Memory Lane Fifty years ago today ....

[B.B.The Legend Lives On.]

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Any one recognise the Chesterfield number 7? yes it's him young Neil.



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Can we have a ref watch on Ray Tinkler please?

Trevor Roberts played in goal and Frank Haydock played instead of Sammy McMillan.

Would just like to add the following changes having checked the line-ups of the Rochdale match which were as follows:- Roberts, Lindsey, Birks, Bentley(Barnett), Haydock, Kurila, Baber, Best, Moore, Hamilton & Chisnall. Rochdale line-up was as the programme apart from No.9 was Reg Jenkins and Buck was the substitute. Jenkins scored 2 goals that day the other goalscorer was Steve Melledew. The attendance was 9,095. Reg Jenkins was voted Rochdale's greatest ever player back in 2000 but sadly died in Tenerife Spain back in 2013 while recuperating from a knee operation. Along with my good friend Mick(Ref watch) I was lucky enough to see all 52 League and Cup matches that season in which we scored an incredible 106 goals of which 52 were scored by Billy Best (31 in 50 matches) and Gary Moore (21 in 34 matches) and although we failed to gain promotion it still is to this day my favourite ever season following the Blues.

 

[B.B.The Legend Lives On.]

Would just like to add the following changes having checked the line-ups of the Rochdale match which were as follows:- Roberts, Lindsey, Birks, Bentley(Barnett), Haydock, Kurila, Baber, Best, Moore, Hamilton & Chisnall. Rochdale line-up was as the programme apart from No.9 was Reg Jenkins and Buck was the substitute. Jenkins scored 2 goals that day the other goalscorer was Steve Melledew. The attendance was 9,095. Reg Jenkins was voted Rochdale's greatest ever player back in 2000 but sadly died in Tenerife Spain back in 2013 while recuperating from a knee operation. Along with my good friend Mick(Ref watch) I was lucky enough to see all 52 League and Cup matches that season in which we scored an incredible 106 goals of which 52 were scored by Billy Best (31 in 50 matches) and Gary Moore (21 in 34 matches) and although we failed to gain promotion it still is to this day my favourite ever season following the Blues.

Forgot to mention this in my previous post but also playing for Rochdale that day was Joe Ashworth who played at Roots Hall for just one season in 1967-68 making 39 appearances in league and cup scoring a couple of times in the home matches against Hartlepool United (2-1) & Chester (5-1) before leaving to join Rochdale at the start of the 1968-69 season. Joe joined us from Bournemouth, he also played for Bradford Park Avenue, York City, Chester & Stockport County before retiring in 1972. After leaving football Joe worked for Her Majesty's Prison Service but sadly died in 2002 at the tender age of just 58.

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

I can remember when I was still young & innocent (!) around 1969-70 when I still sat in the East Stand with my Grandad, & we played Rochdale.
There were a handful of their fans in there, who repeatedly sang 'what is our name, Rochdale!'.
If memory serves me right ( & I wouldn't bet on it! ), they won 3-1?.

 

[LBBlue]

Just browsing through the last few programmes for 68/69 I had not realised before that captain Eddie Clayton missed the last 12 games of the season through injury.

In the Bradford PA programme on 18th April 69 Ernie wrote " Just recently it would have been easier to pick a team of unfit players than fit ones and the injuries could not have come at a worse time"

50 years on and much larger squads injuries still impact greatly on team performances.