CW'S Notes from the Football Field Part4

Bert Trautman, John Connelly, Billy Foulkes, just a few of the greats who had started off at Houghton Road, home of St.Helens Town AFC. There was never a chance that my name would be added to that list!

My time with Town would be a mixture of more lows than highs; it ended on a mud lark of a pitch at Aintree SS in March 1973 with a badly twisted knee playing for the Reserves in the Liverpool County Combination. It was the final straw, in what had been an injury hit season; I was getting married later on that year and my eye was definitely not on the ball.

Houghton Road was handy for me, I was managing a Co-op in Huyton and on Tuesdays and Thursdays would get the train from Huyton just a few stops down the line to the Junction and arrive in time for training. Training was compulsory, no Rio excuses like I forgot; it was part of the deal, no training, no playing.

We had one old blue and white stand that sat alongside the railway track and we would warm up by running up and down the steps; no floodlights then, so it was a run up to nearby Sherdley Park and training alongside the street lights on the carriageway.

Most of the team consisted of locals and the captain was another local Allan Wellens who was once on Evertons books before “coming home”. The team colours were blue with a white vertical band down the front, similar to the Birmingham City kit at the time.

Within the ground was a thriving social club and it was the profits from the social side that kept the football club going. I can recall George Roper from the Comedians appearing one Tuesday and ripped us apart as we came in after training; we gave as good as we could back, but he had the microphone and it was no contest anyway.

Thursday was pay day and a showing in the reserves paid a straight ten bob (50p), a first team appearance paid £1 10 shillings (£1.50) and also carried a ten bob winning bonus. Unfortunately for me there were too many ten bobs and not enough £1.50s, let alone £2.00s!

Most of my games were plied away in the reserves, although I can remember my 1st team debut away at Ford Motors in the 1 st Division of The Lancashire Combination; we won and I was king on the following Thursday with 2 x £1 notes in my brown envelope.

We travelled to games in a hired coach, with a wooden board at the front proclaiming “St.Helens Town AFC”, it was hardly Real Madrid; but to us it felt like it

Bacup Borough, Marine Town , Blackpool Mechanics, Formby Town , where among the grounds we visited, no 50,000 attendance stadiums for us. Marine Town was probably the most daunting with a stand so close to the pitch that you needed brakes to time your sliding tackles, otherwise you ended halfway up the stand with lumps missing from your knees. Formby Town on the other hand was like playing in a sand pit!

I did suffer concussion once which resulted in 3 day hospital stay. I was in the Reserves against St. Dominics at the Crawford Sports Ground in Liverpool and was up against a robust centre forward; now if you recall my hatred of opposite number 9s went back a long way and we were having a real good set to. From the kick from their keeper I jumped to win the header, he delayed a second longer and landed on the back of my head with both arms together crashing down onto the top of my head.

I went down, got up and at the half time whistle walked off toward the dressing rooms; but I was going in the wrong direction; I was led back, took no further part and first stop that night for the coach was St.Helens Hospital!

The wedding was set for the end of September, I was finished in March and I had managed to squeeze in a Burnley 1-0 win against Man City in the Charity Shield in August; a Waldo wonder header, my mate Dave being a City fan was sick that day at Maine Road.

The big day came, it rained all day; my £1 each way double Two For Joy and Bride of Rhyme had a 20/1 winner, but the other went down. The football pink reported that Burnley had beaten Man City again 3-0; Dave was sick again and the bride looked a picture!

Our two up two down terrace would need a lot of work and football would have to take a back seat. I left the Co-op later that year and joined St.Helens Council Technical Services Department.

The dream of professional football was over, not good enough, not fit enough; I never met John Connelly and regret not being able to attend the Together Again Dinner last month; I could have been the only one in the room with the St.Helens Town connection to that great Burnley winger.

Next time: Family life; Burnley on the slide and back into football.

Colinwaldron