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Author Topic: Final Games  (Read 14583 times)

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Acme Thunderer

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Final Games
« on: Mon 15 Apr 2019 14:13 »
I am minded that we have not had any activity on ISOR for over a month. I am also minded that 'tis the time of year when - in days of old - we would be looking to see where refs were officiating in their final games before retirement. I've had a go at devising a list of final games. It starts with the period 1946-79, as per Upton's, and covers domestic competitions as referees. Later internationals (eg Jack Taylor) have not been included nor non-competitive matches following retirement. Source - mainly from memory but but other sources, including ISOR, have also been used. As the list is mainly from memory, it is open to correction, amendment and addition which I welcome. Refs who died in service have been omitted. Period from 1980 onwards to follow shortly.

K Aston – Man Utd v Leicester (at Wembley), May 1963
C Barrick, Man Utd v Blackpool (at Wembley), Apr 1948
F Bassett – Cardiff v QPR, Apr 1973
J Bent – Wolves v Aston Villa, May 1978 (lined the FA Cup Final later the same week)
N Burtenshaw – Derby v Everton, Apr 1973
R Capey – Blackpool, 1977
J Carr – WBA v Liverpool (6th round 2nd replay at Maine Road, Manchester), Apr 1968
J Clarke – Man Utd v Sunderland, May 1968
W Clements – Liverpool v Leeds (at Wembley), May 1965
J Clough – Nottingham Forest v Luton (at Wembley), May 1959
A Dimond – Leeds, 1970
E Garner – Chesterfield, 1977
A Holland – West Ham v Preston (at Wembley), May 1964
K Howley – Tottenham v Arsenal, May 1971
E Jennings – Chelsea v Leeds (at Old Trafford), Apr 1970
R Johnson – Spurs v Newcastle, Aug 1971
W Johnson, Liverpool v Man City, May 1978
A W Jones – York, Apr / May 1977
R Kirkpatrick – Bolton v Spurs, May 1979
A Lees – Arsenal v Man Utd, Apr 1978
K Markham – Watford v Plymouth, Apr 1969
R Matthewson – Man Utd v Liverpool (at Wembley), May 1977
G McCabe – Man City v Leicester (at Wembley), Apr 1969
D Nippard – Ipswich v Arsenal (at Wembley), May 1978
D W Smith – Man Utd v Man City, Apr 1974
J Taylor – Arsenal v Middlesbrough, May 1977
D Turner – Ipswich, March / Apr 1979

 
« Last Edit: Wed 17 Apr 2019 16:23 by Acme Thunderer »

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Whistleblower

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #1 on: Tue 16 Apr 2019 08:59 »
Thank you AT, most interesting. In those days, ending one's career with a Wembley appearance at a Cup Final was not that uncommon. The FA Cup Final was sometimes seen as a retirement present.

All the big hitters get suitably big matches. Alex Lees, who I recall as a good toiler never hitting the heights, did well to finish with Arsenal v Manchester United. Don't know if there was much riding on that particular game but it's always a big fixture.

Hendo

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #2 on: Tue 16 Apr 2019 13:36 »
Walter Johnson’s last game was Liverpool v Man City in May 1978. I recall him telling me that Liverpool gave him a nice memorial plaque to mark his retirement, after the game

Gary Aplin’s last match was Aston Villa v Chelsea in May 1991

nemesis

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #3 on: Tue 16 Apr 2019 22:42 »
Thank you AT, most interesting. In those days, ending one's career with a Wembley appearance at a Cup Final was not that uncommon. The FA Cup Final was sometimes seen as a retirement present.

All the big hitters get suitably big matches. Alex Lees, who I recall as a good toiler never hitting the heights, did well to finish with Arsenal v Manchester United. Don't know if there was much riding on that particular game but it's always a big fixture.

Not especially. Man United were mid-table and Arsenal were one of the clubs trailling in the wake of Nottingham Forest.

Exactly 7 days after that match, I was at Highbury watching Ipswich beat West Brom to earn their place in that final, mentioned twice elsewhere in that list !!  Happy days.

Whistleblower

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #4 on: Wed 17 Apr 2019 08:51 »
m'learned friend, I too was at Highbury that evening. Sadly I was unable to be at Wembley for the Final against Arsenal at which,as the list states, Derek Nippard and Jim Bent made their swansong. I did watch the Final on TV though. Nippard had been a somewhat surprising choice for the Final but I recall he did well enough in a match which had an air of friendliness about it.

And now we return to 1957 and the third tier. Sic transit gloria mundi; and will gloria ever return or has she left us for a long, long time ?

Acme Thunderer

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #5 on: Wed 17 Apr 2019 16:34 »
Thanks for these. I have included Walter in the above list and will include Gary Aplin in my burgeoning list from 1980 to the present.

I remember Alex Lees from Arsenal v Man Utd in 1978 because he apparently failed to send off a player for a clear DOGSO foul and was in danger of being summoned to the Head's office to explain himself. As it was his last game, I imagine Alex was not too concerned. There is a 5 minute YouTube clip of the game, with the dark haired Alex blowing the final whistle at the end, however the DOGSO incident is not included. The game was played on 1st April 1978 which was a few weeks before the end of the season and quite early to retire. However Easter was v early that year and, as Alex was a school Head (like his Bridgwater colleague Peter Walters), he may have decided to call it a day early to prepare for the summer exam season at his school. 

Ref Watcher

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #6 on: Wed 17 Apr 2019 17:33 »
Thanks for these. I have included Walter in the above list and will include Gary Aplin in my burgeoning list from 1980 to the present.

I remember Alex Lees from Arsenal v Man Utd in 1978 because he apparently failed to send off a player for a clear DOGSO foul and was in danger of being summoned to the Head's office to explain himself. As it was his last game, I imagine Alex was not too concerned. There is a 5 minute YouTube clip of the game, with the dark haired Alex blowing the final whistle at the end, however the DOGSO incident is not included. The game was played on 1st April 1978 which was a few weeks before the end of the season and quite early to retire. However Easter was v early that year and, as Alex was a school Head (like his Bridgwater colleague Peter Walters), he may have decided to call it a day early to prepare for the summer exam season at his school.
A red card for DOGSO wasn't introduced until later than 1978 - Willie Young's cynical one on Paul Allen in an FA Cup Final that caused such consternation was in 1980.  If memory serves me correctly it came in around 1990.

nemesis

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #7 on: Wed 17 Apr 2019 17:42 »
m'learned friend, I too was at Highbury that evening. Sadly I was unable to be at Wembley for the Final against Arsenal at which,as the list states, Derek Nippard and Jim Bent made their swansong. I did watch the Final on TV though. Nippard had been a somewhat surprising choice for the Final but I recall he did well enough in a match which had an air of friendliness about it.

And now we return to 1957 and the third tier. Sic transit gloria mundi; and will gloria ever return or has she left us for a long, long time ?

Nearest we've had to glory of late is the underwhelming London Glory bitter on sale in the Fanzone !

I think Gloria has indeed done with Ipswich for the foreseeable (and beyond) future. What will happen is that the bar will be set lower for what constitutes glory.

Most seem to be commending Marcus Evans for dropping season ticket prices by around 15%. Anyone who has seen as much League One football as I have would be aware that a 25% drop to reflect the much lower standard should be a minimum !

PS  My memory places that excellent semi-final as in the afternoon. The evening was spent celebrating and wondering where my Final ticket would come from. In the event it came from Southend United - and was in the Arsenal end !!!

Left Field

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #8 on: Wed 17 Apr 2019 21:03 »
I am minded that we have not had any activity on ISOR for over a month. I am also minded that 'tis the time of year when - in days of old - we would be looking to see where refs were officiating in their final games before retirement. I've had a go at devising a list of final games. It starts with the period 1946-79, as per Upton's, and covers domestic competitions as referees. Later internationals (eg Jack Taylor) have not been included nor non-competitive matches following retirement. Source - mainly from memory but but other sources, including ISOR, have also been used. As the list is mainly from memory, it is open to correction, amendment and addition which I welcome. Refs who died in service have been omitted. Period from 1980 onwards to follow shortly.

K Aston – Man Utd v Leicester (at Wembley), May 1963
C Barrick, Man Utd v Blackpool (at Wembley), Apr 1948
F Bassett – Cardiff v QPR, Apr 1973
J Bent – Wolves v Aston Villa, May 1978 (lined the FA Cup Final later the same week)
N Burtenshaw – Derby v Everton, Apr 1973
R Capey – Blackpool, 1977
J Carr – WBA v Liverpool (6th round 2nd replay at Maine Road, Manchester), Apr 1968
J Clarke – Man Utd v Sunderland, May 1968
W Clements – Liverpool v Leeds (at Wembley), May 1965
J Clough – Nottingham Forest v Luton (at Wembley), May 1959
A Dimond – Leeds, 1970
E Garner – Chesterfield, 1977
A Holland – West Ham v Preston (at Wembley), May 1964
K Howley – Tottenham v Arsenal, May 1971
E Jennings – Chelsea v Leeds (at Old Trafford), Apr 1970
R Johnson – Spurs v Newcastle, Aug 1971
W Johnson, Liverpool v Man City, May 1978
A W Jones – York, Apr / May 1977
R Kirkpatrick – Bolton v Spurs, May 1979
A Lees – Arsenal v Man Utd, Apr 1978
K Markham – Watford v Plymouth, Apr 1969
R Matthewson – Man Utd v Liverpool (at Wembley), May 1977
G McCabe – Man City v Leicester (at Wembley), Apr 1969
D Nippard – Ipswich v Arsenal (at Wembley), May 1978
D W Smith – Man Utd v Man City, Apr 1974
J Taylor – Arsenal v Middlesbrough, May 1977
D Turner – Ipswich, March / Apr 1979

Good list and topic AT. Here are a few confirmed updates:

Frank Bassett - Walsall 0 Halifax 1 (1.5.1973) - rerranged match, Halifax escaped relegation at Rotherham's expense;
Roy Capey - Preston 0 Portsmouth 0 (7.5.1977);
Bill Clements - unclear what was his final match but he refereed throughout the 1965-1966 season;
Eric Garner - York 1 Reading 1 (7.5.1977);
Ray Johnson - Leeds 3 Leicester 0 (6.11.1971);
Alex Lees - refereed Aston Villa-Chelsea (15.4.1978) two weeks after the Arsenal game but may have refereed again before the end of that season.

The match programme also suggests John Homewood refereed the Wolves-Villa game credited to Jim Bent but the latter may have been a late replacement. Arthur Jones was scheduled to sign off at Chesterfield-Brighton on 14.5.1977, the same day that Harold Hackney took charge of the vital promotion match between Wrexham and Mansfield.

Vince James's final League game was Walsall v Port Vale (30.4.1974). Although Eric Jennings's final match was the Cup Final replay his final League match was somewhat more humble - Oldham 2 Crewe 1 in Division 4 (21.4.1970). He was given a guard of honour by the players before the game to mark his departure.

Another final match was the Aston Villa-Reading game on 4.5.1971 refereed by Leo Callaghan. Villa won 2-1 with the help of an own goal which Reading claimed had resulted from an undetected foul - as a result of the defeat Reading were relegated to Division 4 for the first time.
« Last Edit: Wed 17 Apr 2019 21:31 by Left Field »

TVOS

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #9 on: Wed 17 Apr 2019 22:34 »
Jim Rushton - Huddersfield v Portsmouth - 5/5/96

Acme Thunderer

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #10 on: Thu 18 Apr 2019 10:00 »
Many thanks for these updates. Phew, exactly what I was hoping for! My memory may have been good on such burning issues, but not that good it seems! I'll update the database and produce a revised version for this earlier period shortly.

I am still reasonably confident that Jim Bent refereed the Wolves v Villa game in May 1978. I recall a photo showing a referee with a beard (Jim rather than John) and there was a newspaper report linking Jim's last game in the middle with his Cup Final appearance as a linesman just four days later.

I thought Bill Clements retired after the FA Cup Final in 1965 but yes, he certainly refereed at Anfield twice the following season, and I have deleted him from the database. Ken Dagnall was another who I thought retired after an FA Cup Final appearance (1967), but the Liverpool archive website shows that he refereed Liverpool v Man Utd on 6th April 1968, although I am not sure whether this would have been his last game.

Couple more from this earlier period:

G Jones - Darlington v Hartlepool, Apr 1972 (fairly confident on this although I can't think why)
L Hayes - did we not have a photo on the old ISOR of Les refereeing his final game in May 1977, but where was it?

Thanks again, keep these updates coming and more from me shortly.






Acme Thunderer

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #11 on: Thu 18 Apr 2019 15:45 »
Thanks for these. I have included Walter in the above list and will include Gary Aplin in my burgeoning list from 1980 to the present.

I remember Alex Lees from Arsenal v Man Utd in 1978 because he apparently failed to send off a player for a clear DOGSO foul and was in danger of being summoned to the Head's office to explain himself. As it was his last game, I imagine Alex was not too concerned. There is a 5 minute YouTube clip of the game, with the dark haired Alex blowing the final whistle at the end, however the DOGSO incident is not included. The game was played on 1st April 1978 which was a few weeks before the end of the season and quite early to retire. However Easter was v early that year and, as Alex was a school Head (like his Bridgwater colleague Peter Walters), he may have decided to call it a day early to prepare for the summer exam season at his school.
A red card for DOGSO wasn't introduced until later than 1978 - Willie Young's cynical one on Paul Allen in an FA Cup Final that caused such consternation was in 1980.  If memory serves me correctly it came in around 1990.

I believe the rule of a red card for DOGSO was divided into distinct two periods, with a gap in the middle which included the 1980 FA Cup Final. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the authorities would have been too concerned if Alex had missed a yellow card offence at the end of his career, would they? 

Update - R Tinkler, Oldham v WBA, Apr 1976 (Wiki)
« Last Edit: Thu 18 Apr 2019 16:10 by Acme Thunderer »

Left Field

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #12 on: Thu 18 Apr 2019 19:57 »
Many thanks for these updates. Phew, exactly what I was hoping for! My memory may have been good on such burning issues, but not that good it seems! I'll update the database and produce a revised version for this earlier period shortly.

I am still reasonably confident that Jim Bent refereed the Wolves v Villa game in May 1978. I recall a photo showing a referee with a beard (Jim rather than John) and there was a newspaper report linking Jim's last game in the middle with his Cup Final appearance as a linesman just four days later.

I thought Bill Clements retired after the FA Cup Final in 1965 but yes, he certainly refereed at Anfield twice the following season, and I have deleted him from the database. Ken Dagnall was another who I thought retired after an FA Cup Final appearance (1967), but the Liverpool archive website shows that he refereed Liverpool v Man Utd on 6th April 1968, although I am not sure whether this would have been his last game.

Couple more from this earlier period:

G Jones - Darlington v Hartlepool, Apr 1972 (fairly confident on this although I can't think why)
L Hayes - did we not have a photo on the old ISOR of Les refereeing his final game in May 1977, but where was it?

Thanks again, keep these updates coming and more from me shortly.

The Les Hayes game (Peterborough v Walsall, 7.5.1977) was rather curiously subject of an interesting short film (not focused on him) which was on YouTube at some point but I don't know if it's still there.

Gordon Hill's final League match was Brentford v Doncaster (12.4.1975) - a slightly early departure to allow him to leave sooner for his new job in the USA.

I can't be sure it was definitely his last match as rearranged matches sometimes occurred in that era after the last scheduled day of fixtures but Peter Walters had a remarkable match on the final day of his last season with Derby winning 6-2 at Ipswich. Footage is on YouTube. On a similar note Ron Crabb's probable final game was Watford v Southport (29.4.1978) - a match which was to prove Southport's last in the Football League as they failed to be re-elected at the end of that season (the last club to suffer that fate).
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Left Field

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #13 on: Thu 18 Apr 2019 20:01 »
Thanks for these. I have included Walter in the above list and will include Gary Aplin in my burgeoning list from 1980 to the present.

I remember Alex Lees from Arsenal v Man Utd in 1978 because he apparently failed to send off a player for a clear DOGSO foul and was in danger of being summoned to the Head's office to explain himself. As it was his last game, I imagine Alex was not too concerned. There is a 5 minute YouTube clip of the game, with the dark haired Alex blowing the final whistle at the end, however the DOGSO incident is not included. The game was played on 1st April 1978 which was a few weeks before the end of the season and quite early to retire. However Easter was v early that year and, as Alex was a school Head (like his Bridgwater colleague Peter Walters), he may have decided to call it a day early to prepare for the summer exam season at his school.
A red card for DOGSO wasn't introduced until later than 1978 - Willie Young's cynical one on Paul Allen in an FA Cup Final that caused such consternation was in 1980.  If memory serves me correctly it came in around 1990.

I believe the rule of a red card for DOGSO was divided into distinct two periods, with a gap in the middle which included the 1980 FA Cup Final. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the authorities would have been too concerned if Alex had missed a yellow card offence at the end of his career, would they? 

Sendings off for professional fouls were first introduced in 1982-1983. This was a decision solely taken by the FA  and after a short time FIFA ordered a reversion to previous policy. FIFA later changed their minds in 1990 since when professional fouls have been red-carded worldwide.
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Acme Thunderer

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Re: Final Games
« Reply #14 on: Fri 19 Apr 2019 16:47 »
The long-standing Harold Hackney in charge of Wrexham v Mansfield as his final game solves a mystery from over 40 years ago. I was at Wrexham a few days previously when Palace had to win to deprive Wrexham of promotion to the 2nd division.The game went into added time with the score 2-2, and the Wrexham fans were roaring their team home when Palace scored not once but twice to silence the crowd and send the promotion stakes to the final weekend of the season when Palace were not playing and Wrexham were playing Mansfield who had already won the 3rd division title. And because the Palace had won at Wrexham by two clear goals, Wrexham had to win to go up based on the goal average system that was still in force that season. On the day of the Wrexham v Mansfield game, I was crossing the Channel on a booze cruise and the Sports Report scores were punctuated by poor reception. However I only needed to hear 'Wrexham 0...' and I could reach into my pocket to pay for a round of drinks to celebrate promotion for the Palace. Peter Reeves refereed the Wrexham v Palace game, but until now, I did not know who had refereed the Wrexham v Mansfield game. I almost felt sorry for the Wrexham fans and pleased that they won the title the following season by a country mile.   
« Last Edit: Fri 19 Apr 2019 16:49 by Acme Thunderer »