Thanks Mrs BMB I ws definite it wasn't Billy Bly but for the life of me I couldn't remember the name. Joe Robinson it is ,cheers.Just to add It was Wilf Hassall not Will.
Two more names to conjure with are Johnny Neal a fullback who had about 6 years playing regularly in the fifties and Paddy ***an ( A Raich Carter signing from Ireland) a winger we sold to Man.City about 1953/4.I don't recall either face even though I played a round of golf with Paddy when he made a visit to Hull whilst still a Man City player.He could be No 20 or possibly No 18
On the 52-53 team Ernie Phillips looks like No. 34 in the 50 - 51 team to me, does anyone agree? I've edited the main picture with changes including Robinson for Bly and put the other possible names everyone has suggested under the picture. Mrs BMB, I agree with your thoughts that 14 and 31 look a bit too old to be H. Needler and G. Lax, but I'm not sure about 10 being Mr Needler because he doesn't have the man's distinctive eyebrows (see below) please log in to view this image [/IMG] I don't know about you lot but I think we're approaching our limits with this one. We could do with a few more memories, maybe Bielbs and any other oldies browsing?
I agree with you re Ernie Phillips being 34 and suggest Frank Seddon is 40 and Neil Franklin is certainly 27. With H Needler the hairline is not right on 10 either. We know someone who is a specialist at old photo enhancement so will see what he can do before calling it a day on further possible identifications.
I've put both names on the list for now and we'll see what the response is, but I think we can all give ourselves a pat on the back for what we have found so far. If you check some of those players on Wiki or other sites you will find next to no info on them, so in our own small way we have already restored some of the lost Tigers history - Well done Time Team. MrsBMB the picture of the 50-51 team I have used is a screenshot from the E-Bay site if that's any help. Other news - I have started a similar thread to this on the Hull City Mad site so we'll see how that goes.
Am surprised TigerRoo has not contributed so far as he started watching at a friendly in 1946. He is Cowboy1 on the Citymad site so should pick up your post as he is regularly on there these days. Also Yardley Tiger on here started watching in the forties too. Incidentally have a photo of Yardley aged 16 and he looks just like a slightly younger depiction of Alan Mellor!
Here's a classic, this is what Karlberg had to say about the Millwall game back in 65/66 I didnt even know where Millwall was in those days. Like Queens Park Rangers, they were just names on our fixture list. It was Christmas 1965, the height of the Beatles, I think Millwall were top of the old Third Division and City were second. QPR perhaps in third. City hit December in some tremendous form, we had won three on the bounce, like today, and were unbeaten in eight league games. We hammered Bristol Rovers 6-1 at home in the previous home match in front of 16,349, which was 4,000 down on the home match before that when drew 1-1 with Grimsby in the Humber derby, 20,681 there. No histerics from the local press either in those days about the match being the biggest derby in the sporting world. It was frosty, with a bit of mist or fog hanging about, I remember that, but no snow and the match was actually played the day after Boxing Day, I suppose because Christmas Day must have fallen on a Saturday that year? I don't recall any big build up to the match, we had no local radio in those days or local television, and Brian Taylor in the Hull Daily Mail simply, but quite brilliantley, reported on the facts. He was a fan himself and his reporting reflected that. The size of the crowd hit me the second we crossed the road at Calvert Lane junction. My father used to park his car up at his brothers house on Pickering Road in those days and we would all walk to the ground together, with me as a ten year old, always running along in front. I'd never seen as many people in one place in my life before. The queues for the turnstiles completley covered the car park and tailed along the pavement both ways back towards North Road and under the Railway Bridge the other way. The boys queue wasnt so long so I had to stand near the entrance and wait for my dad and his brothers queue to catch up before before I could go in the ground. It took an enternity. Inside Boothferry Park the scene was mesmerishing. The ground was packed, every inch of space taken, a massive buzz around the place, the brand new shiny South Stand at the other end of the ground was heaving, and through the mist I could see the crowds swaying and tumbling up and down the terracing behind the goal. The East stand was equally packed with the steam trains arriving behind it bringing thousands more people in who queued along the platform waiting to squeeze into the ground. Football rattles were the fashion in those day and plenty had got one for Christmas, I hadn't and envied the many boys stood near me who had. To my right the Best stand seating area was filling up, with fans finding their seats and then wrapping up in blankets for the afternoons entertainment. The Well, however was straining with the amount of people with seemingly thousands more sandwiched together near the players tunnel. The tannoy asked for people to stand closer together as there were "thousands outside" And people did shuffle up a step or two. I was shoved to the front on the North Stand to stand with the other lads, there was always space near the little blue three wheeler invalid cars, but today even that was at a premium. The match itself is just a blur, misty, very noisey, and much of it obscured by bigger lads pushing in front on me but you could see and almost feel the breath coming off the players when they neared the North Stand goal, which is the net the ball ended up in for the only goal of the game. A cross came in from the left and deflected into the net from a Millwall knee. Lads were on the pitch, And City, or "Tigers" as we always called the were one nil up! I remember watching Grandstand at my uncles house before we went home and I'm sure it was David Colman who was announcing in his "Listen-to-this-news" tone that "Hull City today attracted the biggest crowd in the entire country this afternoon when over 40,000 turned up to watch thier top of the table clash with Millwall. Hull City are a third division club, quite remarkable"
I can give you more names but unfortunately I can,t put any of them against individual pictures on that photo some only made the odd appearance. Trevor Porteous halfback 1951/56 Les Robson winger 51/52 Jim Duthie halfback Len Gayner inside forward 50/51 Ken Horton " " 52 (might just have been in time depending on when photo was taken) Terry Murray " " 51/54 Gordon Inward winger 50/51 Johnny Linaker " 51/53 Alan Moore " 51/52 Charlie Niklas C/F 51/52 Perhaps that might ring a bell for others.
A nice recollection John, I lived in Hawthorn Ave at the time and so was there early hoping to collect autographs round the back of the stadium on North Road. As was said, Brian Taylor reported without drama for the HDM, and he was usually spot on with his observation, I could read his reports in the Sports Mail later on in the day when I delivered my papers on my round. The only problem I had once, when on the South Stand, was some idiot behind us started pushing, which of course set off a domino affect as everyone else surged forward. But this was soon sorted as most people were sensible enough to point out this person, or these persons, who thought it was funny to cause such havoc. And what may seem quaint today, a policeman was close at hand to make sure those who perpetrated this act didn't actually get to see much of the game as they were turfed out. Also I think in those days Boothferry Park was in the elite of grounds having a railway direct to the ground, and at one time, state of the art floodlight systems. I was stood behind the goal on the South Stand end (or Bunkers Hill if you like) because I was on the small side and as was said when players came hurtling towards the goal you could feel the action not just see it. On one very wet night, can't remember the opponents or the date, City had a forward called Dave King who came down the middle of the park and hoped to connect with a centre coming in from the wing. But the pitch was covered in water just about and he slid, on his backside, from the 18yd box and hit the small metal fence going around the pitch and as he came towards us he had his hands held up and smiled as there was nothing he could do to stop himself. He wasn't injured but it made us few daft enough to be out in the rain laugh.
There is some great footage and memroies on tigertube Craig. http://www.youtube.com/user/TigerTubeAmberNectar. I partcularly like this one http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA8A82DB9EBEFFF84&feature=plcp Keep up the good work.
Right let's see if I can get this in before kick-off. These are my latest thoughts on the 50 - 51 players after looking at the very useful video below and a fair bit of messing around enlarging images in photoshop. I stand ready to be shot down in flames! [video=youtube;GFhhbBwD4Tk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFhhbBwD4Tk [/video] please log in to view this image [/IMG] Edit. Just noticed that the player's image under Mr. Percival looks very much like No. 38 and is Terry Murray.
Brilliant post John and definitely one for the archive. That really painted a good picture of an era and an atmosphere that I hadn't experienced at BP - 40,000 + must have been brilliant on terraces.
Craig some people say that Boothferry Park was a dump, which it may have been in it's last days but in it's time it was one of the best grounds in the country to see a football game and them mid 60's years that place was totally rocking! 40,000 people standing at a football match, city winning promotion and getting to the sixth round of the FA Cup and drawing at Chelsea not to mention England won the world cup that summer at wembley.Waggy, Chilton, Houghton and Butler banging goals in for fun every week oh lord they were good times indeed.
Heres a great video of them tigers from back then, look at the way Waggy takes that second goal! and Chilton sored his 20th of the season that day as well good lord how we could use a couple of 20 goal a season strikers today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvQrLrudNMM
The piece on Hull City Kits about the 1935 blue kit is fascinating. http://hullcitykits.co.uk/j-h-hills-ultramarine-army/
