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 favourite games

 reports 1995-99

Ken Rogers, with contributions from Eric Brown, reports:

There was nearly 18,000 packed like sardines into the ground at Huish —my father and I joined the queue at the switchback hill by Sydney Gardens. Ralph Davis the Yeovil left back (fantastic player) let my father have a ticket for me only hours before the match. I had travelled from Essex, where I was living at the time unaware that there was no ticket for me, so it was touch and go that I made the match at all.

It was a sight to behold when the Yeovil team of Dickie Dyke (Local lad, a Solicitors Clerk was reserve team goal keeper, brought in to replace the injured Stan Hall. He had never played first team football before), Arthur Hickman (right back), Ralph Davis (left back), Bob Keeton (right half), Les Blizzard (brilliant centre half, lynchpin of the side), Nick Collins (left half), Bobby Hamilton (outside right), Alec Stock the unforgettable player/manager (inside right), Eric Bryant (centre forward), Ray Wright (inside left) and Jim Hargreaves (outside left) ran out for the warm up. I remember quite vividly, Arthur Hickman running up to the goalmouth and as he always did, kick the bottom of the goal post with each foot in turn. They say it was to make sure that his foot was at the end of his boot, but most believed that it was for good luck. In any event it was something that the Yeovil supporters watched out for and cheered every time he did it.

The pressure of spectators against your back on the terraces was terrific, every time the play moved around the pitch, everyone seemed to move with it. Really it was quite frightening and obviously would not be permitted today, it was a wonder to me that no one was killed or seriously hurt, but thankfully nobody was.

Sunderland’s "Crown Prince of Soccer", Len Shackleton was given little chance to show his skills - tough tackling was the order of the day. Yeovil scored first from a well-taken goal by Eric Bryant, but after a great deal of pressure Sunderland made it 1-1. As that score stood after 90 minutes, extra time was played. The second Yeovil goal scored by Alec Stock 10 minutes from the end of extra time came from a perfectly weighted through-ball from Ray Wright. Needless to say after Yeovil scored what was to be the winner, the ball was booted out of the ground at every opportunity.

The excitement waiting for the final whistle was overwhelming. So overwhelming that when the referee blew for a free kick, everyone thought it was the end of the match and invaded the pitch. An easy mistake to make as the ground was shrouded in thick fog. There was a delay before the game was restarted, as the pitch had to cleared of a few thousand Yeovil supporters. When the final whistle did eventually come, there was such a tremendous roar, that I was later told could be heard at the Pen Mill Hotel on the other side of town.

Sunderland took defeat very sportingly; I remember lines of coaches stretching from the ground down Huish and right up to Preston Grove. Saturday evening, Yeovil people and Sunderland supporters enjoyed each other’s company in the pubs and clubs, playing skittles, darts etc. There was no sign of any bad feelings. Everyone from Sunderland seemed to enjoy the hospitality given to them by the people of Yeovil and the surrounding area.

Recollections of Harry Wilmott:

I was at the Sunderland game but specifics are a bit hazy now. It seems to me that it was snowing very hard and there were often times when one end of the field was not visible to the other. The famous slope added to Sunderland's woes. It was a heart stopper because we were all aware that we should not be able to triumph over the First Division side on a "normal" day. However, we had earned the right to be playing them so anything was possible.

One of the reasons why the Yeovil team was so good was because we had many players from the 3rd division up who were stationed with the army at Houndstone Camp. It was our privilege to have Les Gore, Dave Affleck, Arthur Hickman, Les Blizzard and some other excellent players. It was a very well balanced team with great spirit.

Alec Stock was player manager at the time of the Sunderland game. He was later chosen by Arsenal to lead the "Gunners", where he gave a local boy Dennis Horlock a trial at half-back but Dennis was too much of a "gentleman" player to survive in the big leagues. Dennis married Jean Sugg of Yeovil and they later came to America. They live in the San Fernando Valley. Yeovil Town FC were called the "Glovers" because Yeovil was a major gloving town. Alec went on to manage Leyton Orient to some good success.

Another recollection to add to the one from Harry Wilmott in the USA, his memory has let him down on one thing though; it was fog not snow that almost caused the match to be abandoned. One thing that stood out for me was the performance of our goal keeper Dickie Dyke, an amateur promoted from the reserves due to the injury of our regular first team goalie Stan Hall. Poor Dickie thrown in at the deep end against a first division team no less. As far as I remember he made only one error in the whole match, we were leading 1 - 0 thanks to a goal by Alec Stock. The Sunderland forwards came charging down the field and one of them, I can't recall which, took a shot which Dickie stopped and promptly dropped the ball (nerves I would imagine) and there ready to pounce was Willy Watson Sunderland's International forward, (capped unusually for England in football and cricket). He made no mistakes and it was 1 - 1.

A feeling of gloom as well as fog descended on the ground and the match went into extra time. I never saw the winning goal scored, I was standing near the corner flag on my wooden box at the Queen St. end, the box brought from one of the boys selling them for 6d. from the back yards of the Queen St. houses which backed on to the ground. The fog had thickened and I couldn't see the goal at the Brewery end, but the roar that went up from that end was enough, Eric Bryant had done his stuff and history was made. Thank goodness the referee allowed play to continue even though he could see only half the ground, because I'm sure Sunderland would never have given us another chance.

I recall reading in the local paper later on, that the Sunderland Manager Bill Murray said something like, no excuses, we were beaten by a better side on the day, and as far as the slope goes there's nothing in it. Some other players our friend in the US did not mention, who played a superb game to my mind was Ralph Davis the local boy from Stoke (left back), Nick Collins(half back) and Ray Wright up front.

I really do wish I had more than just memories. Having left home at an early age and moved house many times, things regretable have been lost over the years.

I can tell you that after the Sunderland game, Eric Bryant (a friend of my father) and his wife stayed at my parents house at 20 South Street. The press found him and photographs were taken of him holding my brother and myself. These are probably in archives somewhere. There was another player from that time whose surname was (I think) Hamilton who again was a friend of my father. I also recall great trips to places like Southend and Colchester, and local matches with Weymouth and Bath.

As a by the way I worked with Johnny Mckay at Normalair in about 1960 and at Westlands with Don Travis in 1964/65.