Flashback/On this Day Erimus74 & McMordie

[sanddancer 1,967]

On 10/6/2021 at 4:19 PM, McMordie said:

On This Day - October 7th 1972

Middlesbrough 1 Millwall 0

Late drama at Ayresome Park as Boro snatched the points with a goal in the 89th minute after Millwall dominated the first half.

Harry Cripps in particular caused Boro problems in the first 45 minutes, twice firing narrowly over the bar and having another shot brilliantly saved by Jim Platt. Kitchener had a goal bound shot blocked and Possee also fired over when well placed, with Boro on the back foot.

However, the balance of the game changed with a half time tactical switch by Boro, who took off defender Gordon Jones and brought on 19 year old substitute Peter Brine for his debut, against a Millwall team whose ground is less than 5 miles from his Greenwich birthplace. Four minutes from time he almost capped his debut with a goal but Millwall keeper King brilliantly saved his scorching shot. There was still time for Boro to take both points though. A Spaggon throw in was nodded down by Hickton for Willie Maddren to apply the finish to send most of the 10,863 crowd home happy.

Boro team - Platt, Jones (Brine), Spraggon, Boam, Gates, McMordie, Stiles, Hickton, Mills, Craggs, Maddren.

After losing three of their first four games of the 1972/73 season Boro had no gone 8 without defeat and were 8th in the table, 3 points behind joint leaders Burnley and Sheffield Wednesday,

Elsewhere - Burnley went top on goal difference with a 2-1 home win over Swindon Town, which took them above morning leaders Wednesday on goal difference after Wednesday were held 1-1 at Preston and a point clear of Aston Villa, who lost 2-0 at Fulham. Sunderland were in mid table after a 5-1 defeat at Oxford. Liverpool were top of the First Division after beating Everton 1-0 in the Anfield Merseyside derby, which took them two points clear of Arsenal, who lost 1-0 at Sheffield United. Newcastle were in mid table after a 3-1 home win over Norwich City. Hartlepool were in mid table in the Fourth Division after a 0-0 draw away to Football League new boys Hereford United but Darlington were struggling near the bottom after losing 1-0 at Bury. In the Northern League, South Bank lost 2-1 to Durham, a win which took Durham up to joint second behind leaders Blyth Spartans, who needed a late equaliser to snatch a 1-1 draw against Whitby. Billingham Synthonia drew 0-0 at Evenwood.

In the news - There was controversy after a leaked Government report revealed plans to cut many north east rail links, costing hundreds of jobs (one of the lines under threat was Middlesbrough to Darlington), Asian refugees were arriving in the UK after being expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin and Prime Minister Edward Heath declared war on inflation. David Cassidy was top of the UK Singles Chart with How Can I Be Sure.

 

My era

[sanddancer 1,967]

On 10/5/2021 at 10:45 PM, Erimus74 said:

He had his testimonial the folliwing May at home to Leeds, retired &  started his sporting business in the town 

I remember buying leather balls from Jack Hatfields. I would stand there while they put the bladder in, then stitch it up, never left without a tin of dubbing. 
I remember my uncle having ankle high leather boots with wooden studs. These you changed with pliers then hammer in new that had nails sticking out, wicked. So proud he was I got choose to play at school he offered them to me, and I politely declined. 

[Erimus74 3,072]

This day 1970 Boro face the big guns in the league cup

With Boro losing 3-2 at Stanford bridge, Boro's goals coming from Mr Middlesbrough John Hickton, his 10th of the season & Gordon Jones, his 1st ever league cup goal 

 

[McMordie 105]

8 October 1977

Middlesbrough 2 Manchester United 1

In the week leading up to this game United had beaten League Champions Liverpool and French Cup holders St Etienne but Billy Ashcroft and Graeme Souness at Ayresome Park in October was an altogether tougher prospect. United's pre McQueen defence lacked height and struggled throughout the game to cope with Ashcroft while Souness pulled the strings.

United had been forced to play their Cup Winners Cup "home" leg against St Etienne at Plymouth earlier in the week due to trouble caused by their travelling supporters at an earlier game and the match at Ayresome Park was played against a typical 1970s Saturday afternoon backdrop of sporadic fisticuffs on the terraces and denim clad silk scarf wristed youths being frogmarched by police round the touchline. Boro were criticised over how tickets were sold for the match, which was described as a "fire sale" designed to maximise the crowd at the expense of segregation.

Souness was the key to Boro's victory, shutting down United's usual midfield fluency and often exploiting United's weakness on the left due to Gordon Hill's reluctance to track back. However, it was the visitors who snatched the lead against the run of play on the half hour. Platt played the ball out weakly and McGrsath set up Coppell to score. The lead only lasted 4 minutes before Armstrong dispossessed Buchan and set up David Mills to shoot home.

Armstrong was instrumental again when Boro went ahead ten minutes into the second half. His shot was blocked and ran free for Ashcroft to score his second goal since his recent move from Wrexham.

Boro didn't get the third goal to give themselves breathing space and came under heavy pressure in the later stages of the game, which managed John Neal put down to his own tactical error, having assumed that United would tire in the later stages after their big matches earlier in the week. However, Boro saw the job through for an impressive win.

Boro - Platt, Craggs, Cooper, Souness, Boam, Ramage, Mahoney, Souness, Ashcroft, Mills, Armstrong.

Manchester United - Stepney, Albiston, Buchan, Nicholl, B Greenhoff, Coppell, McCreery, McGrath, Hill, J Greenhoff, Macari.

Att - 26822

Boro's win left them 13th in the First Division table with three wins, three draws and four defeats from their first ten games of the season.

Elsewhere - Leaders Nottingham Forest were held to a 0-0 draw at West Ham, allowing both Manchester City and Liverpool to cut their lead at the top to one point. Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield while City had a 2-1 home win over Arsenal. Bob Latchford scored four for Everton in their 5-1 win at QPR. Newcastle were bottom of the table after a 2-1 home defeat to Derby County, leaving them with nine defeats in their opening ten games. Manager Richard Dinnis told Newcastle fans not to worry as it was only 44 years until they'd be taken over by Saudi investors.

Sunderland were struggling in Division Two after a 4-2 defeat at Southampton. Hartlepool were 5th bottom in the Fourth Division after losing 1-0 at home to Bournemouth while Darlington were in mid table after two early goals by former York City players helped them to a 2-1 win over the Minstermen at Bootham Crescent on the Friday night. Meanwhile on the Saturday Billingham Synthonia went out of the FA Cup at the Second Qualifying stage, losing 3-1 to Whitley Bay.

In the news - Former Labour cabinet minister was under pressure to resign as an MP after announcing he was quitting the party and switching to the Tories, the NCB released a ten year plan for opencast mining in the North East and a report was published about professional footballers suffering over night poverty if they picked up serious injury. David Soul was top of the UK Singles Chart with Silver Lady.

 

[Changing Times 12,347]

50 minutes ago, McMordie said:

Newcastle were bottom of the table after a 2-1 home defeat to Derby County, leaving them with nine defeats in their opening ten games. Manager Richard Dinnis told Newcastle fans not to worry as it was only 44 years until they'd be taken over by Saudi investors.

🤭

[Old Codger 3,064]

[Old Codger 3,064]

David Soul...  wonder what had happened to him after Star Trek 🙂

[McMordie 105]

9 October 1971

Oxford United 0 Middlesbrough 0.

Boro manager Stan Anderson declared himself to be happy with a point from the trip to the Manor Ground, declaring it to be a good springboard ahead of a run of three consecutive home games. Anderson hoped that the visits of Portsmouth, Millwall and Watford to Ayresome Park in quick succession would allow Boro to propel themselves into the promotion race.

The clean sheet at Oxford was particularly pleasing after Boro had shipped seven goals in their previous two away games, a 3-2 defeat at Luton Town having been followed by a 4-0 hammering at Sunderland. Alec Smith had been brought into the team as an emergency full back due to injuries for the 1-0 home win over Blackpool on 2 October and had done well enough to retain his place at Oxford despite being on the transfer list.

Boro were generally on the back foot at the Manor Ground in a match in which the teams appear to have given little consideration to producing some decent incidents for someone who happened to be writing about the match on an internet forum exactly 50 years later to refer to. Boro did, however, have a lucky escape on 23 minutes when the unmarked Sloan fired over the bar from inside the six yard box. Boro went straight down to the other end, where a Laidlaw volley brought a fine save from home keeper Kearns and they could have snatched both points late on when Kearns produced another good save to deny a side footed shot from Hickton.

The occasion was marred by fighting on the terraces behind Oxford's goal before half time which resulted in several people being ejected from the ground and one carried away on a stretcher.

There was more injury frustration for Boro after the match when it was revealed that the absent Nobby Stiles would be out for longer than initially anticipated with a back injury.

Boro - Platt, Jones, Moody, Smith, Gates, Laidlaw, McMordie, Vincent, Hickton, Craggs, Maddren.

Att - 9925

The draw left Boro seventh in the table, four points behind leaders Norwich City.

Elsewhere - Bristol City cut Norwich's lead to a point with a 2-1 home win against Watford while the Canaries were drawing 1-1 at Sunderland (leaving Sunderland 5th). Manchester United went to the top of the First Division with a 3-0 win at Huddersfield, taking them above the morning leaders, newly promoted Sheffield United, who lost 3-2 at home to Stoke City. Newcastle were in the bottom 4 after losing 4-2 at Arsenal. In the Fourth Division, Darlington were bottom of the league after losing 2-1 at home to Stockport County in the game featured on that week's Shoot!, while Hartlepool were second bottom after losing 1-0 at home to Newport County. In the Northern League, South Bank beat Ashington 3-0, while in one of the games of the day in the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup Northern League Whitby lost 2-0 at home to Northern Premier League neighbours Scarborough in another game marred by trouble on the terraces.

In the news - The Conservative party conference was debating the possibility of bringing back hanging, two men were rescued from Ullswater after their boat capsized in strong wind and people were advised not to eat pease pudding because the smell was off putting to others. Rod Stewart was top of the UK Singles Chart with Maggie May.

[Erimus74 3,072]

On 10/7/2021 at 2:51 PM, McMordie said:

Was his dad from Teesside then?

Here you go @McMordie

[McMordie 105]

Haven't You Been Here Before?  13 May 1967 - Middlesbrough 2 Peterborough United 1

An afternoon of real tension at Ayresome Park as Boro clawed their way to a victory that left them one win away from clinching promotion back to the Second Division at the first attempt. If they could beat Oxford United at home in their final match on the Tuesday they would be up.

As the game against Peterborough it looked increasingly as though Boro might blow their promotion chances in the Ayresome Park mud as they struggled to convert numerous chances, partly due to an inspired performance by Posh keeper Millington.

Finally, the breakthrough came on 62 minutes as John Hickton fired home from 25 yards. Relief spread around the ground. And in typical Boro fashion, a minute later it was 1-1 and back to square one as Mason headed home for the visitors.

The psychics in the ground were thinking ahead to the Leicester City game in 1988 but on this occasion Boro were not to be denied. On 72 minutes, Hickton was the hero again as he was played through by the superbly named McMordie, shrugged off two defenders and drew Millington before slipping the ball under him for the winner.

Welsh international Millington had been hampered by a shoulder injury he picked up in the 56th minute and left the field shortly after Boro's second goal, to be replaced between the sticks by outfield player Cooper (this was long before the days of having a substitute keeper on the bench). Boro couldn't take advantage in the closing stages though and 2-1 it finished.

After the match, manager Stan Anderson revealed that his team would spend Monday training at Scarborough to get away from the promotion frenzy sweeping Teesside.

(As we all know, Boro duly lost 4-1 to Oxford United and were destined to spend the next 54 years in the Third Division before veteran manager Neil Warnock finally led them back to the second tier).

Boro - Whigham, Butler, Jones, Masson, Rooks, Horner, Chadwick, Hickton, O'Rourke, McMordie, Downing.

Att - 32503.

Elsewhere - On the final Saturday of the season, runaway Third Division champions QPR lost 2-1 at Oxford in their final game. Watford were held to a 1-1 draw at Oldham Athletic, leaving them a point ahead of Boro in 2nd place but having played all of their matches. Boro would overhaul them and pip them to the second promotion place if the beat Oxford. Darlington, who didn't play on the Saturday, were third bottom of the Third Division and relegated.

Manchester United were league champions and concluded their season with a 0-0 home draw with Stoke City. Newcastle were 3rd bottom and escaped relegation despite losing their final game of the season at West Brom 6-1. Sunderland lost 2-0 at home to Leeds United and were also in the bottom 6 with one game still to play. Aston Villa and Blackpool had already been relegated but the Tangerines at least finished in some style, beating Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield for only their 6th win of the season. Coventry City clinched the Second Division title with a 3-1 home win over Millwall taking them above West Midlands rivals (and also already promoted) Wolves, who lost 4-1 at Crystal Palace.

In the Fourth Division, Hartlepool weren't in action on the Saturday and finished 8th. They announced over the weekend that manager Brian Clough was leaving to take up a three year contract as manager of Second Division strugglers Derby County. I wonder what happened to him?

In the news - It was announced that legislation was to be introduced to retain British Summer Time all year round to bring the UK in line with Europe, a British airplane had landed in Gibraltar to evacuate civilians in defiance of an order from Spanish dictator General Franco and the North East was full of nostalgic train spotters as the Flying Scotsman paid a visit. Sandie Shaw was top of the UK Singles Chart with Puppet on a String.

[McMordie 105]

On This Day - 14 October 1972

Cardiff City 2 Middlesbrough 0

A disappointing afternoon in South Wales for Boro, set against the background of two players moving in opposite directions and a typical Boro moment.

Johnny Vincent joined Boro in March 1971, having had great success with Birmingham City over the previous 7 years, scoring 41 goals from midfield in 171 appearances. Although he scored 7 times in 40 appearances for Boro in 1971/72, however, he struggled to settle and find his best form on Teesside. Cardiff started the 1972/73 season badly and a 3-0 defeat in a televised match at QPR prompted manager Jimmy Scoular to look to change tack. Former Boro player Ian Gibson was sold to Bournemouth and Vincent was identified as a replacement who might bring more creativity to the side in place of Gibson's grit. When Cardiff came forward with a £35,000 offer Boro decided to let Vincent go.

As fate would have it, Vincent's Cardiff debut would be in this match against his former Boro colleagues. I'm sure every Boro fan knows what came next....after 38 he minutes bit the hand that used to feed him with a debut goal from ten yards. Boro never really got into the game and Cardiff added their second from a Gary Bell penalty on the hour.

So the two points stayed in South Wales, but on the Monday after the match Boro brought something back to the North East from Cardiff that would have a major impact on their fortunes over the following years. Alan Foggon had established himself at Newcastle United but found himself frozen out of the first team after the arrival of Malcolm Macdonald on Tyneside in the summer of 1971, prompting a move to Cardiff. However, things didn't go well for him in Wales. He lacked fitness, struggled to establish himself in the first team and didn't help himself by getting sent off in a game at Orient. He found himself becoming disillusioned with the standard of reserve team football and homesick for the north east of England.

Boro manger Stan Anderson was well aware of the potential of a fit Foggon and a £10,000 offer was enough to seal a deal. It was a significant moment in Boro's history given Foggon's contribution to the club's mid-1970s success.

Cardiff City - Irwin, Dwyer, Murray, Powell, Bell, Kellock, Phillips, Vincent, Reece, Parsons, Showers. Unused sub Larmour

Boro - Platt, Creamer, Jones, Spraggon, Boam, Gates, McMordie (Brine), Hickton, Mills, Craggs, Maddren.

Att - 10407

 

Elsewhere - Boro had gone into this game on the back of an 11 game unbeaten run in all competitions but the defeat left them 9th, having started the season with 3 defeats on 4. In the game of the day in the Second Division Burnley won 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday to move two points clear of 2nd placed Wednesday at the top. Sunderland were in lower mid table after losing 2-0 to Luton Town at Roker Park. Arsenal reduced Liverpool's lead at the top of the First Division to one point with a 1-0 home win over Ipswich, with Liverpool drawing 1-1 at Southampton. Newcastle were in mid table after losing 2-0 at Stoke City. In the Fourth Division, Darlington were 3rd bottom after losing 3-2 to Newport County at Feethams while Hartlepool were 15th in the table after a 1-1 home draw with Crewe. In the Northern League, Blyth Spartans surprisingly lost 1-0 to Evenwood, allowing their closest challengers Billingham Synthonia and Ferryhill to close the gap at the top after they drew 2-2 with each other at Central Avenue. South Bank lost 1-0 at home to Shildon.

As well as signing Alan Foggon on the Monday, Boro also found their season influenced by the great Jimmy Greaves (although he may well not have been aware of it). Boro had been given an attractive tie with First Division Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup and after a 1-1 draw at Ayresome Park a 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane had sent the tie into a second replay, which also to take place in London, but Boro and Spurs couldn't agree a date. Boro wanted the game to be played in the week beginning 16 October or the following week but Spurs wanted to delay it until Monday 30 October, which was just 2 days before the designated date for the next round. They objected to the previous Monday because they had a UEFA Cup match later that week and the week beginning 16 October would clash with Greaves' testimonial. The matter went to the Football League, who sided with Spurs and scheduled the match for the 30th.

In the news - Unions rejected Government plans for a £2 pay rise ceiling, student meetings were banned at Stirling University after rowdy scenes when the Queen visited the previous week and 176 lives had been lost in a plane crash near Moscow. Lieutenant Pigeon were top of the UK Singles Chart with Mouldy Old Dough.

[Erimus74 3,072]

This day 1985 - A goalscoring legend opened his account for the mighty Boro

Bernie Slaven made a home scoring debut this day, when putting the Boro 1-0 v Bradford City at Ayresome Park, the game finished 1-1

Bernie had made an away debut a week previous when the Boro lost 1-0 at Leeds, Peter Lorimer scored the only goal from the spot 

This day v Bradford, same as the Leeds game, Bernie was given the No9 shirt  infront of our biggest crowd of the season, 6,130

What a signing by the late, great Willie Maddren, he brought Bernie down from Scotland after Bernie had sent a letter to every team in the top 2 divisions asking for a trial, what a scoop Willie 

Bernie, who was registeted No577 when making his debut v Leeds was named in the following team by Willie Maddren 

Stephen Pears 

Brian Laws 

Pat Heard

Tony McAndrew 

Don O'Riordan

Irving Nattrass 

Gary Hamilton 

Mitch Cook - 4th game, 1st start

Bernie Slaven 

Archie Stephens

Dave Currie

 

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by Erimus74

[Erimus74 3,072]

Boro flashback - This day 26th October 1963

Bryan Orritt scored the 2nd Boro brace of his career when the mighty Boro beat Sunderland 2-0 at Ayresome Park, his 1st brace was at home to Newcastle on the 7th March 1962

Brians 2 goals were his 13th of his Boro career to date

Brian Orrit is famous for been the 1st Boro substitute & played in every numbered shirt apart from No2, his 2nd substsute appearence aas replacing Boro goalkeeper Bob Appleby at home to Charlton 1965

[Old Codger 3,064]

Am I right in thinking he was one of the lads that played for us and Birmingham

[Erimus74 3,072]

16 hours ago, Old Codger said:

Am I right in thinking he was one of the lads that played for us and Birmingham

Yes correct old codger 👍

Its stated he played in every position, which I dont think is the case, the 1st game Bryan Orritt mde history in is when replacing right back Neville Chapman away to Preston, Billy Horner slotted in to RB & Brian Orritt took his position at WH, I'm hoping to confirm this when I can get to the main library