60 years ago this month...

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HodgysBrokenThumb

HodgysBrokenThumb

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60 years ago today, United started 1959 with a 3-1 away defeat at Bristol City, unlike the current team which has just begun the New Year with a 3-0 away win. I am starting this thread (intending to see it through to the end of the season) to make comparisons between then and now, basing it mostly on my chaotic programme collection and disintegrating scrapbooks, started when I was 10 years old. I hope there will be interest and contributions from those who like history, like to know how football has changed, and in what ways the Blades never change, and what it means to follow a club all your life. If it doesn't work out well, I will have at least enjoyed my nostalgic trip, and not wasted much of your time.
A few preliminaries. United started the New Year in 5th place of the 2nd tier of football (then called correctly League Division 2), 5 points away from the 2nd automatic promotion place (only 2 points for a win then, and no play-off places). We had been good but inconsistent in the autumn, but won the last 3 games in December, finishing the year with 2-1 wins home and away against Grimsby. The away match was our last Xmas Day match ever; much as I grumble about Sky messing up fixtures for fans to attend, the authorities were well able to do the same over many years. Imagine working out how to get to Grimsby on Xmas Day by public transport. Has anyone on here ever been to an away match on Xmas Day? The return match was on December 27, in front of a crowd of 27,551, marred by a dodgy referee who sent off a player from each side at a time when you needed to commit GBH to be even spoken to by a ref. And one of the goals was inevitably scored by Pace (before he was sent off), who was scoring goals almost every game (6 in 3 games to end the Year). Almost a carbon copy of the Blackburn game last week?
Whilst things in December were going well on the pitch, off the pitch the club was in melt-down. Manager Joe Mercer and his assistant jumped ship at Xmas and moved to Villa, and the team was being managed by the Chief Scout, Archie Clarke, who continued with the job almost to the end of the season. There were appeals in the first programme of the New Year for everyone to stay calm, as the club had everything under control. Echoes of the present again?
And to finish with for the moment, United's next game was a 3rd round Cup-tie at home to Crystal Palace, a lower league side we had never played before. Wednesday were playing at home v West Brom AT THE SAME TIME, and big crowds were expected at both games, as the Cup was the more glamorous competition then. The weather turned bad, with deep snow in Sheffield, and the clubs appealed for fans to go to the grounds with shovels to try and get the games on. There was no undersoil heating in those days. And on that cliff-hanger, I will leave the story for now.
 

HodgysBrokenThumb said:
60 years ago today, United started 1959 with a 3-1 away defeat at Bristol City, unlike the current team which has just begun the New Year with a 3-0 away win. I am starting this thread (intending to see it through to the end of the season) to make comparisons between then and now, basing it mostly on my chaotic programme collection and disintegrating scrapbooks, started when I was 10 years old. I hope there will be interest and contributions from those who like history, like to know how football has changed, and in what ways the Blades never change, and what it means to follow a club all your life. If it doesn't work out well, I will have at least enjoyed my nostalgic trip, and not wasted much of your time.
A few preliminaries. United started the New Year in 5th place of the 2nd tier of football (then called correctly League Division 2), 5 points away from the 2nd automatic promotion place (only 2 points for a win then, and no play-off places). We had been good but inconsistent in the autumn, but won the last 3 games in December, finishing the year with 2-1 wins home and away against Grimsby. The away match was our last Xmas Day match ever; much as I grumble about Sky messing up fixtures for fans to attend, the authorities were well able to do the same over many years. Imagine working out how to get to Grimsby on Xmas Day by public transport. Has anyone on here ever been to an away match on Xmas Day? The return match was on December 27, in front of a crowd of 27,551, marred by a dodgy referee who sent off a player from each side at a time when you needed to commit GBH to be even spoken to by a ref. And one of the goals was inevitably scored by Pace (before he was sent off), who was scoring goals almost every game (6 in 3 games to end the Year). Almost a carbon copy of the Blackburn game last week?
Whilst things in December were going well on the pitch, off the pitch the club was in melt-down. Manager Joe Mercer and his assistant jumped ship at Xmas and moved to Villa, and the team was being managed by the Chief Scout, Archie Clarke, who continued with the job almost to the end of the season. There were appeals in the first programme of the New Year for everyone to stay calm, as the club had everything under control. Echoes of the present again?
And to finish with for the moment, United's next game was a 3rd round Cup-tie at home to Crystal Palace, a lower league side we had never played before. Wednesday were playing at home v West Brom AT THE SAME TIME, and big crowds were expected at both games, as the Cup was the more glamorous competition then. The weather turned bad, with deep snow in Sheffield, and the clubs appealed for fans to go to the grounds with shovels to try and get the games on. There was no undersoil heating in those days. And on that cliff-hanger, I will leave the story for now.
Click to expand...

Good on you - all the best with it.

UTB
 
JonnyRed(WCFC) said:
60 years!! January 59 was a good month...I wonder if our paths will collide at some point :)
Click to expand...
You are certainly due a mention. But I didn't want to ruin the suspense by giving away the outcome of the Palace match! Perhaps one observation to be going on with - the Worcester programme is surely unique in having an advert for a Rolls-Royce dealership? The Chairman's business, perhaps? I don't imagine many fans buying a Rolls...
 
A difficult question for you. In preparation for the cup-tie v Crystal Palace, the players had to train on snow. In the picture are the familiar figures of Hodgy and Joe Shaw, but who are the other 2? The one on the left had been with United a few months, the other had just arrived. There was a particular reason for photographing them in the snow. It is a difficult question, as neither made much of an impact in Sheffield, but one of them did gain fame in a different sport. And the grainy picture is a reminder that in the 1950s, the only access to sports photos was via newspapers, and if you cut them out of the paper too quickly, you got a ticking-off, and if you left it too long, it had been used to light the fire in the kitchen or the room.
IMG_0331.jpg
 
HodgysBrokenThumb said:
A difficult question for you. In preparation for the cup-tie v Crystal Palace, the players had to train on snow. In the picture are the familiar figures of Hodgy and Joe Shaw, but who are the other 2? The one on the left had been with United a few months, the other had just arrived. There was a particular reason for photographing them in the snow. It is a difficult question, as neither made much of an impact in Sheffield, but one of them did gain fame in a different sport. And the grainy picture is a reminder that in the 1950s, the only access to sports photos was via newspapers, and if you cut them out of the paper too quickly, you got a ticking-off, and if you left it too long, it had been used to light the fire in the kitchen or the room.
View attachment 47622
Click to expand...
Cyril Mitchley from South Africa

cricket-umpire-cyril-mitchley-during-a-match-at-sharjah-stadium-in-picture-id114078506
 
HodgysBrokenThumb said:
Are you just taunting me by not naming the other person?
Click to expand...
I remember when Cyril umpired England Test matches (late 1990s) Denis Clareborough wrote in the match programme at the time about the story when Cyril and the other South African triallist (forgot his name) sailed over to England for a 3 month trial at SUFC in 1959
 
Silent Blade said:
I remember when Cyril umpired England Test matches (late 1990s) Denis Clareborough wrote in the match programme at the time about the story when Cyril and the other South African triallist (forgot his name) sailed over to England for a 3 month trial at SUFC in 1959
Click to expand...
I'll save you a search. It is George Cloete, who was 17 at the time. According to the photo caption, neither had seen snow before. The programmes around then show that Cyril Mitchley had played 2 games for reserves without scoring, and had played no games for the A-team and scored twice!
 
HodgysBrokenThumb said:
60 years ago today, United started 1959 with a 3-1 away defeat at Bristol City, unlike the current team which has just begun the New Year with a 3-0 away win. I am starting this thread (intending to see it through to the end of the season) to make comparisons between then and now, basing it mostly on my chaotic programme collection and disintegrating scrapbooks, started when I was 10 years old. I hope there will be interest and contributions from those who like history, like to know how football has changed, and in what ways the Blades never change, and what it means to follow a club all your life. If it doesn't work out well, I will have at least enjoyed my nostalgic trip, and not wasted much of your time.
A few preliminaries. United started the New Year in 5th place of the 2nd tier of football (then called correctly League Division 2), 5 points away from the 2nd automatic promotion place (only 2 points for a win then, and no play-off places). We had been good but inconsistent in the autumn, but won the last 3 games in December, finishing the year with 2-1 wins home and away against Grimsby. The away match was our last Xmas Day match ever; much as I grumble about Sky messing up fixtures for fans to attend, the authorities were well able to do the same over many years. Imagine working out how to get to Grimsby on Xmas Day by public transport. Has anyone on here ever been to an away match on Xmas Day? The return match was on December 27, in front of a crowd of 27,551, marred by a dodgy referee who sent off a player from each side at a time when you needed to commit GBH to be even spoken to by a ref. And one of the goals was inevitably scored by Pace (before he was sent off), who was scoring goals almost every game (6 in 3 games to end the Year). Almost a carbon copy of the Blackburn game last week?
Whilst things in December were going well on the pitch, off the pitch the club was in melt-down. Manager Joe Mercer and his assistant jumped ship at Xmas and moved to Villa, and the team was being managed by the Chief Scout, Archie Clarke, who continued with the job almost to the end of the season. There were appeals in the first programme of the New Year for everyone to stay calm, as the club had everything under control. Echoes of the present again?
And to finish with for the moment, United's next game was a 3rd round Cup-tie at home to Crystal Palace, a lower league side we had never played before. Wednesday were playing at home v West Brom AT THE SAME TIME, and big crowds were expected at both games, as the Cup was the more glamorous competition then. The weather turned bad, with deep snow in Sheffield, and the clubs appealed for fans to go to the grounds with shovels to try and get the games on. There was no undersoil heating in those days. And on that cliff-hanger, I will leave the story for now.
Click to expand...


What a fantastic idea, thanks
 
HodgysBrokenThumb said:
60 years ago today, United started 1959 with a 3-1 away defeat at Bristol City, unlike the current team which has just begun the New Year with a 3-0 away win. I am starting this thread (intending to see it through to the end of the season) to make comparisons between then and now, basing it mostly on my chaotic programme collection and disintegrating scrapbooks, started when I was 10 years old. I hope there will be interest and contributions from those who like history, like to know how football has changed, and in what ways the Blades never change, and what it means to follow a club all your life. If it doesn't work out well, I will have at least enjoyed my nostalgic trip, and not wasted much of your time.
A few preliminaries. United started the New Year in 5th place of the 2nd tier of football (then called correctly League Division 2), 5 points away from the 2nd automatic promotion place (only 2 points for a win then, and no play-off places). We had been good but inconsistent in the autumn, but won the last 3 games in December, finishing the year with 2-1 wins home and away against Grimsby. The away match was our last Xmas Day match ever; much as I grumble about Sky messing up fixtures for fans to attend, the authorities were well able to do the same over many years. Imagine working out how to get to Grimsby on Xmas Day by public transport. Has anyone on here ever been to an away match on Xmas Day? The return match was on December 27, in front of a crowd of 27,551, marred by a dodgy referee who sent off a player from each side at a time when you needed to commit GBH to be even spoken to by a ref. And one of the goals was inevitably scored by Pace (before he was sent off), who was scoring goals almost every game (6 in 3 games to end the Year). Almost a carbon copy of the Blackburn game last week?
Whilst things in December were going well on the pitch, off the pitch the club was in melt-down. Manager Joe Mercer and his assistant jumped ship at Xmas and moved to Villa, and the team was being managed by the Chief Scout, Archie Clarke, who continued with the job almost to the end of the season. There were appeals in the first programme of the New Year for everyone to stay calm, as the club had everything under control. Echoes of the present again?
And to finish with for the moment, United's next game was a 3rd round Cup-tie at home to Crystal Palace, a lower league side we had never played before. Wednesday were playing at home v West Brom AT THE SAME TIME, and big crowds were expected at both games, as the Cup was the more glamorous competition then. The weather turned bad, with deep snow in Sheffield, and the clubs appealed for fans to go to the grounds with shovels to try and get the games on. There was no undersoil heating in those days. And on that cliff-hanger, I will leave the story for now.
Click to expand...

I liked your post Hodgy but please write in paragraphs! It’s horrendous to try and read all that in one go!
 
HodgysBrokenThumb said:
60 years ago today, United started 1959 with a 3-1 away defeat at Bristol City, unlike the current team which has just begun the New Year with a 3-0 away win. I am starting this thread (intending to see it through to the end of the season) to make comparisons between then and now, basing it mostly on my chaotic programme collection and disintegrating scrapbooks, started when I was 10 years old. I hope there will be interest and contributions from those who like history, like to know how football has changed, and in what ways the Blades never change, and what it means to follow a club all your life. If it doesn't work out well, I will have at least enjoyed my nostalgic trip, and not wasted much of your time.
A few preliminaries. United started the New Year in 5th place of the 2nd tier of football (then called correctly League Division 2), 5 points away from the 2nd automatic promotion place (only 2 points for a win then, and no play-off places). We had been good but inconsistent in the autumn, but won the last 3 games in December, finishing the year with 2-1 wins home and away against Grimsby. The away match was our last Xmas Day match ever; much as I grumble about Sky messing up fixtures for fans to attend, the authorities were well able to do the same over many years. Imagine working out how to get to Grimsby on Xmas Day by public transport. Has anyone on here ever been to an away match on Xmas Day? The return match was on December 27, in front of a crowd of 27,551, marred by a dodgy referee who sent off a player from each side at a time when you needed to commit GBH to be even spoken to by a ref. And one of the goals was inevitably scored by Pace (before he was sent off), who was scoring goals almost every game (6 in 3 games to end the Year). Almost a carbon copy of the Blackburn game last week?
Whilst things in December were going well on the pitch, off the pitch the club was in melt-down. Manager Joe Mercer and his assistant jumped ship at Xmas and moved to Villa, and the team was being managed by the Chief Scout, Archie Clarke, who continued with the job almost to the end of the season. There were appeals in the first programme of the New Year for everyone to stay calm, as the club had everything under control. Echoes of the present again?
And to finish with for the moment, United's next game was a 3rd round Cup-tie at home to Crystal Palace, a lower league side we had never played before. Wednesday were playing at home v West Brom AT THE SAME TIME, and big crowds were expected at both games, as the Cup was the more glamorous competition then. The weather turned bad, with deep snow in Sheffield, and the clubs appealed for fans to go to the grounds with shovels to try and get the games on. There was no undersoil heating in those days. And on that cliff-hanger, I will leave the story for now.
Click to expand...

Love the old stories HBT... get some pics of your old programmes up as you go along
 

HodgysBrokenThumb said:
Does it turn out different on different machines? There's 4 paragraphs in the version on my screen. I expect my readers to work hard.;)
Click to expand...

Reading on a phone but there’s no paragraphs at all. A paragraph being double line spacing between the end of one and the start of another. It all follows on, on the next line, so it looks like it’s all joined up.

Might be my phone then?
 
spongebobblade said:
Love the old stories HBT... get some pics of your old programmes up as you go along
Click to expand...
Thanks. I intend to put pictures up. Mind you, I thought you had every programme ever printed. I might well be asking you to fill in some gaps. And without wishing to spoil the excitement of how the season ended up, I do have the County Cup semi-final and final programmes!
 
Cerberus Blade said:
Reading on a phone but there’s no paragraphs at all. A paragraph being double line spacing between the end of one and the start of another. It all follows on, on the next line, so it looks like it’s all joined up.

Might be my phone then?
Click to expand...
Never believed in that double-line spacing, as it costs money in printing. As this is all on screen, I will try to remember to add the spacing. But Yorkshire meanness dies hard.
 
HodgysBrokenThumb said:
Thanks. I intend to put pictures up. Mind you, I thought you had every programme ever printed. I might well be asking you to fill in some gaps. And without wishing to spoil the excitement of how the season ended up, I do have the County Cup semi-final and final programmes!
Click to expand...

The pics are great but you can’t beat the stories of years back. For every programme I have there’s a tale about the match to be told. I can collect the programme but it’s down to your generation (with respect) to keep the memories going
:)
 
HodgysBrokenThumb said:
I'll save you a search. It is George Cloete, who was 17 at the time. According to the photo caption, neither had seen snow before. The programmes around then show that Cyril Mitchley had played 2 games for reserves without scoring, and had played no games for the A-team and scored twice!
Click to expand...
Is Cyril far left or 2nd left in the 1959 photo?
 
And I was only 4 weeks in the womb, so I had to wait a while to become indoctrinated, though it was in the family blood...;)
 
Silent Blade said:
Is Cyril far left or 2nd left in the 1959 photo?
Click to expand...
According to the caption (they are not always correct!), he is far left. He does not look like the photo from his umpiring days. The other lad was only 17, and the programme for the last home game of the season has him down as having played 4 games for the A-team.
 
Ehh, surely Cyril's the one holding the snow in the middle? His facial pose kinda matches the one you put under where he's umpiring.
 
image.jpeg
spongebobblade said:
The pics are great but you can’t beat the stories of years back. For every programme I have there’s a tale about the match to be told. I can collect the programme but it’s down to your generation (with respect) to keep the memories going
:)
Click to expand...
As you know, the programmes from the late 50s had no photos, but between something like 53-56 they had a picture on the front from a previous game. I have attached a picture of the programme from my 2nd game, when I was just 6. This post is a 'Would I Lie to You?' moment to alert you to the fact that I may not have been the most reliable witness as a young kid for you to trust my memories. For my first few matches, unaware of the basic laws of physics, I thought the picture on the front was of the game I was watching. Imagine the humiliation I suffered when my brother (4 years older than me) realised this.
 

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