The Sheffield Wednesday Miscellany E-Book

Darren Phillips

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 194

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

The Sheffield Wednesday Miscellany – a book on the Owls like no other, packed with facts, stats, trivia, stories and legends. Sheffield Wednesday enjoy a notable history. Names such as David Hirst, Ernest Blenkinsop, Jack Brown and Tommy Crawshaw have worn the famous blue and white stripes hundreds of times and the mercurial Paolo di Canio delighted Hillsborough until an infamous encounter with a referee… In an intriguing format, this book delves the club's history and brings to the fore countless events and some priceless trivia gems - who can claim to have known that one Football League game the club played in was scheduled to last just 11 minutes, a game with Everton was once turned round despite trailing 5-0 at half time and that Wednesday were once known as 'the Blades'? Also featured are a wide range of statistics, quotes and biographies from the club's 140-odd–year history, making it a must for any fan. Can you really afford not to own a copy?

Leseprobe

First published 2011

The History Press

The Mill, Brimscombe Port

Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

This ebook edition first published in 2017

© Darren Phillips, 2011

The right of Darren Phillips to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

EPUB ISBN 978 0 7509 8400 3

Typesetting and origination by The History Press

eBook converted by Geethik Technologies

IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS CRICKET

On 4 September 1867 Sheffield Wednesday, or The Wednesday as they were known at the time, came into being. The venture was the brainchild of a small group of men who saw the establishment of an Association Football team as a perfect counterpart to the Wednesday Cricket Club.

Cricketers had been thudding leather against willow for the past 47 years but had eagerly watched a new sport grow in public appeal. There was little choice. Sheffield was the centre of European, if not world, soccer at the time, with a host of clubs established throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century. The city had hosted the first ever recognised football game when Sheffield played Hallam on 12 February 1861. Football fever may have been spreading across the world as the 1870s approached, but in South Yorkshire the bug had been at epidemic proportions for the best part of a decade.

There was also a realisation that further sporting endeavour would bind the team together for an entire calendar year thus reducing the chance of defections over the winter months when no cricket was played. It would also keep their players in good physical condition until the summer.

In the long term that footballing arm eclipsed the cricketing one, so much so that the soccer players broke away in 1883 becoming a wholly separate entity. As a point of note the Wednesday Cricket Club ceased to be in 1924; support and, as a consequence, finances had dwindled because of football’s popularity. The split also meant those men who preferred leather on willow to inflated rubber bladders encased in heavy brown leather led a nomadic existence playing at various grounds.

Adding insult to no small amount of injury the footballers met their cricketing counterparts in 1911 scoring a 55-run win after bowling the summer men out for less than 100 runs. One hundred years after that encounter Sheffield Wednesday fans set about rising a phoenix from the ashes and the Wednesday Cricket Club was re-formed. An XI competed in local league cricket – Division C of the Irwin Mitchell Alliance Midweek League – from the 2011 season with home games played at Abbeydale Park.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Why was Wednesday chosen as a name? Simply because the club’s originators and players took afternoons off work on that day to realise their sporting ambitions. Maybe by coincidence or even design the gathering of the football club’s founding fathers took place on a Wednesday at the Adelphi pub situated on the site now occupied by the Crucible Theatre – home of many artistic productions and the annual World Snooker Championships – at the junction of Arundel and Sycamore Street. The word Sheffield was only officially added to the club’s title just ahead of the 1929/30 season when the Football Association sanctioned it, although this prospect had first been mooted two years earlier. Additionally when residency was taken up at the Olive Grove 32 years earlier a stand had ‘Sheffield Wednesday’ painted along the roof.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Wednesday played their first game against The Mechanics Club at Norfolk Park during October 1867 just weeks after coming into being. A comfortable 3–0 win was scored. In a fashion similar to the sport of Aussie Rules Football, Wednesday also hit four unanswered ‘rouges’. This was a system of scoring then known as Sheffield Rules. Flag posts were erected alongside the more recognisable goalposts and a rouge would be scored when the ball was put through this outer sector and subsequently touched down. If scores were level then rouges would provide a tie-breaker.

A village team from Dronfield were next up on 31 December 1867. A field in Sam Baggaley’s farm was the venue. Wednesday persevered winning 1–0 hitting four rouges while conceding none.

HOME TURF

Sheffield Wednesday’s name is inextricably linked with Hillsborough but the club spent many of its formative years playing at various grounds dotted around the city. Bramall Lane was an ad hoc venue until 1888 but the club’s first home – occupied between 1867 and 1869 – was Highfield. Myrtle Road was used for just under a decade with Sheaf House the club’s next home. That tenure lasted a full 10 years until paying a chunk of ever-increasing gate money to landlords irked The Wednesday board who set about finding a new home. They chose the Olive Grove, a small site adjacent to the Midland Railway near Queen’s Road, leased from the Duke of Norfolk, on which an olive farm once existed. At the club’s own expense the area was enclosed.

The Olive Grove staged its first match on 12 September 1887 – a friendly against Blackburn Rovers. Wednesday’s Billy Mosforth was the first player to find the net there although honours finished even at 4–4, despite the visitors holding a three-goal lead at one point. The club continued to call the Grove home for 12 years even though it boasted very little in the way of creature comforts. There were no dressing rooms for some time, forcing the players to change in the Earl of Arundel pub and Surrey Hotel. Had it not been for the owners seeking to develop the land for track expansion, Wednesday may have stayed for a few years longer than they did.

Although given time to vacate, Wednesday could see no point staying where they were not wanted so found new land quite quickly. The site currently occupied was originally named Owlerton Stadium and bought for £5,000 after sufficient funds were raised through a share issue. There was a possibility of a site being utilised in Carbrook. This option was popular, as making Owlerton home meant a move across the city to an area surrounded by green fields. However, Carbrook was eventually rejected and Owlerton adopted.

Residency was taken up during late 1899 and in 1914 the stadium was renamed Hillsborough. The first league season after the move saw Wednesday go an entire campaign without dropping a single home point. The only blemish on the record was a reverse in the FA Cup – to Sheffield United. Chesterfield were the first visitors to Owlerton where 12,000 spectators saw Wednesday coast to a 5–1 win despite falling behind – an act which meant Herbert Munday had the honour of scoring the first goal. A symbolic kick-off was performed by the then Lord Mayor of Sheffield, and former Wednesday player, Councillor William Clegg.

RELICS OF THE SOUTH STAND

A remarkable aspect of the present-day Hillsborough is that many of its original features remain. These include the South Stand, originally a brick-by-brick replica of the Olive Grove’s main stand. Designed by Archibald Leitch at a cost of £18,000 it was first pressed into service in January 1914 for an FA Cup tie with Notts County, the Owls running out 3–2 winners. The stand became all-seater in 1965 with a roof added during 1992 necessitating a 125-metre steel girder, thought to be the longest single structure of its type in Britain. Despite development for the Euro ’96 tournament and the addition of another tier, these renovations were made on the original structure from 1899. Other original features of the stand still in use include the clock – which came from the Olive Grove – and the finial which surrounds it.

GROUNDING DOWN THE COSTS

Wednesday’s board has never been afraid to innovate and, when erected, the North Stand boasted the country’s second cantilevered roof – although it was actually the only one to run uninterrupted along the full length of a football pitch. The £150,000 cost and 11 months it took to build demonstrated just how much work was required to give supporters this new home. Sir Stanley Rous performed the opening ceremony before the club’s first home league game of the 1961/62 season against Bolton Wanderers. However, plans to adopt similar state-of-the-art stands in other spectator areas were shelved owing to cost. The board could have pushed things through but simply didn’t want the sizeable additional expense. Consequently the West or Leppings Lane Stand, which had grown from a small terrace to one of a relatively decent size, was only humbly transformed when compared to the original blueprints. After its complete demolition almost 4,500 seats overlooked a paddocked terraced area. Preparations for the 1966 World Cup inspired its building with work costing £110,000.

BUYING AN ADVANTAGE

Though outlawed now, the practice of selling ground advantage was common for many years. Small Heath had entered many such deals before accepting £200 from The Wednesday to switch their FA Cup second round tie from the Midlands to Sheffield in January 1892. The deal proved to the ‘home’ side’s advantage following a 2–0 win.

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

Hillsborough has hosted two England internationals. The first, in April 1920, saw just over 25,000 people turn up to watch the home side pip Scotland 5–4 in a thoroughly entertaining game. France were the visitors in October 1962 for a European Nations Cup qualifying match. Ron Springett was the only Wednesday player on duty for the game which finished 1–1.

Northern Ireland have used the ground as an adoptive home. A World Cup qualifying game against Bulgaria in September 1973 was switched from Belfast owing to political troubles. Hillsborough also welcomed participating nations during the 1966 World Cup finals. West Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Argentina played group games in the competition which proved to be England’s finest hour. The Germans returned to face Uruguay in a quarter-final tie. Over the course of Euro ’96 Portugal, Turkey, Croatia and Denmark set up camp when football came home. The Danes, reigning European champions at the time and second seeds, played all their games at the stadium.

During the Second World War unofficial internationals were held at Hillsborough as well as representative games between a number of leagues. There was also a B international between England and Switzerland in 1950.

LEAGUE

Although not founder members of the Football League, Wednesday were formed many years before most clubs taking part in that competition’s initial 1888/89 campaign. Following the move to professionalism and the impressive results Wednesday had already achieved, the club made their first attempt to gain election in time for its second season. However, the original 12 clubs refused a personal application from Wednesday President John Holmes. Many thought a refusal to join those pioneers was held against them. Whatever the reason, election eventually came in 1892 as a result of expansion to two divisions. The top flight took on another four members and Wednesday were elected into one of those spots.

For the most part Wednesday have enjoyed life in the top half of the league structure. The only periods outside the First and Second Division (or equivalents in the Premier League era) came between 1975 and 1980 plus four ad hoc seasons since 2003 until the present day. The 1960s were by far the club’s most successful decade within the Football League and based on end-of-season placings, Wednesday had the fifth best record of all 92 league clubs. Only Spurs, Everton, Manchester United and Burnley – all champions over that era – could boast better showings.

It was perhaps fitting that the oldest league club, Notts County – established three years earlier than Wednesday and the Owls’ first Football League opposition in the FA Cup – provided the opposition on 3 September 1892 when Wednesday eventually took their bow. In the course of sealing a 1–0 away win, skipper Tom Brandon became the first player to score a league goal. However, it is worth noting that some observers gave the honour to Harry Davis. The line-up for that historic game was Allan, T. Brandon, Mumford, Hall, Betts, H. Brandon, Spiksley, Brady, Davis, R.N. Brown, Dunlop.

As a point of interest, Brandon’s only other goal that term came in the return fixture at Hillsborough – the season’s last game – when victory spared Wednesday the indignity of a relegation test match. The first league game played at home saw Wednesday entertain Accrington. The Lancashire side were soundly beaten 5–2 at the Olive Grove.

Wednesday’s four Football League championships and five Second Division crowns make them one of the most successful teams in terms of claiming divisional titles. A consolidated analysis of their record until May 2011 shows that Wednesday have played 4,406 league games winning 1,682. 1,110 have ended in draws with defeat sustained in 1,614. 6,578 goals have been scored, and 6,392 conceded. This is the twenty-first best record of all league clubs. Wednesday have spent 66 seasons in England’s top flight which is the fourteenth best record for residency in the elite rank.

GOALS MEANT JACK ALL

As marksmen go, few compare to the prolific Jack Allen. However, had it not been for an inspired positional change which saw him switch from inside-forward to a more central position, plus a small injury crisis, Hillsborough may never have got the best from this outstanding goal-getter. The former Brentford man was a regular name on the scoresheet in the final few games of the 1927/28 season, notching 4 in 5 outings as the club avoided narrowly relegation after looking like dead certs for the drop. But Jack had to wait until October 1928 to be given an extended run in the side as a result of long-term lay-offs for Ted Harper and Jimmy Trotter. After feeling his way back into form with a single strike against Portsmouth, Allen notched a hat-trick against Birmingham City the following week. Just when it seemed things could get no better he claimed four against Bury. By the spring he had claimed an amazing 22 goals from 14 games which left Wednesday in a great position to take the title. This they duly did, in no small part courtesy of Allan’s overall tally of 33 league goals.

A one-season wonder? Far from it. The next term saw him notch 39 league goals including three hat-tricks on the way to a successful defence of the championship. By the time he left for Newcastle United in 1931 he had plundered 85 goals from 114 games with 74 from those two title-winning campaigns – this strike rate of 0.75 was only bettered by Derek Dooley a quarter of a century later. Jack Ball’s arrival and subsequent preference to lead the line after a very short dry spell prompted Allen’s departure, although it is worth noting that the player was still drawing heavily from the goalscoring well in the Central League when outside the senior team. Allen’s first season with the Magpies culminated in an FA Cup win and a goal in the final – albeit a highly controversial one.

WEDNESDAY IN THE FA CUP

1890 – Humbled by Men in Dress Shirts

Wednesday reached a first FA Cup final in 1890, meeting Blackburn Rovers who had to wear formal dress shirts when it was discovered both sides would be playing in blue and white jerseys. A London tailor solved the problem and the Lancastrians looked resplendent as they lifted the cup courtesy of a 6–1 win. That humiliation at the Kennington Oval remains the heaviest defeat inflicted on any club in the showpiece event but 10 years earlier the once-invincible Lancashire outfit were humbled by Wednesday in the club’s first FA Cup tie. Not only did the Owls trounce Rovers 4–0, they rubbed salt in an already painful wound by achieving this victory at Ewood Park. Bob Gregory’s hat-trick made him hero of the hour. Darwen, near neighbours of Blackburn, checked The Wednesday’s progress two rounds later with an emphatic 5–2 win.

A year on from that, in 1882, Wednesday made even greater strides and reached the semi-final. Who should provide the opposition? None other than Blackburn Rovers, who achieved a modicum of revenge posting a 5–1 victory in a replay held at Whalley Bridge, Manchester. Along the way Wednesday notched a few firsts by staging their first ever home FA Cup tie. However, the opening round visitors didn’t have far to travel – Sheffield Providence succumbed 2–0. The following round saw Wednesday draw a match for the first time and as a consequence earn the club’s first replay. A 2–2 draw in the first meeting was followed by a goalless encounter in the rematch. This was the first time Wednesday had failed to score in an FA Cup match. The second replay held at home ended in an emphatic 5–1 win for Wednesday. One stage later the club recorded a 6–0 win over Upton Park, a record win which only stood until the following year when Spilsby were convincingly dispatched 12–2. Another Sheffield side, Heeley, were up next. The match was also at Sheaf House and ended in victory for the home side by a 3–1 margin.

1896 – Joy at the Palace

The first of three FA Cup wins came six years after disappointment against Blackburn. Wolverhampton Wanderers lined up against the Owls at Crystal Palace. Semi-final berths over the previous two seasons underlined the force Wednesday were beginning to become in the cup, and three of the First Division’s eventual top five – Everton, Bolton and Sunderland – had been beaten on the way. Fred Spiksley lost no time in asserting Wednesday’s authority by scoring one of the fastest goals in FA Cup final history. Within 60 seconds he collected Archie Brash’s throw-in and advanced towards the posts. A sure-fire shot left keeper Billy Tennant clutching at thin air. To this day estimates of its exact timing vary, but the goal remains one of the speediest half-dozen strikes in a final.

Quick-fire scoring was to prove the hallmark of events as the result was completed well before the interval. David Black replied 7 minutes after Wolves went behind, but just past the quarter of an hour mark Spiksley restored the advantage with a thunderous shot which hit the crossbar then netting so hard that it actually bounced back into play. The Wanderers’ keeper didn’t actually realise a goal had been scored until told so by a team-mate and then Wednesday skipper Jack Earp. In fairness to the custodian he had been injured during the build-up. This time Wednesday hung on to their lead and Earp was presented with the freshly minted trophy to the joy of the travelling Wednesday fans. Back home, supporters at Midland station further exhibited their delight. Although good natured, many thousands packed the platforms a full hour before their heroes’ 5.28 p.m. arrival time leaving police powerless to maintain order and forcing the players to parade their trophy amid scenes of chaos as the cup came not only to Sheffield but Yorkshire for the first time.

1907 – Late drama secures tight win

In 1906 Everton put Wednesday out of the FA Cup in a dramatic quarter-final tie. That narrow 4–3 win proved to be all the inspiration the Merseysiders needed as they went on to lift the trophy. The two met once more just over 12 months later in a straight battle for silverware. Despite moderate league form, the Owls dispatched Wolves, Southampton, Sunderland, Liverpool and Woolwich Arsenal without too many problems; then emerged triumphant courtesy of a 2–1 scoreline at Crystal Palace. Jimmy Stewart opened the scoring on 21 minutes only for Jack Sharp – the match winner 12 months earlier – to equalise just before half time. Things remained tight throughout the second period but George Simpson won the FA Cup for Wednesday in the most dramatic fashion with a late strike after Andrew Wilson found him unmarked, Simpson heading past a helpless Billy Scott.

1935 – Emphatic at the Empire Stadium

There were more late heroics in the Owls’ first Wembley FA Cup Final. Ellis Rimmer’s exploits paved the road to the Twin Towers in 1935. The winger scored 6 goals during the run including at least 1 in every round. Any Wednesday fans expecting further heroism in the final were not disappointed as Rimmer notched 2 in as many minutes in a 4–2 victory. The Baggies possessed some of the period’s most feared strikers and two very decent wingmen who created sufficient clear-cut chances, but found themselves playing catch-up as Wednesday took the lead twice only to be pegged back. Jack Palethorpe and Mark Hooper scored the other Wednesday goals. However, this was as complete a team performance as had been witnessed in a final.

Albion’s Wally Boyes, a boyhood Owl and proud Sheffield lad, equalised Palethorpe’s second-minute opener and Teddy Sandford, who would eventually join Sheffield United, replied to Mark Hooper’s second. Soon after, a limping Joe Carter struck an upright; it was a let off Rimmer took full advantage of. Supporters who gained one of just a limited number of tickets made available to Wednesdayites had their applications picked out of a hat by two people from Sheffield’s Royal Institute for the Blind. Despite the national stadium’s capacity being well over 90,000, the amount earmarked for Hillsborough fans was in a derisory four figures.

1966 – Not you again!

Blackburn Rovers are not the only team Wednesday have fought out some epic FA Cup battles with. Although the draw is a completely random event it seems certain teams are regularly paired with each other. Everton also fit into that category. After four minutes of their meeting in the 1966 final Jim McAlliog became one of the youngest players to score an FA Cup final goal at a mere 19 years and 234 days old (although it is worth noting that a headed deflection by Toffees’ left-back Ray Wilson threw a cloud over this claim). When David Ford doubled the advantage just before the hour mark it seemed Wednesday were home and dry.

It is possible the euphoria got to the players as Mike Trebilcock pulled one back within 60 seconds – the Merseysiders were back in the game but all Wednesday had to do was keep their heads and concentration up. However, five minutes later the same player levelled affairs. A pitch invasion followed as jubilant Evertonians expressed their disbelief. One particular supporter – Eddie Kavanagh – evaded many attempts to apprehend his joyous trot across the hallowed turf, even slipping out of his suit jacket when he seemed cornered.

The game had a completely different flavour now and as Everton pushed forward the Owls’ defence fell apart. Derek Temple capitalised on a terrible blunder by Gerry Young just 10 minutes from the end which left Ron Springett exposed. Young’s devastated reaction summed up the mood. With that kind of spirit there could be no way back.

That final was one of the most remarkable in recent history and is still talked about by many fans – not just of the teams involved. Wednesday had taken the tricky route to Wembley, playing away in every round. Such was the Owls’ contribution to a classic game that they became the first team to do a losers’ lap of honour on the final whistle. Up to the close of the 2010/11 season Wednesday had drawn Everton 14 times – playing 19 games. An Everton win is the most common result in these encounters as Wednesday have lost 9 and won just 5, the last victory being in February 1954.

1993 – Oh brother!