RateTheRef

As has been worked out the latest mystery official is PW Hayward of Bournemouth who only served one season on the Referees List (1968-1969). However that only tells a small amount of the story. That match profile is the only evidence I've come across of him refereeing a match (Colchester v Stockport) and it's possible he didn't actually take charge of the game as Gordon Hill is also credited as the official. It's therefore possible that he either refereed no games or just a very small number.

Normally that would be the end of a referee's Football League career but Mr. Hayward then reappeared on the Football League linesmen's list in 1969, completing two seasons before finally stepping down in 1971. Until the early 1990s only three referees in the post-war era went back to the line. Quite what happened is a mystery - maybe he had an injury which prevented him refereeing, or he asked to go back on the line?

In the eighties and nineties a PW (Peter?) Hayward was a member of the AFC Bournemouth board - being vice-chairman at one stage. It's possibly a coincidence and they are two people with the same surname and initials from the same town but it may be the man on the Bournemouth board and the referee are the same person. Perhaps bmb with her Bournemouth connections might be able to find out the answer.

Also there is a Bournemouth Hayward football league, and perhaps there is a connection there. Membership of the Rotary Club is confirmed on the Bournemouth RC website, so Mr Hayward was clearly well known in local circles, however his profile seems to suggest that he might have come into the area from somewhere further west.   

The photo below is definitely Maurice Fussey, although he's adopted a more restrained white turnover style. Bootlace style still as per the original picture though.
My money's still on him in the Oldham photo.
Showing my age maybe, but I also wore long white turnovers and white laces when I started.....

Quote from: Left Field on Mon 24 Sep 2018 18:18

I started these two different (to my mind) threads back on the old board some time ago. "Who was the referee?" was intended to be where someone didn't know or wasn't sure who refereed a game and could ask for answers or suggestions. "Name the referee quiz" was, as the name suggests, where a member knew the identity of a pictured or profiled referee and was setting a poser. However maybe that distinction is not always obvious and I sometimes have to give some thought to which thread to use. I wouldn't have a problem with the threads being merged, perhaps with a title such as "Who was the referee?" and then they could either ask for information or set a quiz question as they wish.

This entry is of the asking for answers / suggestions although I have an idea (no stronger than that) who the pictured referee might be. The picture below is from before a West Brom game in 1987. I don't know the opposition and the lack of attendance suggests it might be a friendly. The referee seems to be the tall, partly obscured figure at the back right - he looks a little like Ron Bridges but there may be other possibilities.

(Attachment Link)

If this is a friendly and the ref is the tall guy, then Terry Holbrook might be a possibility rather than Vic Callow who was less vertically inclined. But I'm not convinced that the hair style is Terry's. I note however that WBA were in dire trouble in Div 2 in 1986/7, with attendances reflecting this, and WBA v Barnsley on 2nd May 1987 had an attendance of 6300, just 200 more than at the Alex on Saturday. Could it be a League match with a sparse crowd and Barnsley in red? No idea on the ref but it would rule out Terry from Walsall and rule in Ron Bridges as a possibility.

Edit - this programme was produced uniquely for the WBA v Sunderland League game on 4/4/87 and is therefore definitely not Barnsley in red which was played a month later. In consequence, I think this has to be a League match, played in front of a sparse crowd, rather than a friendly but I do not know who the opponents could be.

The picture is WBA v Brighton. The player in red is Danny Wilson and it looks like the time Albion were sponsored by NOBO. I’m sure I can make out Ron Bridges in the background. The WBA player is Paul Dyson.

It's Terry Heilbron 😉.

I don't think it's Fussey btw

Sorry, I am getting confused. The small photo showing Chelsea v Man Utd is definitely Maurice Fussey and I am 99% certain that Maurice refereed Palace v Spurs in Aug 1969 (I was probably there). Is it the Oldham photo which you think is not Maurice (with a moustache)? Any ideas on who it could be. Perhaps best to quote the post you are referring to.

Ref your earlier post, yes Terry Heilbron but I referred earlier to Terry Holbrook from the West Midlands, not Terry Heilbron. There was a reference recently to Terry Heilbron on the FL Cup Final referees thread, but that was completely separate.

Note to admin - great that we are back up and running with ISOR on the new forum format. However if you quote from a post which contains a photo, the photo does not come out on the post, only 'attachment link'. OK, we don't want to see the same photo over and over again, but it would be helpful to see the relevant photo when quoting, particularly from a while back which sometimes happens. Any chance please of rectifying this?

 

10th Oct 18.49 post

Here's a picture from a game at Gillingham in 1966. Not the clearest image but a young(?)-looking referee can be seen making a rather odd gesture - not quite sure whether it's "play on", a sign of amazement, consternation or even a moment of celebration!

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