60 years ago this month...

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February 1959 began with a home match against Barnsley, a game which was seen as secondary in importance to the games which were to follow. It was the first home match for 4 weeks, and like this year's first match of February against Bolton, the match against Barnsley was against a team much lower in the league, and there was a general expectation that we would win and gain the points to help us catch the teams occupying the promotion places.

The programme showed a much greater interest in the 5th round Cup-tie at Arsenal the following week, partly because it was a re-run of the 1936 Cup Final, a match which many Blades fans in the 1950s remembered with pride. Here was a chance for a measure of revenge. (As an aside, my Dad had not long started working in 1936, and was unable to take the Saturday of the 1936 Cup Final off work, and so missed the match. For the rest of his working life, he took a week's holiday at the beginning of May, so that he would not miss United's next Cup Final appearance. He retired in 1977...)

The page in the programme about Barnsley focussed on their poor financial situation, including a recent failed attempt to 'crowd-fund' a set of floodlights; it gives the distinct impression that the United board were keen to point out that we were not the only club who had to sell their best players. Many of the Barnsley players were local lads, some of whom stayed many years at the club.

United were at full-strength, except for the continued absence of Richardson, and in front of a crowd of just over 17000 (much lower than current attendances), duly won 5-0, with a hat trick from Pace, and goals from Hamilton and Russell. This was a team with the ability to score plenty of goals, and a strong home record (this was their 7th home win in succession). Again, my scrapbook does not have a report of the match (the newspaper had presumably been used to light the fire before I could get my hands on it), and I have just the one photo, of Pace scoring past goalkeeper Harry Hough with a powerful left-foot shot from a narrow angle, if memory serves me right; a mirror-image of Duffy at S6, with less fancy footwork.

So, we were just about keeping in touch with the league-leaders, and had a great confidence-booster for the 5th round cup-tie. It was a good time to be a Blade. Today's me would no doubt be worrying about the lack of strength in depth, as the Reseves had just lost 5-0 at Blackburn and 9-0 at Wolves. And would agree with the words of wisdom in the programme which were part of the season's road safety campaign: 'If you're driving when weary - be wary'. Some pictures in next post, below:

 

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[Cyprus Blade]

1959 was my first season going to the Lane and I have such fond memories of that time and the players. When I look at Facebook and the like and see polls for "our best ever" player in various positions it makes me sad that these players are fading from the collective memory.

Of course I realise that many are too young to have seen them play ( I never got to see the great Jimmy Hagan and the available footage does not do justice to the talent he had according to my late father) but the 1959 team formed the nucleus of John Harris' first promotion team. Some photos of the players who sustained our team which may be of interest to some. I'm sure Silent will correct any factual errors.



Doc - 1957-1964 Sheffield United 253 appearances (140 goals) What would he be worth now?

The Blades top scorer for six successive seasons. My childhood hero, loved him to bits.



Gerry Summers - part of the greatest defence we ever had. Joined Sheffield United in May 1957, Joe Mercer having signed him from West Bromwich Albion. He played 260 League games as attacking wing-half before moving to Hull City in 1964.


Joe Shaw

1945–1966 Sheffield United 632 (7 goals)

He made 714 appearances for United in all competitions, including 632 in the League and 53 FA Cup ties, all three being club records

 

[Cyprus Blade]

Brian Richardson

signed for Sheffield United in 1954, aged 20, and stayed for 12 years, playing in 291 League matches




Cec Coldwell

Cec signed for United in 1951 from local side Norton Woodseats FC for a fee of £10.00, and although a late developer, played in over 600 matches for the Blades including 410 league games which included two rare goals! The captain of possibly the greatest post war Sheffield United team ever - the 1961 promotion team - he retired as a player in 1966. He joined the coaching staff at Bramall Lane, and was instrumental with the manager, John Harris, in their successful promotion in 1971 coaching world-class players, including Tony Currie and Alan Woodward.




Alan Hodgkinson

1954–1971 Sheffield United 576 appearances. Our finest ever Keeper bar none.


Graham Shaw

1951–1967 Sheffield United 442 (12 goals)



Billy Hodgson - 1957-1963, 152 appearances, 32 goals




Ron Simpson - 1958-1965, 203 appearances, 45 goals




Willie Hamilton - 1956-1961, 79 appearances, 21 goals





Billy Russell 1957-63, 144 appearances, 55 goals

 

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Brian Richardson

signed for Sheffield United in 1954, aged 20, and stayed for 12 years, playing in 291 League matches


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Cec Coldwell

Cec signed for United in 1951 from local side Norton Woodseats FC for a fee of £10.00, and although a late developer, played in over 600 matches for the Blades including 410 league games which included two rare goals! The captain of possibly the greatest post war Sheffield United team ever - the 1961 promotion team - he retired as a player in 1966. He joined the coaching staff at Bramall Lane, and was instrumental with the manager, John Harris, in their successful promotion in 1971 coaching world-class players, including Tony Currie and Alan Woodward.


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Alan Hodgkinson

1954–1971 Sheffield United 576 appearances. Our finest ever Keeper bar none.

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Graham Shaw

1951–1967 Sheffield United 442 (12 goals)


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Billy Hodgson - 1957-1963, 152 appearances, 32 goals

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Ron Simpson - 1958-1965, 203 appearances, 45 goals

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Willie Hamilton - 1956-1961, 79 appearances, 21 goals

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Billy Russell 1957-63, 144 appearances, 55 goals

Thanks for all that. The picture of Cec Coldwell that you posted is on the front cover of one of my scrapbooks. I envy you the autographs - I kept my programmes and scrapbooks, but my autograph collection is no more. And I can't for the life of me think where it went, though I hope I passed it on to a next-generation Blade. The autographs are distinctive and more or less legible, unlike modern players' scribble. Keep the memories coming, and look out for next week's post - the start of one of those weeks when it was great to be a Blade.

 

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It is good to be a Blade today, after another good home win, in a season which is going to keep us interested to the end. 60 years ago today, as the Beatles didn't quite sing, United were embarking on one of those weeks that long stay in the memory, for the right reasons. Valentine's Day 1959, as an 11-year old in love with the Blades and no idea what Valentine's Day was (Mrs HBT would add that I still haven't), I was one of many thousands who had caught Cup fever. Here was the best competition in world football, the final of which I began watching on TV in 1953 at a neighbour's house, and United were in with a chance of getting into the 6th round for the first time in my 'career'. There was the little matter of Arsenal away to negotiate first. They were second in League 1 only because Wolves had a better goal difference, and we were on the fringes of the League 2 promotion race. But the previous season in the 4th round we had gone to the about-to-be-mighty Spurs, and demolished them 3-0, with a master plan of Bill Hodgson (think Montgomery at his best) standing next to Danny Blanchflower for 90 minutes, so that he would never get a kick. Blanchflower commented afterwards that he was never lonely that day, as he always had the little Scottish terrier by his side to talk to!

The Midland Station was packed with United supporters (had 'fans' been invented in 1959?), a red-and-white sea of scarves, rosettes, woolly hats and rattles. For my Dad's generation, this was the chance to right the injustice of the 1936 Final, where it was generally agreed that second Division United had outplayed the Mighty Arsenal, but lost 1-0. There was a huge number of Blades in the crowd of over 55,000, so Highbury was totally red-and-white (and of course, grey - this was still the 1950s). United were at full strength, except for the continuing absence of Richardson, whereas Arsenal were without Tommy Docherty (suspended) and Jimmy Bloomfield (injury), thus missing 2 of their key players. And both teams were managed by ex-Arsenal players (George Swindin, and Archie Clarke, who was still our acting manager).

The match turned out to be one of our great Cup performances. Their manager said afterwards that they were lucky to scrape a draw, and the newspapers all wrote glowingly of United's superiority on the day. Our forwards were dangerous throughout, and the 2 Shaws excelled in defence. Just as at Tottenham the season before, we started off with great purpose, and in the 2nd minute Pace lived up to his name with a run out wide (in general the surname 'Sharp' would have reflected his qualities better than 'Pace'), put in a perfect cross, and the photos to be included in the next post show Simpson running in with perfect body shape to volley into the net. We continued to dominate, but Arsenal equalised with a soft penalty for an alleged foul by Coldwell. In the second half the Unitedites continued to roar the team on, and on 65 minutes were celebrating another classy goal - a hard cross from the teenager Lewis, and a beautiful glancing header from Pace. Cue 'Ilka Moor...'. And despite creating further chances (see the pic 'The slide that could have meant 3-1), United conceded an equaliser in the last 10 minutes. If you will allow me the little joke, the match ended in a 2-2 victory for us.

Meanwhile, a few miles away, little 3rd Division Norwich were drawing at White Hart Lane, which meant a lot of colourful celebrations around the railway stations in London. When the Cup draw was made on the Monday, Arsenal and Spurs fans will have been looking forward to a north London derby, but strange things happen in the Cup. United's replay with Arsenal was on the Wednesday evening, not all-ticket, but on a working day it would be difficult for many Arsenal supporters to make it to Bramall Lane. Everything was set for a rousing Cup replay. Oh, and did I mention that Wednesday were coming to the Lane 3 days later? This was going to be some week... Pictures to follow shortly, below.

 

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Wednesday, 18th February, 1959, was the second match of a magical week, with a 3-0 victory over joint 1st Division leaders, Arsenal, in the 5th round replay, just 4 days after being unlucky to only come away with a 2-2 draw in the original game at Highbury. But for reasons I am about to explain, the experience of the replay was not as good as I had anticipated, and I hope there are some posters on here who were also at the Lane that night who can share their experience. The kick-off was 7.00, the match was not all-ticket (not enough time to arrange?), so it was a rush home after school/work, a hasty tea, and on the bus to ensure getting to the ground in good time to guarantee getting in. My dad, my brother and me made it into the ground before the gates were shut with 48,763 inside the Lane. I assume they erred on the side of caution with the primitive turnstiles, rather than use the official capacity of 57000. The Kop was too full for us, so we headed to the left of the goal, towards the cricket pavilion, perhaps 30 yards beyond the corner flag, and got down to the front so I would be able to see. Unfortunately, the fog was so dense that we could only just see the Kop goal, and perhaps half-way towards the halfway line. I was enough of an anorak (had anoraks been invented by 1959?) to know that the ref had to be able to stand on the centre-spot and be able to see both goals for a game to go ahead, so this huge game was clearly in jeopardy.

Fortunately, the game was played; to this day the only abandoned match I have witnessed was WBA under Warnock, and that was not weather-related. But this match in the fog was a strange experience. Utd defended the Kop first-half, and Hodgy kept disappearing into the fog, presumably to see what was going on, and he had very little to do. Rumours circulated, and there were 2 periods of near-silence, which turned out to be an injury to Arsenal's excellent Welsh keeper, Kelsey. After the second period of treatment to his injured wrist (probably only involving sponge and cold water), he went off, was replaced in goal by the left-back Evans, and later came back to play on the left wing. All this was the subject of increasingly convincing rumours, but not confirmed. Am I right in thinking that match-day announcers did not exist at the time? Mid-way through the first half a great roar went up, and Hodgy came towards the Kop to make it clear that we had scored; I doubt whether he knew at the time that it was Russell.

In the second half, we saw more of the ball, which was reassuring as when we couldn't see the ball we had no idea how the defence were coping. Pace then scored a scruffy goal, and Lewis scored a spectacular header. The photo of that goal in the next post below, with Lewis' spectacular pose, is taken from the angle we were watching from. I am convinced that I remember the goal well, but suspect that in reality it is the photo that I remember.

So, a great result, but we went home rather confused, and it was only when reading Peter Cooper's report in the Sheffield Telegraph the following morning that we found out what had happened. It included a magnanimous quote from the Arsenal manager, George Swindin, saying that the injury to Kelsey was not the reason they had lost - United had been the better side in both matches. And in less than 2 weeks, we would be playing Division 3 Norwich at home in the 6th round, as they had beaten Spurs in their replay. It was seriously good being a Blade - we were favourites to progress to the semi-finals of the Cup, confidence was sky-high, and Wednesday were due at the Lane in just 3 days. I will wait until next week to report on that match, as part of the build-up to the next local derby. Foggy pictures of the Arsenal match will follow below.

 

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Still buzzing from my first away trip in a long time, with son, and grandson who went to his first away match, and came back having made a valuable contribution, as indicated by a croaky voice. The noise made by the Blades at WBA would not have been equalled in a league match 60 years ago - it needed an away cup game to have anything like that continuous noise.

Anyway, very appropriately I will start the build-up to the local derby at the end of February 1959 just as we are looking forward to the (hopefully) last derby of 2019. The United of 1959 were on a run remarkably similar to the United of 2019: in the 12 previous matches of 1958-59, we had won 9, drawn 2, lost 1. The current team has won 8, drawn 2, lost 2. The difference is that in 1959 we were looking forward to a 6th round home cup-tie v Norwich, but were only on the fringes of the promotion race, whereas this year we are out of the cup, but right in the mix for promotion.

For the moment, I quote below the first few paragraphs of the Matchday programme from 1959, the tone of which will, I think, come as something of a surprise to younger Blades:

'Today we are back to the bread and butter competition, the Football League, and we renew rivalry with our friends across the city - Wednesday. Leaders of the Second Division, they are so strongly entrenched that they are generally regarded as certain to return to the First Division at the first attempt. For the sake of the city we wish them that success.
The days when bitterness marred relationships between United and Wednesday are long past. For years now the clubs have got on well together and that is how it should be. Football should cement friendships not break them.
That, however, is not to say that competition for points should not be keen; far from it. Wednesday will have to go all the way this afternoon to avoid defeat. Everybody realises that if our team overcome them we shall still have a chance of winning promotion.'

I think that is not PR, but represents quite well the relationship in the late 50s. I imagine we will be shocked if similar sentiments are expressed in the S6 programme next week.

 

[Come from away]

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Thanks for the memories, my first Blades squad and first games. Big smile!!!

 

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Thanks for the memories, my first Blades squad and first games. Big smile!!!

Pleased to hear that. Have you any memories to add on any of the games described so far? I would like to hear them.

 

['Doc' Pace my hero]

February 1959 began with a home match against Barnsley, a game which was seen as secondary in importance to the games which were to follow. It was the first home match for 4 weeks, and like this year's first match of February against Bolton, the match against Barnsley was against a team much lower in the league, and there was a general expectation that we would win and gain the points to help us catch the teams occupying the promotion places.

The programme showed a much greater interest in the 5th round Cup-tie at Arsenal the following week, partly because it was a re-run of the 1936 Cup Final, a match which many Blades fans in the 1950s remembered with pride. Here was a chance for a measure of revenge. (As an aside, my Dad had not long started working in 1936, and was unable to take the Saturday of the 1936 Cup Final off work, and so missed the match. For the rest of his working life, he took a week's holiday at the beginning of May, so that he would not miss United's next Cup Final appearance. He retired in 1977...)

The page in the programme about Barnsley focussed on their poor financial situation, including a recent failed attempt to 'crowd-fund' a set of floodlights; it gives the distinct impression that the United board were keen to point out that we were not the only club who had to sell their best players. Many of the Barnsley players were local lads, some of whom stayed many years at the club.

United were at full-strength, except for the continued absence of Richardson, and in front of a crowd of just over 17000 (much lower than current attendances), duly won 5-0, with a hat trick from Pace, and goals from Hamilton and Russell. This was a team with the ability to score plenty of goals, and a strong home record (this was their 7th home win in succession). Again, my scrapbook does not have a report of the match (the newspaper had presumably been used to light the fire before I could get my hands on it), and I have just the one photo, of Pace scoring past goalkeeper Harry Hough with a powerful left-foot shot from a narrow angle, if memory serves me right; a mirror-image of Duffy at S6, with less fancy footwork.

So, we were just about keeping in touch with the league-leaders, and had a great confidence-booster for the 5th round cup-tie. It was a good time to be a Blade. Today's me would no doubt be worrying about the lack of strength in depth, as the Reseves had just lost 5-0 at Blackburn and 9-0 at Wolves. And would agree with the words of wisdom in the programme which were part of the season's road safety campaign: 'If you're driving when weary - be wary'. Some pictures in next post, below:

As an 8 year old i always stood behind the Bramall lane goal,hanging on to the famous white railings to get a better view of my hero 'Doc'.The Tykes keeper,Harry Hough,pronounced 'Huff ' was the victim of another 'Doc' hat trick that day and i remember getting a clout round the ear for chanting "Huff,Huff,Huffs a chuff " how times have changed.

 

[Come from away]

Pleased to hear that. Have you any memories to add on any of the games described so far? I would like to hear them.

Sorry, too busy playing games myself so did not get to many games.

 

[finlaytheblade]

Remember the Arsenal game well.Watching grandstand on the Saturday and it came on very quickly after Ronnie Simpson gave us the early lead as has been said it ended 2-2.
The replay was in doubt as it was very foggy that evening at Bramall lane couldnt see much beyond the penalty area.
Jack Kelsey was in there net and I don't think he could see much either,we won convincingly 3 nil.l was just 12 at the time and was the first night game I went to on my own.
I think the attendance was 38,000, Silent will be able to confirm if my memory serves me well.

 

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Remember the Arsenal game well.Watching grandstand on the Saturday and it came on very quickly after Ronnie Simpson gave us the early lead as has been said it ended 2-2.
The replay was in doubt as it was very foggy that evening at Bramall lane couldnt see much beyond the penalty area.
Jack Kelsey was in there net and I don't think he could see much either,we won convincingly 3 nil.l was just 12 at the time and was the first night game I went to on my own.
I think the attendance was 38,000, Silent will be able to confirm if my memory serves me well.

Just over 48000, with gates closed. Kelsey was injured early on, and the full-back Evans went in goal. All that and the first goal were at the Lane End. I was at the other end of the ground, and to this day the only thing I ever saw of United's first goal was the grainy photo reproduced in post 99. Were you on the Kop?

 

[finlaytheblade]

Just over 48000, with gates closed. Kelsey was injured early on, and the full-back Evans went in goal. All that and the first goal were at the Lane End. I was at the other end of the ground, and to this day the only thing I ever saw of United's first goal was the grainy photo reproduced in post 99. Were you on the Kop?

No I always used to go on the Bramall Lane end when I was a kid ,,yep ithink the only way it went ahead was due to the crowd the first goal was at my end but couldn't see much anyway.
Never seen a match completed in those conditions,I reckon the visabilty was around 25 yds .i always thought the ref had to be able to see both goals from the halfway line ,no way was that the case that night,great victory for the blades.

 

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No I always used to go on the Bramall Lane end when I was a kid ,,yep ithink the only way it went ahead was due to the crowd the first goal was at my end but couldn't see much anyway.
Never seen a match completed in those conditions,I reckon the visabilty was around 25 yds .i always thought the ref had to be able to see both goals from the halfway line ,no way was that the case that night,great victory for the blades.

It was amazing that the match was completed. I have never seen a match abandoned because of the weather, but that must have been the closest. It was very strange to see virtually nothing of the game.

 

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Remember the Arsenal game well.Watching grandstand on the Saturday and it came on very quickly after Ronnie Simpson gave us the early lead as has been said it ended 2-2.

I had forgotten Grandstand started that early - 1958, apparently. The beginning of being able to find scores out in something like real time. The first event I can associate it with was the Newcastle 6th round match in 1961. My dad worked Saturday mornings, so couldn't get to away matches; he said he was in a state of shock as news came in bit by bit of Russell's hat-trick in the first 20 minutes. Good job it wasn't April 1st!

 

[Robby Blade]

Wednesday, 18th February, 1959, was the second match of a magical week, with a 3-0 victory over joint 1st Division leaders, Arsenal, in the 5th round replay, just 4 days after being unlucky to only come away with a 2-2 draw in the original game at Highbury. But for reasons I am about to explain, the experience of the replay was not as good as I had anticipated, and I hope there are some posters on here who were also at the Lane that night who can share their experience. The kick-off was 7.00, the match was not all-ticket (not enough time to arrange?), so it was a rush home after school/work, a hasty tea, and on the bus to ensure getting to the ground in good time to guarantee getting in. My dad, my brother and me made it into the ground before the gates were shut with 48,763 inside the Lane. I assume they erred on the side of caution with the primitive turnstiles, rather than use the official capacity of 57000. The Kop was too full for us, so we headed to the left of the goal, towards the cricket pavilion, perhaps 30 yards beyond the corner flag, and got down to the front so I would be able to see. Unfortunately, the fog was so dense that we could only just see the Kop goal, and perhaps half-way towards the halfway line. I was enough of an anorak (had anoraks been invented by 1959?) to know that the ref had to be able to stand on the centre-spot and be able to see both goals for a game to go ahead, so this huge game was clearly in jeopardy.

Fortunately, the game was played; to this day the only abandoned match I have witnessed was WBA under Warnock, and that was not weather-related. But this match in the fog was a strange experience. Utd defended the Kop first-half, and Hodgy kept disappearing into the fog, presumably to see what was going on, and he had very little to do. Rumours circulated, and there were 2 periods of near-silence, which turned out to be an injury to Arsenal's excellent Welsh keeper, Kelsey. After the second period of treatment to his injured wrist (probably only involving sponge and cold water), he went off, was replaced in goal by the left-back Evans, and later came back to play on the left wing. All this was the subject of increasingly convincing rumours, but not confirmed. Am I right in thinking that match-day announcers did not exist at the time? Mid-way through the first half a great roar went up, and Hodgy came towards the Kop to make it clear that we had scored; I doubt whether he knew at the time that it was Russell.

In the second half, we saw more of the ball, which was reassuring as when we couldn't see the ball we had no idea how the defence were coping. Pace then scored a scruffy goal, and Lewis scored a spectacular header. The photo of that goal in the next post below, with Lewis' spectacular pose, is taken from the angle we were watching from. I am convinced that I remember the goal well, but suspect that in reality it is the photo that I remember.

So, a great result, but we went home rather confused, and it was only when reading Peter Cooper's report in the Sheffield Telegraph the following morning that we found out what had happened. It included a magnanimous quote from the Arsenal manager, George Swindin, saying that the injury to Kelsey was not the reason they had lost - United had been the better side in both matches. And in less than 2 weeks, we would be playing Division 3 Norwich at home in the 6th round, as they had beaten Spurs in their replay. It was seriously good being a Blade - we were favourites to progress to the semi-finals of the Cup, confidence was sky-high, and Wednesday were due at the Lane in just 3 days. I will wait until next week to report on that match, as part of the build-up to the next local derby. Foggy pictures of the Arsenal match will follow below.

I was 10 at the time and went with my pal from school. Got a place on the half way line so as to see a bit more. Can't remember much about the game except we couldn't see the pavilion bang opposite us.

 

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I was 10 at the time and went with my pal from school. Got a place on the half way line so as to see a bit more. Can't remember much about the game except we couldn't see the pavilion bang opposite us.

Sounds like a smart move from one so young! Do you reckon you could see both goals from where you were?

 

[finlaytheblade]

I had forgotten Grandstand started that early - 1958, apparently. The beginning of being able to find scores out in something like real time. The first event I can associate it with was the Newcastle 6th round match in 1961. My dad worked Saturday mornings, so couldn't get to away matches; he said he was in a state of shock as news came in bit by bit of Russell's hat-trick in the first 20 minutes. Good job it wasn't April 1st!

Yep I was at that game game over after. 25 minutes

 

[finlaytheblade]

Yep I was at that game game over after. 25 minutes

Great defence we had then Newcastle scored a late consolation goal ,a young (my age ) felt they were in with a late flurry !! Not with our defence brilliant.
Fans all mixed together on there big open end,no trouble ensued ,would be great if we could mix together. Today ;alas that's not possible.
Newcastle were relegated that season conceding over 100 goals in the process,
they scored a lot too.

 

[Sharrow Snuff Mill]

I had forgotten Grandstand started that early - 1958, apparently. The beginning of being able to find scores out in something like real time. The first event I can associate it with was the Newcastle 6th round match in 1961. My dad worked Saturday mornings, so couldn't get to away matches; he said he was in a state of shock as news came in bit by bit of Russell's hat-trick in the first 20 minutes. Good job it wasn't April 1st!

Remember that well. Had just started going to away matches on the football special trains with my mates instead of having to go with adults. A hat-trick for Billy Russell in 18 minutes. Could hardly believe it. He got a huge cheer back at Newcastle station when we were queuing to get to our platform. He came past to catch a Manchester train. Lived in Bolton I think. In the third round we had gone to Goodison Park to see us win 1-0 v. Everton. We got lost trying to get back to Lime Street and ended up 3 miles away. Luckily, someone put us on a bus, and to our considerable relief it was the right one as it turned out, and we just made our train. I remember Billy Hodgson scoring the winner in a 2-1 5th round victory in an absolute mudbath at the Lane. Happy days then and happy days now !

 

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Remember that well. Had just started going to away matches on the football special trains with my mates instead of having to go with adults. A hat-trick for Billy Russell in 18 minutes. Could hardly believe it. He got a huge cheer back at Newcastle station when we were queuing to get to our platform. He came past to catch a Manchester train. Lived in Bolton I think. In the third round we had gone to Goodison Park to see us win 1-0 v. Everton. We got lost trying to get back to Lime Street and ended up 3 miles away. Luckily, someone put us on a bus, and to our considerable relief it was the right one as it turned out, and we just made our train. I remember Billy Hodgson scoring the winner in a 2-1 5th round victory in an absolute mudbath at the Lane. Happy days then and happy days now !

We'd better watch it with the thread police - we're discussing matches 58 years ago rather than the 60 of the title... The train we were on to Newcastle broke down, and for a while we were worried about missing the game. We got there ok in the end, but missing the first 20 minutes would have been as bad as it was for those held back on the tram at S6 last season. The Everton and Newcastle games are 2 of my best memories - the Everton match was a great rearguard action. And my memory for both games is constant noise from huge numbers of Blades - Ilkla Moor mostly, with odd chants of 2-4-6-8. Did we have other songs, chants then? Not quite the variety of songs sung at West Brom the other day, for sure...

 

['Doc' Pace my hero]

Remember that well. Had just started going to away matches on the football special trains with my mates instead of having to go with adults. A hat-trick for Billy Russell in 18 minutes. Could hardly believe it. He got a huge cheer back at Newcastle station when we were queuing to get to our platform. He came past to catch a Manchester train. Lived in Bolton I think. In the third round we had gone to Goodison Park to see us win 1-0 v. Everton. We got lost trying to get back to Lime Street and ended up 3 miles away. Luckily, someone put us on a bus, and to our considerable relief it was the right one as it turned out, and we just made our train. I remember Billy Hodgson scoring the winner in a 2-1 5th round victory in an absolute mudbath at the Lane. Happy days then and happy days now !

I remember the 5th round tie against Blackburn and little Billy Hodgson,he was the Willie Carlin of the late 50's.I was devastated to miss the Newcastle game,even up to the day before i thought i would be allowed to go.I had even bought some red&white paint and my newly painted rattle was ready,only for me to be told i wasn't old enough too go,bloody hell i was 9 !! It seems strange now,but i can't even remenber if you had to buy tickets,or if it was pay on the day.I do remember the 'lucky' tangerine shirts that were worn at Newcastle,i wish we could have these introduced as our away shirt one day in acknowledgement of a great blades team.

 

[Sharrow Snuff Mill]

I remember the 5th round tie against Blackburn and little Billy Hodgson,he was the Willie Carlin of the late 50's.I was devastated to miss the Newcastle game,even up to the day before i thought i would be allowed to go.I had even bought some red&white paint and my newly painted rattle was ready,only for me to be told i wasn't old enough too go,bloody hell i was 9 !! It seems strange now,but i can't even remenber if you had to buy tickets,or if it was pay on the day.I do remember the 'lucky' tangerine shirts that were worn at Newcastle,i wish we could have these introduced as our away shirt one day in acknowledgement of a great blades team.

No we didn`t have to buy tickets for any of the games until the semi-final. At Newcastle there were Blades in both ends of the ground plus those in the seats. I can`t remember us wearing the tangerine shirts before or after that game. No doubt "Silent" will know.

 

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I remember the 5th round tie against Blackburn and little Billy Hodgson,he was the Willie Carlin of the late 50's.

Pictures from the Blackburn game, with Russell's lucky deflection and Hodgson's 'long-range' header from Pace's knock-back. Heap's cartoon from the Green Un makes Russell's goal clearer!

 

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February 21, 1959, saw the end of one of the best weeks of my life as a young Blades fan. Having beaten Arsenal in the cup replay, after a draw at Highbury, in front of crowds of 55,407 away, and 48,763 at the Lane, three days later it was back to the league, and the visit of Wednesday, in front of a crowd of 43,915. Almost 150,000 watched United in one week, which is quite a statistic. United were missing key players because of flu, but although Wednesday were league-leaders, acting manager Archie Clark had confidence in our squad:'I may not be able to fix my team until the morning... but we now have a close-knit side, thinking in terms of team football.' A low-key precursor to Chris Wilder, perhaps? United needed to win to make up ground on the other promotion contenders, and as we took our positions about 30 yards to the left of the Kop, towards the cricket pavilion, we were relieved that the fog of 3 days before had gone, and we could see the game.

It was a typical tight derby game, with both defences on top; Joe Shaw was clearly man-of-the-match in the newspaper report included in the following post. The game was settled by a clever goal from Pace after defensive errors from Wednesday, and apart from a disallowed Wednesday goal, that was that. My impression is that local derbies were not nearly as nerve-wracking as they are nowadays. And as the newspaper headline says, we began to dream of a Cup and promotion double. Still in the hunt for promotion, and just 7 more days before a home 6th round tie against Norwich, 3rd Division opposition, in front of almost 57,000 people. Life was good in February 1959. What could possibly go wrong?
Pictures follow.

 

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