer who lived in Blackpool. He was a graduate of Loughborough College of Physical Education and was said to have been signed by Blackpool with a view to him being a replacement for ‘the aging George Farm’. He also worked as a lifeguard on Southport beach.
After the 1959/60 pre-season practice games, one critic commented, ‘Some young players of great promise will be jockeying for places, and I think the fans will see such “fresh faces” in action as Leslie Lea, Brian Tyrell, Tony Waiters, Ean Cuthbert, Geoff Barnes and Alan Burrows before long.’ He was vying for a position with another young goalkeeper, Gordon West, but it was Waiters who earned the call up for his debut for the Central League side on 22 August 1959. Blackpool lost 1-0 to Bolton Wanderers reserves.
He made a favourable impression in the Central League side and he was signed as a professional on 2 October 1959 when he commented, ‘Already I have found a big difference between the amateur and the professional game. Even in the Central League the game is faster and calls for unrelaxing concentration.’ His weekly wage was £16 in the summer, £17 in the winter plus an extra £3 if and when he played in the League side.
And he earned that £3 bonus for the first time when he made his League debut on 26 December 1959 in 1 0 home win over Blackburn Rovers. He replaced George Farm who thought that his own return to Scotland would be imminent once his deputy had won his spurs in first class football. He retained his place for the following game, a 3-1 victory over Fulham. Farm then returned for what were to be his final two League games for Blackpool before Waiters took over for the remainder of the season.
And when he was selected for the game at Wolverhampton Wanderers on 6 February 1960 after Farm had moved to Queen of the South he said, ‘I witnessed a mixture of delight and apprehension on the coach journey from Birmingham to the Molineux ground, those old butterflies started fluttering in my stomach but in the dressing room I found something which helped to ease the nervous strain. It was a telegram from George Farm wishing me good fortune. I was still somewhat overawed by the size and noise of the crowd.’ Blackpool drew 1 1 and he was ‘applauded off the field, a sporting appreciation from the home crowd for the agility, daring, precise timing and good handling he showed in defying the Wolves attack’. He ended the 1959/60 season having played 17 League games and 24 Central League games.
He had a wage increase for the 1960/61 season when his terms were £17 in the summer and £20 in the winter. And he began the season as the first choice goalkeeper and he played the first 21 games before an unaccountable loss of form by Christmas 1960 cost him his place in the first team as Blackpool made a change and gave Gordon West his first taste of League football. He said of the situation ‘My other job as a part time teacher has certainly helped me to overcome the gloom that followed my loss of form and subsequent loss of a first team place.’
He returned to action in the Central League side and he was injured in the game against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 22 April 1961 and he had to be stretchered off the field with his legs tied together. Sammy Salt went in goal as Blackpool won 2-1. The 1960/61 season saw him play 23 League games, two League Cup ties and 17 Central League games.
It was an unhappy Tony Waiters at the end of the season as, after having lost that first team spot to West, he uncharacteristically commented in July 1961, ‘The quicker I get to another club the better. I never want to play for Blackpool again.’ Fortunately the Blackpool directors were having none of that and his wage for the 1961/62 season was increased to £25 per week all year round plus an extra £5 when he played in the League side and these terms were to last for two seasons.
He started the 1961/62 season in the Central League side and although he won back his first team place against Bolton Wanderers on 14 October 1961 he still insisted, ‘I would still like to get away from Blackpool.’ He was apparently feeling that there was a difference between the amateur and professional game as he commented, ‘There is not the same sort of social life as you find in the amateur ranks.’ He admitted that he had only continued playing for the club because when the 1961/62 season opened Blackpool had not signed a replacement for him and he said, ’I did not want to see them in a spot so I signed a month’s contract, and since then I have signed a 12 month contract. But I still hope to get away one day. I should like to start again with a fresh club, although perhaps even further disillusionment lies in store for me if that ever comes about.’ In anticipation of leaving the club, he had given up his part time teaching post at Highfield School.
He injured a shoulder on 10 March 1962 after only 10 minutes against Leicester City and he played the second half of the game in the forward line, ‘given a roving commission, presumably for nuisance value if nothing else’. The injury caused him to miss the remainder of the 1961/62 season. Ironically the injury occurred just two weeks after Gordon West had signed for Everton and Blackpool had signed a replacement in Bryan Harvey from Newcastle United. Manager Ronnie Suart said of the injury, which happened when Waiters toppled over Leicester centre forward Ken Keyworth, ‘The fracture should have healed by the time the muscle fibres have healed. But it could take another three weeks, and I don’t expect he will be fit much before Easter.’ He was not fit by Easter and he said three weeks later, ‘The shoulder is giving me a bit of trouble. I can’t lift very well with my left arm or raise it fully yet. Still, it is remarkable what treatment can do for an injury like this. I shall just have to see how the shoulder responds in the next few days.’ He played in 20 League games, two FA Cup ties, three League Cup ties and 12 Central League games in the 1961/62 season.
He received a wage increase for the 1962/63 season when his weekly terms were improved to £30 per week all year round plus an additional £5 when he played in the League side. And he proved to be an ever-present in that season, playing in 42 League games, two FA Cup ties and three League Cup ties. And he got an honourable mention in the third round FA Cup replay against Norwich City on 6 March 1963 when ‘In the first half hour, where there was only one team in it (and that wasn’t Blackpool), only Waiters’ acrobatics and the superb policing of Gratrix stopped Norwich running riot.’ Unfortunately it was all to no avail as Blackpool lost 3-1 after extra-time.
He broke a finger in a 3-0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on 11 September 1963 and although he was out of the game, he was selected for the Football League against the League of Ireland in Dublin on 2 October 1963. However, he had no doubt about his fitness and he said, ’I’m certain I’ll be fit in time. I’ve been trying my hand out this week and it feels reasonably comfortable, although the finger is still in a splint. I don’t know whether I’ll be completely fit for the League Cup match with Charlton on Wednesday night, but I should certainly be all right for next Saturday’s game at Stoke and for the Monday match against Fulham.’
And of his selection for the Football League he commented, ’I’m on top of the world about it. One always hopes for these things, but when they come they still leave you a bit out of breath. I’m determined, as every player who represents the League or his country is determined, to put up a good show. But, you never know what can happen in a football match.’ Finally on the transformation that had taken place in his career, out of the team and wanting to leave only a couple of years earlier to being the club’s number one choice again, he remarked, ‘At that time, when things were going badly, I don’t think I understood the professional game properly, perhaps because I joined the paid ranks at a comparatively late age. If such a situation ever arose again, and I fervently hope it won’t, I think I would approach it with a very different attitude. You live and learn.’
He was named as reserve for England in the game against FIFA at Wembley for the FA Centenary on 23 October 1963, a game that England won 2-1 [I had a ticket for this game but suddenly an important meeting cropped up so I had to give the ticket to my Dad!]. And he was included in a squad of 22 players called up by England for training in December 1963. He was also selected for the English League side to play the Scottish League at Roker Park on 18 March 1964. The game was drawn 2-2.
After the inter League game there was pressure for him to be given a full England cap and Ronnie Suart, who went to Roker Park, commented, ’I thought on his showing that he did sufficient to justify his inclusion in the full England side against Scotland. I think he proved at last that he is on a par with Gordon Banks of Leicester. He is worth every consideration, and when the team is chosen at the end of the month it must be a very close thing between Tony and Gordon.’ In the end it was Banks who got the nod. For Blackpool he only missed two League games during the 1963/64 season as he played 39 League games, two FA Cup ties and one League Cup tie.
His weekly wage for the 1964/65 season was increased to £35 all year round plus an extra £5 when he played in the League side.
Unusually in a match, he made two penalty saves from Billy Bremner against Leeds United on 7 September 1964, which prompted Ronnie Suart to say ’There’s no better goalkeeper in England today.’ Blackpool won the game 4-0.
He finally made his England debut in a 3-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on 24 May 1964 and then he went on the England tour of North and South America in the 1964 close season and he replaced Gordon Banks for the game against Brazil at Rio de Janeiro on 30 May when Brazil won 5-1.
Continually vying with Banks for the England goalkeeping spot, he played in a 2 2 draw with Belgium at Wembley on 21 October 1964 and followed this with a game against Wales on 18 November when England won 2-1 [I was delighted to have been at both games for, as a goalkeeper myself in those days, Waiters was my boyhood idol]. Representative honours continued to come as he played for the Football League against the Irish League at The Oval, Belfast, on 28 October 1964 when England won 4-0 with a Frank Wignall hat-trick and a goal from Terry Paine and then he played his fifth and what turned out to be his final international against Holland in Amsterdam on 9 December 1964 when the game was drawn 1-1.
For Blackpool he was an ever-present in the 1964/65 season, playing 42 League games, one FA Cup tie and two League Cup ties. And he received a wage increase for the 1965/66 season when his weekly wage was to be £40 all year round plus an extra £10 when he played in the League side.
Despite being the regular first choice he was still unsettled and he had a transfer request refused in December 1965. Staying loyal to the club, he stated that he would not be renewing the request but added, ‘I still feel the same way about moving, I would like to leave Blackpool, but I am not putting in another transfer request. I don’t think there would be any point in doing so at the moment. It’s true that I may speak to Mr Suart again in two or three weeks or whenever I get round to it. But I haven’t decided on my definite course of action.’ His contract was due to finish at the end of the 1965/66 season but Blackpool held a one-year option.
He was left out of the side for the first time since September 1963 after two so-called ’under-par performances’ in two FA Cup ties against Manchester City for the 0 0 draw with Fulham on 29 January 1966 [I was there at Craven Cottage]. He did not renew his transfer request and said, ’I am not going to renew my request just because I have been left out of the side this week. This is not the time to do so. I have been given a few days off and I intend to forget football completely. It’s a strain keeping goal in a side which has been threatened with relegation for the past four years or so — and the strain is beginning to tell. I need a break.’ Manager Ron Suart commented on leaving out Waiters and Johnny Green, ‘As far as Tony is concerned it is a very long time since he was out of the team and I think a rest from football will do him a lot of good. Similarly it will do Johnny no harm to miss a game. Both have lost a little of their edge.’
On the Monday following the Fulham game Suart commented, ’Waiters has been to see me and is quite satisfied that we are resting him for his own good and that it will benefit him after so many consecutive appearances. [He had made 108 consecutive League and Cup appearances.]’ He added, ’Alan [Taylor] deserves another game for his performance on Saturday, where he did quite well.’ After two games Waiters was back in the side, despite that fact that Alan Taylor kept two clean sheets in two 0-0 draws! And he completed the season having played 40 League games, two FA Cup ties and two League Cup ties in the 1965/66 season.
He was selected by Alf Ramsey as one of the original 40 players selected for the 1966 World Cup but when the final 22 were chosen he was left out of the squad. He was, however, asked to remain on standby.
In a pre-season friendly game against Preston North End on 8 August 1966 he earned the headlines with ’Waiters keeps ‘Pool in front – Great saves foil North End Rally’ as Blackpool won 2-1. At the time he was noted as being on the transfer list at his own request.
In what turned out to be his final season at Bloomfield Road, he played 35 League games, one FA Cup tie and five League Cup ties in the 1966/67 season as Blackpool found themselves relegated to Division Two. Then he decided to retire and the club cancelled his registration on 30 June 1967 after he had appeared in 258 League games, 10 FA Cup ties and 18 League Cup ties, a grand total of 286 games.
Taking up coaching, he worked for the Football Association as a Regional Coach, and in January 1969 he joined Liverpool as coach for the club's youth development program. Then in 1970, he answered a cry from Burnley when an injury to their goalkeeper Peter Mellor led to him coming out of retirement. After making another 40 appearances, he finally retired in 1972.
By that time he had made a name for himself as a coach and he was immediately appointed FA North West regional coach and he later became a member of FIFA’s Panel of Instructors as well as being an English Staff Coach.
Thereafter he had a number of appointments, director of coaching at Coventry City in December 1971, a post he held until March 1972 and coach of the England Youth Under-18 team that won the European Championship in Italy in 1973 by defeating East Germany 3-2.
He was appointed manager of Plymouth Argyle in October 1972 and he remained at the club until April 1977. He led them to the League Cup semi-finals in 1973/74 when they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Manchester City and he guided the club to second place and promotion from Division Three (now League One) the following season, when Paul Mariner and Billy Rafferty combined for 43 goals..
He moved to Canada to manage Vancouver Whitecaps later in 1977 and he won the North American Soccer League’s ‘Coach of the Year’ for 1978. And he coached the Whitecaps to the North American Soccer League championship in 1979 when they upset the New York Cosmos en route to victory in Soccer Bowl '79, the NASL championship.
He was appointed coach to the Canadian national side in 1981 and in 1984 he was coach to the Canadian Olympic side that reached the tournament quarter-finals. And in 1985 he was the Canadian National Coach as the team were CONCACAF champions and he was still in the post when Canada reached the 1986 World Cup Finals for the only time in their history. He left the post later in 1986 but returned for a further spell in 1990 and 1991.
He was very highly regarded in North America and as well as his coaching commitments he created his company World of Soccer in the 1980s, producing a complete series of coaching books. He continued to coach children and young adults, helping them pursue their soccer goals and moulding players for the future. He was appointed the first Director of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) Goalkeeping Institute, stepping down in 2006. He remained a National Staff Coach of the NSCAA and U.S. Soccer.
He was regarded as a visionary coach and a manager well ahead of his time and he was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2001 and into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
As a former Pilgrims' manager he returned to Plymouth to watch the League One match between Argyle and Rochdale on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at Home Park. A lunch was also held in his honour at the Duke of Cornwall Hotel in Plymouth.
He died on 10 November 2020. Former Plymouth player, and one of the club’s Legends, Paul Hart, paid tribute to him with ‘The world is a poorer place this morning with the devastating news that the great Tony Waiters has sadly passed away at the age of 83. Tony has left a legacy that will be remembered by many across the world. His achievements in football are seconded only by his devotion to his lovely family. Our thoughts are with his wife Anne and their two children Scott and Victoria. RIP Tony. I am honoured to have met you.’ And he is fondly remembered on both sides of the Atlantic as an outstanding contributor to the game of football and he will always have his place in the annals of the history of Blackpool Football Club.
Tony Waiters was born in Southport on 1 February 1937. As a schoolboy he played his football at centre half but in joining the RAF for National Service he became a goalkeeper at which position he won one England amateur international cap in a 3-1 victory over Luxembourg on 24 May 1959 and he was a trialist for the 1956 Great Britain Olympic team; he eventually lost out to Harry Sharratt, who had been with Blackpool in 1952/53.
He had played for a variety of teams such as Bishop Auckland, Southport amateurs, various RAF teams, Middlesbrough second team in the North Eastern League, English Universities and a Midlands amateur side but it was from Macclesfield Town that Blackpool signed him as an amateur in August 1959 after being alerted to his potential by Verdi Godwin, a journeyman professional footballer who lived in Blackpool. He was a graduate of Loughborough College of Physical Education and was said to have been signed by Blackpool with a view to him being a replacement for ‘the aging George Farm’. He also worked as a lifeguard on Southport beach.
After the 1959/60 pre-season practice games, one critic commented, ‘Some young players of great promise will be jockeying for places, and I think the fans will see such “fresh faces” in action as Leslie Lea, Brian Tyrell, Tony Waiters, Ean Cuthbert, Geoff Barnes and Alan Burrows before long.’ He was vying for a position with another young goalkeeper, Gordon West, but it was Waiters who earned the call up for his debut for the Central League side on 22 August 1959. Blackpool lost 1-0 to Bolton Wanderers reserves.
He made a favourable impression in the Central League side and he was signed as a professional on 2 October 1959 when he commented, ‘Already I have found a big difference between the amateur and the professional game. Even in the Central League the game is faster and calls for unrelaxing concentration.’ His weekly wage was £16 in the summer, £17 in the winter plus an extra £3 if and when he played in the League side.
And he earned that £3 bonus for the first time when he made his League debut on 26 December 1959 in 1 0 home win over Blackburn Rovers. He replaced George Farm who thought that his own return to Scotland would be imminent once his deputy had won his spurs in first class football. He retained his place for the following game, a 3-1 victory over Fulham. Farm then returned for what were to be his final two League games for Blackpool before Waiters took over for the remainder of the season.
And when he was selected for the game at Wolverhampton Wanderers on 6 February 1960 after Farm had moved to Queen of the South he said, ‘I witnessed a mixture of delight and apprehension on the coach journey from Birmingham to the Molineux ground, those old butterflies started fluttering in my stomach but in the dressing room I found something which helped to ease the nervous strain. It was a telegram from George Farm wishing me good fortune. I was still somewhat overawed by the size and noise of the crowd.’ Blackpool drew 1 1 and he was ‘applauded off the field, a sporting appreciation from the home crowd for the agility, daring, precise timing and good handling he showed in defying the Wolves attack’. He ended the 1959/60 season having played 17 League games and 24 Central League games.
He had a wage increase for the 1960/61 season when his terms were £17 in the summer and £20 in the winter. And he began the season as the first choice goalkeeper and he played the first 21 games before an unaccountable loss of form by Christmas 1960 cost him his place in the first team as Blackpool made a change and gave Gordon West his first taste of League football. He said of the situation ‘My other job as a part time teacher has certainly helped me to overcome the gloom that followed my loss of form and subsequent loss of a first team place.’
He returned to action in the Central League side and he was injured in the game against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 22 April 1961 and he had to be stretchered off the field with his legs tied together. Sammy Salt went in goal as Blackpool won 2-1. The 1960/61 season saw him play 23 League games, two League Cup ties and 17 Central League games.
It was an unhappy Tony Waiters at the end of the season as, after having lost that first team spot to West, he uncharacteristically commented in July 1961, ‘The quicker I get to another club the better. I never want to play for Blackpool again.’ Fortunately the Blackpool directors were having none of that and his wage for the 1961/62 season was increased to £25 per week all year round plus an extra £5 when he played in the League side and these terms were to last for two seasons.
He started the 1961/62 season in the Central League side and although he won back his first team place against Bolton Wanderers on 14 October 1961 he still insisted, ‘I would still like to get away from Blackpool.’ He was apparently feeling that there was a difference between the amateur and professional game as he commented, ‘There is not the same sort of social life as you find in the amateur ranks.’ He admitted that he had only continued playing for the club because when the 1961/62 season opened Blackpool had not signed a replacement for him and he said, ’I did not want to see them in a spot so I signed a month’s contract, and since then I have signed a 12 month contract. But I still hope to get away one day. I should like to start again with a fresh club, although perhaps even further disillusionment lies in store for me if that ever comes about.’ In anticipation of leaving the club, he had given up his part time teaching post at Highfield School.
He injured a shoulder on 10 March 1962 after only 10 minutes against Leicester City and he played the second half of the game in the forward line, ‘given a roving commission, presumably for nuisance value if nothing else’. The injury caused him to miss the remainder of the 1961/62 season. Ironically the injury occurred just two weeks after Gordon West had signed for Everton and Blackpool had signed a replacement in Bryan Harvey from Newcastle United. Manager Ronnie Suart said of the injury, which happened when Waiters toppled over Leicester centre forward Ken Keyworth, ‘The fracture should have healed by the time the muscle fibres have healed. But it could take another three weeks, and I don’t expect he will be fit much before Easter.’ He was not fit by Easter and he said three weeks later, ‘The shoulder is giving me a bit of trouble. I can’t lift very well with my left arm or raise it fully yet. Still, it is remarkable what treatment can do for an injury like this. I shall just have to see how the shoulder responds in the next few days.’ He played in 20 League games, two FA Cup ties, three League Cup ties and 12 Central League games in the 1961/62 season.
He received a wage increase for the 1962/63 season when his weekly terms were improved to £30 per week all year round plus an additional £5 when he played in the League side. And he proved to be an ever-present in that season, playing in 42 League games, two FA Cup ties and three League Cup ties. And he got an honourable mention in the third round FA Cup replay against Norwich City on 6 March 1963 when ‘In the first half hour, where there was only one team in it (and that wasn’t Blackpool), only Waiters’ acrobatics and the superb policing of Gratrix stopped Norwich running riot.’ Unfortunately it was all to no avail as Blackpool lost 3-1 after extra-time.
He broke a finger in a 3-0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on 11 September 1963 and although he was out of the game, he was selected for the Football League against the League of Ireland in Dublin on 2 October 1963. However, he had no doubt about his fitness and he said, ’I’m certain I’ll be fit in time. I’ve been trying my hand out this week and it feels reasonably comfortable, although the finger is still in a splint. I don’t know whether I’ll be completely fit for the League Cup match with Charlton on Wednesday night, but I should certainly be all right for next Saturday’s game at Stoke and for the Monday match against Fulham.’
And of his selection for the Football League he commented, ’I’m on top of the world about it. One always hopes for these things, but when they come they still leave you a bit out of breath. I’m determined, as every player who represents the League or his country is determined, to put up a good show. But, you never know what can happen in a football match.’ Finally on the transformation that had taken place in his career, out of the team and wanting to leave only a couple of years earlier to being the club’s number one choice again, he remarked, ‘At that time, when things were going badly, I don’t think I understood the professional game properly, perhaps because I joined the paid ranks at a comparatively late age. If such a situation ever arose again, and I fervently hope it won’t, I think I would approach it with a very different attitude. You live and learn.’
He was named as reserve for England in the game against FIFA at Wembley for the FA Centenary on 23 October 1963, a game that England won 2-1 [I had a ticket for this game but suddenly an important meeting cropped up so I had to give the ticket to my Dad!]. And he was included in a squad of 22 players called up by England for training in December 1963. He was also selected for the English League side to play the Scottish League at Roker Park on 18 March 1964. The game was drawn 2-2.
After the inter League game there was pressure for him to be given a full England cap and Ronnie Suart, who went to Roker Park, commented, ’I thought on his showing that he did sufficient to justify his inclusion in the full England side against Scotland. I think he proved at last that he is on a par with Gordon Banks of Leicester. He is worth every consideration, and when the team is chosen at the end of the month it must be a very close thing between Tony and Gordon.’ In the end it was Banks who got the nod. For Blackpool he only missed two League games during the 1963/64 season as he played 39 League games, two FA Cup ties and one League Cup tie.
His weekly wage for the 1964/65 season was increased to £35 all year round plus an extra £5 when he played in the League side.
Unusually in a match, he made two penalty saves from Billy Bremner against Leeds United on 7 September 1964, which prompted Ronnie Suart to say ’There’s no better goalkeeper in England today.’ Blackpool won the game 4-0.
He finally made his England debut in a 3-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on 24 May 1964 and then he went on the England tour of North and South America in the 1964 close season and he replaced Gordon Banks for the game against Brazil at Rio de Janeiro on 30 May when Brazil won 5-1.
Continually vying with Banks for the England goalkeeping spot, he played in a 2 2 draw with Belgium at Wembley on 21 October 1964 and followed this with a game against Wales on 18 November when England won 2-1 [I was delighted to have been at both games for, as a goalkeeper myself in those days, Waiters was my boyhood idol]. Representative honours continued to come as he played for the Football League against the Irish League at The Oval, Belfast, on 28 October 1964 when England won 4-0 with a Frank Wignall hat-trick and a goal from Terry Paine and then he played his fifth and what turned out to be his final international against Holland in Amsterdam on 9 December 1964 when the game was drawn 1-1.
For Blackpool he was an ever-present in the 1964/65 season, playing 42 League games, one FA Cup tie and two League Cup ties. And he received a wage increase for the 1965/66 season when his weekly wage was to be £40 all year round plus an extra £10 when he played in the League side.
Despite being the regular first choice he was still unsettled and he had a transfer request refused in December 1965. Staying loyal to the club, he stated that he would not be renewing the request but added, ‘I still feel the same way about moving, I would like to leave Blackpool, but I am not putting in another transfer request. I don’t think there would be any point in doing so at the moment. It’s true that I may speak to Mr Suart again in two or three weeks or whenever I get round to it. But I haven’t decided on my definite course of action.’ His contract was due to finish at the end of the 1965/66 season but Blackpool held a one-year option.
He was left out of the side for the first time since September 1963 after two so-called ’under-par performances’ in two FA Cup ties against Manchester City for the 0 0 draw with Fulham on 29 January 1966 [I was there at Craven Cottage]. He did not renew his transfer request and said, ’I am not going to renew my request just because I have been left out of the side this week. This is not the time to do so. I have been given a few days off and I intend to forget football completely. It’s a strain keeping goal in a side which has been threatened with relegation for the past four years or so — and the strain is beginning to tell. I need a break.’ Manager Ron Suart commented on leaving out Waiters and Johnny Green, ‘As far as Tony is concerned it is a very long time since he was out of the team and I think a rest from football will do him a lot of good. Similarly it will do Johnny no harm to miss a game. Both have lost a little of their edge.’
On the Monday following the Fulham game Suart commented, ’Waiters has been to see me and is quite satisfied that we are resting him for his own good and that it will benefit him after so many consecutive appearances. [He had made 108 consecutive League and Cup appearances.]’ He added, ’Alan [Taylor] deserves another game for his performance on Saturday, where he did quite well.’ After two games Waiters was back in the side, despite that fact that Alan Taylor kept two clean sheets in two 0-0 draws! And he completed the season having played 40 League games, two FA Cup ties and two League Cup ties in the 1965/66 season.
He was selected by Alf Ramsey as one of the original 40 players selected for the 1966 World Cup but when the final 22 were chosen he was left out of the squad. He was, however, asked to remain on standby.
In a pre-season friendly game against Preston North End on 8 August 1966 he earned the headlines with ’Waiters keeps ‘Pool in front – Great saves foil North End Rally’ as Blackpool won 2-1. At the time he was noted as being on the transfer list at his own request.
In what turned out to be his final season at Bloomfield Road, he played 35 League games, one FA Cup tie and five League Cup ties in the 1966/67 season as Blackpool found themselves relegated to Division Two. Then he decided to retire and the club cancelled his registration on 30 June 1967 after he had appeared in 258 League games, 10 FA Cup ties and 18 League Cup ties, a grand total of 286 games.
Taking up coaching, he worked for the Football Association as a Regional Coach, and in January 1969 he joined Liverpool as coach for the club's youth development program. Then in 1970, he answered a cry from Burnley when an injury to their goalkeeper Peter Mellor led to him coming out of retirement. After making another 40 appearances, he finally retired in 1972.
By that time he had made a name for himself as a coach and he was immediately appointed FA North West regional coach and he later became a member of FIFA’s Panel of Instructors as well as being an English Staff Coach.
Thereafter he had a number of appointments, director of coaching at Coventry City in December 1971, a post he held until March 1972 and coach of the England Youth Under-18 team that won the European Championship in Italy in 1973 by defeating East Germany 3-2.
He was appointed manager of Plymouth Argyle in October 1972 and he remained at the club until April 1977. He led them to the League Cup semi-finals in 1973/74 when they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Manchester City and he guided the club to second place and promotion from Division Three (now League One) the following season, when Paul Mariner and Billy Rafferty combined for 43 goals..
He moved to Canada to manage Vancouver Whitecaps later in 1977 and he won the North American Soccer League’s ‘Coach of the Year’ for 1978. And he coached the Whitecaps to the North American Soccer League championship in 1979 when they upset the New York Cosmos en route to victory in Soccer Bowl '79, the NASL championship.
He was appointed coach to the Canadian national side in 1981 and in 1984 he was coach to the Canadian Olympic side that reached the tournament quarter-finals. And in 1985 he was the Canadian National Coach as the team were CONCACAF champions and he was still in the post when Canada reached the 1986 World Cup Finals for the only time in their history. He left the post later in 1986 but returned for a further spell in 1990 and 1991.
He was very highly regarded in North America and as well as his coaching commitments he created his company World of Soccer in the 1980s, producing a complete series of coaching books. He continued to coach children and young adults, helping them pursue their soccer goals and moulding players for the future. He was appointed the first Director of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) Goalkeeping Institute, stepping down in 2006. He remained a National Staff Coach of the NSCAA and U.S. Soccer.
He was regarded as a visionary coach and a manager well ahead of his time and he was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2001 and into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
As a former Pilgrims' manager he returned to Plymouth to watch the League One match between Argyle and Rochdale on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at Home Park. A lunch was also held in his honour at the Duke of Cornwall Hotel in Plymouth.
He died on 10 November 2020. Former Plymouth player, and one of the club’s Legends, Paul Hart, paid tribute to him with ‘The world is a poorer place this morning with the devastating news that the great Tony Waiters has sadly passed away at the age of 83. Tony has left a legacy that will be remembered by many across the world. His achievements in football are seconded only by his devotion to his lovely family. Our thoughts are with his wife Anne and their two children Scott and Victoria. RIP Tony. I am honoured to have met you.’ And he is fondly remembered on both sides of the Atlantic as an outstanding contributor to the game of football and he will always have his place in the annals of the history of Blackpool Football Club.
One of Dundee’s ‘Champions of Scotland’ at Blackpool
Bobby Waddell was born in Kirkcaldy on 5 September 1939. As a centre forward he had played his early football for St Andrews United where he had won a Scottish Juvenile Cup medal and scored over 100 goals for the club. He signed for Dundee in July 1959 and went on to score 46 goals in 85 games for The Dark Blues where he was initially the understudy to the legendary Alan Gilzean. He had also won a Scottish League Championship medal with Dundee in the 1961/62 season when he played his part with vital goals when called upon. However, he had asked for a transfer when Dundee signed Alex Harley from Birmingham City in November 1964 and he had lost his first team spot.
He was signed by Blackpool for a fee of £5,000 (some reports stated £10,000 but the £5,000 fee is from Blackpool official records) from Dundee on 12 March 1965. Manager Ronnie Suart, his assistant Eric Hayward and a director had watched Waddell play in a second XI Cup semi-final and his display encouraged Suart to make a bid for the player – said to be £8,000 (but see above). Waddell had only just previously turned down a move to Preston North End! He duly signed for the Seasiders.
He made his Blackpool debut for the Central League side and he made an impressive start, scoring after nine minutes in a 1 0 win over Manchester United reserves on 13 March 1965.
After that promising start, he made his League debut for the club on 20 March 1965 when he replaced the injured Ray Charnley who was missing his first game of the season. Again he impressed and he scored twice in a 3 0 defeat of West Bromwich Albion. It was reported, ‘He gave a hard working performance, capped with two goals in three minutes, the 37th and 40th, which finally put West Brom on the floor.’
This began a run of five successive League appearances with another goal coming in a 3-0 victory over Fulham on 3 April but injury against Arsenal in a 1-1 draw on 16 April ended his season, in which he played five League games, scoring three goals, and also played two Central League games, scoring one goal.
He was still injured as the 1965/66 season began and he was described as ‘Blackpool’s Mystery Man’ in September 1965 as he had only played seven games since his arrival, five in the first team and two in the Central League side. Recovering from his injury, the 26-year old was back in full time training by September. Blackpool manager Ronnie Suart commented, ’Bobby is feeling pretty fit again and looking forward to getting back into the game and making a mark for himself here in Blackpool.’ He had played centre forward in all his games to that date but Ray Charnley was then back to his best form so he occupied the number nine position but Suart commented, ‘He [Waddell] can play in any forward position.’
It took some time for him to get back in the League side but he returned to action at inside left in a 1 1 draw with Stoke City on 11 December 1965. Blackpool then had no games for two weeks but in a Christmas Day game (the last League game ever played on 25 December) he scored one of Blackpool’s goals in a convincing 4-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers. The other goals came from Charnley, Ball and Turner.
Thereafter he was in and out of the side, but after he had scored five goals in seven Central League games, he earned a recall to the League side for the game against Aston Villa on 26 February 1966 when Blackpool lost 1-0. Unfortunately he had to leave the field with an injury in the following game against Arsenal but he only missed one game before returning for a further three games.
But after a 3-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on 4 April, his lack of goals cost him his place and Jimmy Robson, who ironically was signed on the same day as Waddell, took over. He did return for the final four games of the season but once again he was unable to find the net. He finished the season with one goal in his 15 League and Cup games.
He started the 1966/67 season at inside let in the League side, appearing in the opening game, a 3-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on 20 August 1966. He was moved to inside right for the following game and held his place there for eight games in one of which he scored a ‘surprise equaliser’ against Liverpool on 5 September but Blackpool eventually lost 2-1.
But, despite being bottom of Division One, Blackpool defeated Manchester United 5-1 in the second round of the League Cup on 14 September 1966 and the inspiration for the victory was reported thus: ‘For Blackpool’s four Scots it was a memorable evening. The quartet are [sic] right half Hugh Fisher from Glasgow, right winger Ian Moir from Aberdeen, inside right Booby Waddell from Dundee and John McPhee from Motherwell.’ Waddell scored one of the goals, with Ray Charnley scoring a hat-trick and Leslie Lea scoring the other.
Playing in the Central League side, his time was running out at Blackpool, and he was transferred to Bradford Park Avenue for a fee of £5,500 on 4 November 1966. The fee was paid in three instalments, £4,000 on 4 November 1966, £500 on 3 January 1967 and the balance of £1,000 on 20 January 1967. He had played nine League games, scoring one goal, four Central League games, scoring one goal up to the time of his transfer in that 1955/57 season. Overall his Blackpool career encompassed 30 League and Cup games in which he scored six goals.
He played 20 League games and scored three goals in his one season at Bradford before the club released him and he returned to Scotland, joining East Fife, for who he was reported as playing ‘splendidly’ at right half, a role to which he had taken to ‘like a duck to water’ in August 1968.
He later played for Montrose before moving on to play for and then manage the then-amateur side Tayport.
In April 2012 he attended a 50th anniversary dinner to celebrate Dundee winning the Scottish League. By that time he had earned iconic status as one of Dundee’s ‘Champions of Scotland’.
He died on 25 August 2021.
He was signed by Blackpool for a fee of £5,000 (some reports stated £10,000 but the £5,000 fee is from Blackpool official records) from Dundee on 12 March 1965. Manager Ronnie Suart, his assistant Eric Hayward and a director had watched Waddell play in a second XI Cup semi-final and his display encouraged Suart to make a bid for the player – said to be £8,000 (but see above). Waddell had only just previously turned down a move to Preston North End! He duly signed for the Seasiders.
He made his Blackpool debut for the Central League side and he made an impressive start, scoring after nine minutes in a 1 0 win over Manchester United reserves on 13 March 1965.
After that promising start, he made his League debut for the club on 20 March 1965 when he replaced the injured Ray Charnley who was missing his first game of the season. Again he impressed and he scored twice in a 3 0 defeat of West Bromwich Albion. It was reported, ‘He gave a hard working performance, capped with two goals in three minutes, the 37th and 40th, which finally put West Brom on the floor.’
This began a run of five successive League appearances with another goal coming in a 3-0 victory over Fulham on 3 April but injury against Arsenal in a 1-1 draw on 16 April ended his season, in which he played five League games, scoring three goals, and also played two Central League games, scoring one goal.
He was still injured as the 1965/66 season began and he was described as ‘Blackpool’s Mystery Man’ in September 1965 as he had only played seven games since his arrival, five in the first team and two in the Central League side. Recovering from his injury, the 26-year old was back in full time training by September. Blackpool manager Ronnie Suart commented, ’Bobby is feeling pretty fit again and looking forward to getting back into the game and making a mark for himself here in Blackpool.’ He had played centre forward in all his games to that date but Ray Charnley was then back to his best form so he occupied the number nine position but Suart commented, ‘He [Waddell] can play in any forward position.’
It took some time for him to get back in the League side but he returned to action at inside left in a 1 1 draw with Stoke City on 11 December 1965. Blackpool then had no games for two weeks but in a Christmas Day game (the last League game ever played on 25 December) he scored one of Blackpool’s goals in a convincing 4-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers. The other goals came from Charnley, Ball and Turner.
Thereafter he was in and out of the side, but after he had scored five goals in seven Central League games, he earned a recall to the League side for the game against Aston Villa on 26 February 1966 when Blackpool lost 1-0. Unfortunately he had to leave the field with an injury in the following game against Arsenal but he only missed one game before returning for a further three games.
But after a 3-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on 4 April, his lack of goals cost him his place and Jimmy Robson, who ironically was signed on the same day as Waddell, took over. He did return for the final four games of the season but once again he was unable to find the net. He finished the season with one goal in his 15 League and Cup games.
He started the 1966/67 season at inside let in the League side, appearing in the opening game, a 3-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on 20 August 1966. He was moved to inside right for the following game and held his place there for eight games in one of which he scored a ‘surprise equaliser’ against Liverpool on 5 September but Blackpool eventually lost 2-1.
But, despite being bottom of Division One, Blackpool defeated Manchester United 5-1 in the second round of the League Cup on 14 September 1966 and the inspiration for the victory was reported thus: ‘For Blackpool’s four Scots it was a memorable evening. The quartet are [sic] right half Hugh Fisher from Glasgow, right winger Ian Moir from Aberdeen, inside right Booby Waddell from Dundee and John McPhee from Motherwell.’ Waddell scored one of the goals, with Ray Charnley scoring a hat-trick and Leslie Lea scoring the other.
Playing in the Central League side, his time was running out at Blackpool, and he was transferred to Bradford Park Avenue for a fee of £5,500 on 4 November 1966. The fee was paid in three instalments, £4,000 on 4 November 1966, £500 on 3 January 1967 and the balance of £1,000 on 20 January 1967. He had played nine League games, scoring one goal, four Central League games, scoring one goal up to the time of his transfer in that 1955/57 season. Overall his Blackpool career encompassed 30 League and Cup games in which he scored six goals.
He played 20 League games and scored three goals in his one season at Bradford before the club released him and he returned to Scotland, joining East Fife, for who he was reported as playing ‘splendidly’ at right half, a role to which he had taken to ‘like a duck to water’ in August 1968.
He later played for Montrose before moving on to play for and then manage the then-amateur side Tayport.
In April 2012 he attended a 50th anniversary dinner to celebrate Dundee winning the Scottish League. By that time he had earned iconic status as one of Dundee’s ‘Champions of Scotland’.
He died on 25 August 2021.
