JIMMY HAMPSON 1906-1938

James (Jimmy) Hampson was born in Little Hulton, near Bolton on 23 March 1906. He started playing football as a youngster and appeared for Ogden Primitive Methodists and Little Hulton St John's as a goalscoring forward.

His feats in junior football brought him to the attention of the scouts from Third Division (North) side Nelson and he joined that club for the 1925/26 season.

Prior to the season commencing he was classed as "one of the most promising players the club has on its books" and "most adaptable, being able to play inside right, centre forward or inside left".

He played in only 20 League games during that first season but he scored 13 goals including a remarkable sequence when he scored a hat-trick in three successive games. He continued his goalscoring exploits in the following season and in 35 League games he scored 23 goals, a record that further enhanced his reputation.

Blackpool took a look at him early in the 1927/28 season and the club's assistant-secretary, Edward Crabtree, should take the credit for eventually completing the signing.

Hampson was in a cinema on 10 October 1927 and Crabtree arranged for the manager of the establishment to bring him out during the film so that he could complete the transfer deal. This was duly done and for the relatively modest sum of £1,000 Blackpool had captured a forward, small in stature being five feet six inches tall, but one who "made up for lack of height with a compact, sturdy build and a superb sense of balance".

However there were those in Nelson who still thought that he was too small to make good in top?class football. Despite his goalscoring record there were people in Blackpool who thought the same and the question was asked "Jimmy Hampson, will he fit in?"

He was quickly given his chance for he made his debut at inside right against Notts County on 15 October when he scored Blackpool's consolation goal in a 3-1 defeat.
 
For the following game at home to Manchester City on 22 October, he was selected at centre forward as Horace Williams was left out of the side. He responded in fine style, the game was drawn 2-2 and "besides proving himself a great leader, [he] scored the goals and was always the driving force of the attack".

Immediately the critics' view was "He appears to have plenty of talent." Not surprisingly he retained the centre forward position and missed only one game to the end of the season by which time he had scored 31 goals in 32 League games.

The game he did miss was against Notts County on 25 February 1928 when he sustained a late groin injury which caused him to withdraw but he was back for the following game when chairman Mr S J Butterworth stated "Jimmy Hampson is fit to play and wants to play". And he added "with Oxberry and Ramsay [new signings] to give new support I think we shall fight our way clear of the danger zone now".

Blackpool lost the game 4?1, with Hampson scoring the goal, but the chairman was correct the club escaped relegation and finished 19th in Division Two.

The 1928/29 season saw him score five goals in the opening four games and such form inevitably led to transfer talk. And in September 1928, Blackpool had to strongly deny the rumour that they had received an offer for Hampson from Arsenal after Herbert Chapman, Arsenal's manager, had been watching him in the two games against Swansea Town. Hampson had scored twice in both games, drawn 5-5 and 2-2, but Blackpool director Councillor Jacob Parkinson announced that there was no truth in the rumour.

The consensus of opinion in the town was "Blackpool could do themselves more harm, both from the playing and the financial point of view, than to consider at this early stage in the campaign the transfer of players like Hampson."

He had rapidly become "the darling of the Blackpool crowd" who chaired him from the field after a 2-0 defeat of Stoke City on 13 October 1928 and then he scored a club record five goals in a 7-0 victory over Reading on 10 November.
 
At the end of the season he led the Second Division goalscorers with 40 goals in 41 League matches as Blackpool finished a creditable eighth in the table.

Transfer talk for such a hot property would not, however, go away and in July 1929, Millwall enquired about his possible transfer but Blackpool were not interested in any deal.

Later, in October 1929, Derby County were also told 'no' when they wanted to sign him and they were also reprimanded by Blackpool who felt that "the photographs in the press were not in the best interests of the game".

The 1929/30 season was a triumph not only for Jimmy Hampson but also for Blackpool Football Club. Hampson was the country's leading marksman with 45 goals in 41 League games while Blackpool won the Second Division Championship.

He played 40 of his games at centre forward and one at inside right and it came as a surprise to everyone when, already as the country's leading marksman, he was moved from his centre forward position.

The game was against arch-rivals Preston North End on 22 February 1930 but Blackpool calmly announced "he is no stranger to his new and less marked position". And he did not let anyone down as he scored one of Blackpool's goals in a 5?1 win. However, for the remainder of the season he returned to his original centre forward position.

The final game of the season was at Nottingham Forest where Blackpool secured the single point in a 0-0 draw that they needed to clinch the title. The delighted team and officials travelled home by train and when it stopped at Kirkham a porter entered their carriages and said, "There are thousands of people waiting in Blackpool to welcome you."

Jimmy Hampson, ever a shy, retiring individual, retorted "I'll get out here. I'll wait for the next train to[Blackpool] Central!" And he would have done so if it had not been for the forcefulness of his team-mates who encouraged him to remain and accept the plaudits that were rightly due.

The Mayor of Blackpool later invited the players and officials to his parlour and the Rt Hon A V Alexander, first Lord of the Admiralty, was also present. He was introduced to everyone and when he met Hampson he reportedly said, "Why, you don't look big enough to have scored all those goals!" But his 45 goals had been instrumental in Blackpool's rise to the top flight and he duly appeared on the balcony to receive, once again, the rapturous cheers of the crowd.

The First Division season of 1930/31 was not a pleasant one for Blackpool who conceded 125 League goals and, with a dramatic draw in the final game against Manchester City, just escaped dropping straight back down to Division Two.

The poor work of the defence did not, however, hamper Hampson as he scored 31 goals in 41 games, the next highest goalscorer being Jack Oxberry with seven.

During the season he had made his international debut against Ireland at Sheffield on 20 October and he was one of three debutants to score in a 5-1 win for England. Houghton and Burgess, with two goals, were the other first-time internationals to score while Crooks completed the scoring.

He kept his place in the England side for the game against Wales at Wrexham on 22 November and he improved on his debut performance with two goals in a 4-0 win. However, by the time the Scotland game round the following March he was not considered and he made only one further international appearance.

Blackpool once again fought against relegation in the 1931/32 season and it was only Hampson's 23 League goals in the 42 games that enabled them to finish one place from the relegation zone.

Transfer talk for Hampson returned but with no definite offers being made to Blackpool. But just to put the fans' minds at rest, "Take it from me, we have no intention of parting with Hampson" said director Mr A H Hindley when presenting the prizes at Blackpool FC Supporters' Club annual dinner at the Winter Gardens on 10 November 1931.

Blackpool's desperate fight against relegation continued into the 1932/33 season but this time it was doomed to failure as the club finished bottom of the table and duly went down. Hampson had one of his less prolific seasons with 18 League goals in 34 games but despite that there were strong rumours in September 1932 that Aston Villa had offered in excess of £5,000 for him and another Blackpool player, Phil Watson.

Blackpool soon scotched such talk and an official stated "It is the first we have heard about the matter and there is nothing in it. We have not been approached by Aston Villa. We officially deny the story. There is not a word of truth in it."
 
But even in a season of turmoil, Hampson was recalled to the England side for the game with Austria at Stamford Bridge on 7 December 1932 and he scored twice in a 4?3 England win. It was his third and final international appearance in which he had scored five goals.

He also represented The Football League on four occasions in which he scored nine goals, including three in the game against The Irish League at Bloomfield Road.

In addition he played for a Football League XI against a Wales/Ireland XI in a game to celebrate the Jubilee of King George V in May 1935. His side won 10-2 and he scored five of the goals. However, his fortunes took a turn for the worse at Bloomfield Road later in the 1932/33 season when first of all he lost his centre forward spot to defender Phil Watson and then he was moved to the right wing against Sheffield United on 22 April.

Finally, he was sensationally dropped to the Central League side. He responded by scoring a hat?trick against Burnley reserves in a 5?1 win on 29 April 1933 and he was reinstated in the first team at centre forward for the final game of the season when Blackpool won 2?1 at Newcastle United.

The close season of 1933 brought fear to the heart of every Blackpool supporter when in May it was announced that he had not accepted Blackpool's offer of terms for the 1933/34 season; Blackpool announced that he would receive no summer wages until he did so. Fortunately for all concerned the problem was soon sorted out and he re-signed for the following season.

The 1933/34 season was one of injuries for Hampson as, after playing in the opening 21 League games and scoring 13 goals, he suffered injury. He attempted a comeback and it failed so he was out of the game for a long spell finally making a return in the Northern Mid?Week League side against Preston North End on 14 February 1934.

Blackpool won 3?2 and it was reported "the game served one purpose - Jimmy Hampson is more or less fit again" as he "had neither the chances nor apparently the inclination to determine anything beyond that". His "speed was a little greater than when he last played in a game seven weeks ago", "but", the report continued "whether the old magic is yet in his football is a problem which still awaits solution".

But the injury would just not go away and in the 1933/34 season he made only one further League appearance, against Plymouth Argyle on 7 April. His season ended, therefore, with him having played in 23 League games in which he scored 13 goals.

His overall tally for Blackpool up to this point was 201 League goals in only 254 appearances. In addition he had scored four times in 11 FA Cup ties as Blackpool continually struggled to stay in the competition.

He started the 1934/35 season in fine form with three goals against Bury in the opening game, followed by two in each of the next games. But, after a lean spell by his standards, adding only four more goals in 10 games, he found himself playing in the Central League side and Blackpool stating that they were prepared to transfer him.

He played at inside right, as an experiment, against Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves on 10 November and it was thought that he was being tried in the position preparatory to being introduced into the first team in that position. It was not to be and he did not return to League action until 9 February when he re-appeared at centre forward in a 0-0 draw against Bradford. He soon showed that his old goalscoring instinct had not disappeared with three goals in a 4-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle on 16 February and by the end of the season he had added a further 10 goals to his tally. He ended with 21 goals in 25 games.
 
The signing of Bobby Finan for the 1935/36 season and another injury affected Hampson's position and he missed the start of the campaign and did not appear in a senior Blackpool side until 9 October when he scored Blackpool's goal in a 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic.

Finan had been moved to inside left to accommodate Hampson but the Scotsman returned to the number nine berth after just one game and Hampson returned to Central League action on 12 October when he scored a consolation goal in his side's 4-1 defeat by Sheffield United reserves.

He had an eight-game spell in the Central League side before he returned to League action to play in 20 of the final 24 League games of the season. He appeared in all but one of them at inside right but his goalscoring powers had, to a certain extent, deserted him as he ended the season with a disappointing return of six goals in 21 League games.

In the 1936/37 season he and Bobby Finan formed an excellent partnership in the forward line and between them they scored 44 goals.

Unlikely as it would have been earlier in Hampson's career, his partner, Finan, had the lion's share with 28 in 42 games but Hampson, an ever-present in all 42 games, scored 16 times to help Blackpool to runners-up spot in Division Two and promotion once again.

The Finan/Hampson partnership continued in the 1937/38 season and though goals were not as frequent, the pair proved to be a formidable partnership for many a First Division defence.

Then came the FA Cup third round tie against Birmingham on 8 January 1938 and with the game drawing to a scoreless conclusion, Hampson provided what was to prove to be his final winning move on a football field. Seven minutes from time he took a quick throw?in with the defence unprepared and T W Jones scored the only goal of game.

Ironically he very nearly missed the game as his wife was ill in a nursing home and when he visited her an hour before the train left, he wanted to stay with her. Mrs Hampson only persuaded at the last minute to go with the team and they held the train up at North Station for a couple of minutes so that he could board it.

Up to that point he had played 19 League games and scored four goals and had taken his FA Cup appearance tally to 12.

Then tragedy struck. On a winter Monday night 10 January 1938 he was lost at sea having gone out from Fleetwood, fishing with friends in the afternoon.

He had spent the previous day at the nursing home with his wife and he went again on the Monday morning. He had promised to go fishing with friends but he did not wish to go but his wife insisted that he keep his engagement.

He left in the early afternoon and it is reputed that the last words he spoke to anyone other than the companions who were in the boat with him were "Who are we drawn against in the next round?" The folk to whom he had been shouting in another boat on the dark waters told him "Aston Villa - away."

Sadly he was never to make that game as the yacht Defender in which he was sailing was in collision with the trawler Cameo and Jimmy Hampson was drowned and his body was never recovered.

STANLEY MATTHEWS

Stanley Matthews was born on 1 February 1915 in Hanley, Stoke?on?Trent, the son of a famous father who ran his own barber's shop in Market Street, Hanley.

His father was also known as 'the fighting barber' for he had been the Potteries featherweight boxing champion and had, remarkably, only lost nine out of 350 fights. His sporting instincts did not stop with boxing for he, fortuitously for young Stanley, ran a junior football team.

The young Matthews family, Stan and his three brothers, were brought up kicking a ball, or rather a makeshift ball, on the field near their Seymour Street home. It was an old tin can or a bundle of rags tied together with string that was often the object of their attention and it was a special treat when they managed to play with a rubber ball!

Of these enjoyable times Stan has said, "I was playing all the time. My mother could not understand what I was doing but a ball fascinated me."

Wellington Road School beckoned Stanley and he started to play for the school team, as a centre half! but in one school game he played as a forward and when Cannon Street School were defeated 18?0, Stan had scored 11 of his side's goals.

Jack Matthews could see that his son had talent and he took on the role of Stan's trainer, instilling in him the fitness regimes, including deep breathing exercises before an open window at dawn, that Stan continued in later life. At the time Stan was always enthusiastic as he later commented "There were times when I wanted to rebel, but it became a good habit."

At age 13 Stan played for Hanley Boys at centre half but when his side was losing 2?1 to Altrincham in the English Schools Shield final he was once again switched to the forward line.

The result was catastrophic for the opponents for he scored eight goals and Hanley ran out victors by 13 goals to two. He was called into the headmaster's study on the following day and a delighted Stan received the princely sum of sixpence (two and a half pence) for his efforts which in later life always made him comment jokingly "I was a paid player"!

At 14 years old he played for the North versus the South and this was one of his early appearances on the right wing. He then graduated to England Boys against The Rest and then won his first schoolboy international cap for England against Wales at Bournemouth.

All along his progress was being monitored by Stoke City while he worked as a bricklayer's apprentice, helped his father in the barber's shop and played football for Stoke St Peter's.

Tom Mather the Stoke secretary?manager invited Stan down to the Victoria Ground for twice weekly training sessions and then, on Stan's 15th birthday, he invited him to join the office staff at the sum of £1 per week.

Stan had no hesitation in agreeing and, the same year, he made his Central League debut against Burnley. The Stoke Sentinel headlined "New Player's Debut" and went on to report "Another interesting change is being made by the introduction of the very useful outside right and schoolboy international, S Matthews. This player has been doing great things in private trials, and has been training with the City team for the past 18 months." Stoke won 2?1 as Matthews "frequently gained the applause of the crowd by some very pretty movements".

He went on to make one further reserve team appearance during the season and, still as an amateur, he played 22 Central League games the following season when the other players generously gave him two shillings (10p) each out of their £1 win bonus whenever they won.

Stan turned professional on his 17th birthday and he received a £10 signing?on fee and a winter wage of £5 with a £1 win bonus and a summer wage of £3. "I thought I was a millionaire, but half my wages were banked in the post office and the other half went to my mother" Stan later recalled and then he had added "I still had to walk to work, eight miles a day except when it snowed."

By that time Huddersfield Town, recognising his talent, had offered £1,000 for his signature before he turned professional and had then made a formal, unsuccessful, offer of £5,000.

In March 1932 he made a quiet Football League debut at Bury as Stoke won 1?0 but he was in the side the following week for his home debut against Barnsley. This time he featured at outside left and, in a moment unfamiliar to him in later times, he headed the ball into the net only for the goal to be disallowed for off?side. Stoke won 2?0 but these two games were to be his only first team games of the 1931/32 season.

However, the following season he appeared 15 times, scoring once, and won himself a Second Division championship medal as Stoke City moved into the First Division.

He played more regularly in the 1933/34 season and in March he was selected for The Rest in an England trial at Roker Park. The Rest won 7?1 and the Daily Express said of him "the Stoke outside right, although only 19, played with the calmness of a fully experienced man" while the Daily Mirror commented "his baffling body?swerve made Roughton look like a second rater".

The most observant spectator was perhaps Ivan Sharpe who, in the Daily Dispatch, wrote "The right wing was a triumphant combination, and both Matthews and Carter, who got four goals, appear to have come to stay."

The 1933/34 season also saw Stan at his most prolific as a goalscorer as he netted 15 League and Cup goals. His next milestone was when he received the letter from Lancaster Gate, "Dear Matthews, you have been selected." and he made his England debut against Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff. This invitation came only 10 days after he had scored for The Football League in a 6?1 win over The Irish League in Belfast.

England defeated Wales 4?0 and Charles Buchan wrote in the News Chronicle "In a sprightly forward line, Matthews stood out as the most accomplished player afield. He made certain of his England place."

That was to be the case as Stan went on to play 54 times for England and also appear in 30 war?time internationals. By the outbreak of the Second World War, Stan had become a huge star and box?office attraction but hostilities brought an end to peace?time football as players were called up into the Armed Forces.

Stan joined the Royal Air Force and once war?time competition was introduced he played for Stoke City as and when his duties permitted. But prior to the 1942/43 season a momentous move took place.

Stan was posted to Blackpool as a Physical Training instructor and with the rules such that players could play for clubs where they were stationed it was not unnatural for him to turn out for Blackpool.

His first game for his adopted club was unheralded, as were most of the war?time games due to the lack of newsprint available. It ended in a 3?1 defeat at Preston North End on 30 August 1941 but Stan did strike up what was to be a most prolific goalscoring partnership with the legendary 'Jock' Dodds.

Blackpool, on the back of a phenomenal 183 goals in only 40 matches, including an incredible 66 from Dodds and two from Matthews, stormed to the championship of the Football League Northern Section.
The 1942/43 season was to prove even more successful for Matthews and Blackpool. Once again the club won the championship of the first competition and then went on to win the northern Football League War?time Cup and also defeated the mighty Arsenal in a Challenge Cup Final played at Stamford Bridge. The Star considered the team to have played "the finest war?time football".

A third title followed in 1943/44 and Stan Matthews was a regular member of the side, once again when duties permitted, through to the 1945/46 season.

Once peace?time football was restored Stan was back at Stoke City. But relationships with manager Bob McGrory, who was reportedly said to have been jealous of Matthews' popularity, led to rumours of a transfer and, as early as October 1946, he was linked with a move to Blackpool for "a five figure fee".

This followed his recovery from injury when McGrory wanted him to play in the reserve side but Stan, who was by then living in Blackpool and training with the Blackpool players, did not consider that the recovered pulled muscle needed a second team try?out.

He said, "there is no reason whatever to put it to the test in a Central League match" and then went on to say that if he ultimately had to choose a new club, it would be Blackpool.

The Blackpool directors discussed a possible transfer in February 1947 but it was not until just before midnight on 10 May 1947, immediately after Stan had played for Great Britain against the Rest of Europe at Hampden Park, that Blackpool acquired their man for the sum of £11,500.

Blackpool manager Joe Smith had asked Stan prior to his signature "You're 32, do you think you can make it for another couple of years?" On receiving an answer in the affirmative, the transfer went ahead!

In addition to his regular training at Bloomfield Road, Stan continued his solitary early morning training and his deep breathing exercises on the beach as he prepared for his first official season with Blackpool.

He made his League debut in the opening game of the 1947/48 season, a 3?0 home win over Chelsea and "on an austerity ration of passes" and "still in the grip of hay fever which had afflicted him all week" he still managed to "put over some of the centres which only he can".

He scored his first League goal for the club when netting the only goal of the game against Blackburn Rovers on 7 September 1947. It came about when, "despairing of one of his centres finding a Blackpool forward in position, he loped inside and, while everybody waited for the ball to be crossed, he rolled it from his right foot to his left and shot it into the net".

From that debut season almost until he left the club, he became Blackpool's star attraction in a side that went to Wembley three times in six seasons.

In addition, three times in the 1950s, the club was the most popular visiting side in the country, attracting a massive average attendance of 47,686 on away grounds in 1950/51, 40,604 in 1954/55 and 42,594 in 1955/56.

In 1948 Stan won the first ever Footballer of the Year trophy, a title he was to amazingly win again 15 years later when he had returned to Stoke City but arguably his greatest triumph, most certainly his most memorable, came at Wembley on 2 May 1953 when, as every Seasider knows, he brought Blackpool back from 3?1 down with less than 20 minutes to play to beat Bolton Wanderers 4?3 in the FA Cup Final.

It must be stressed that Stan did not regard this as the 'Matthews Final'. He always took pains to point out that it was Stan Mortensen who scored three goals and that it was a team effort with every one of the 11 players playing their part.

Commenting on the semi?final that year the late Sir Alf Ramsey, who was in the Spurs side defeated by Blackpool, remarked "Blackpool won 2?1 but it was an absolutely marvellous game of football. It was the greatest game I ever saw Stan Matthews play - he was outstanding."

Being FA Cup winners and First Division title challengers, and with the added bonus of having the incomparable Stan Matthews in the side, Blackpool was in great demand throughout the world to play exhibition games.

As such the club visited many European venues, America, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Africa. In Australia Matthews was a great attraction and was committed to play in every game so that attendances would not suffer and while down under, aged 43 in 1958, he was asked about retiring.

Matthews said that he usually reviewed the position every two years and added, "At this stage I can say that I'll be playing again next year"!

In 1956 Stan won the European Footballer of the Year title, was crowned 'King Soccer' on a visit to Nigeria in 1957 and was awarded the CBE in the same year, a prelude to his knighthood in 1965.

Not unnaturally Stan Matthews was a celebrity locally and when he switched on the Blackpool illuminations in 1951 he jokingly said to the Mayor, Councillor Joseph Hill JP, "Now I'll have to score at Sunderland", who was Blackpool's next opponents. Amazingly he did score, in a 3?1 win, and it was his first goal for almost three years!

The goalmaker extraordinaire was never a prolific League marksman but he continued to create goalscoring chances for his Blackpool team?mates, much preferring to pass the ball to them than to try a shot himself.

It was always news when he did score and against Manchester City on 24 February 1954 he scored twice in a 4?1 victory. Remarkably it was the first time he had scored more than one goal in a game since scoring three for England in a 5?4 win over Czechoslovakia on 1 December 1937.

He scored 18 goals in 440 appearances for Blackpool with the last of them coming in a 4?1 win over Spurs on 3 September 1956. He scored his final goal for the club when he "raced on to a Perry centre which had flown across the Spurs' goal" and "was there a split second before his full back, tamed the ball on the bounce, eluded a man closing the gap and shot low into the far corner".

He only played two League games for Blackpool in his final season for he had injured his knee in a pre?season friendly in Portadown. He bade farewell in a 3?0 defeat at Arsenal on 7 October 1961 when he was "Blackpool's best, and sometimes only, exponent of the quick through pass".

By chance after the Arsenal game he met Stoke City manager Tony Waddington in the Russell Hotel as both teams had been playing in London. And on 28 October 1961 he had been persuaded to re?join his hometown club; "I was happy to go back," said Stan at the time "It was where it all started. The same wooden floor in the dressing room, the same boot room where I would clean the boots."

And a new and remarkable finale came to a career that had started almost 30 years earlier. Stoke City had attracted an attendance of only 8,409 to their previous home game but with Matthews back in the side the attendance for the next home game rose to 35,288! "His arrival was like a fairy tale. He rekindled the atmosphere in the dressing room and in the city," said Waddington and from looking like relegation candidates Stoke ended the season in eighth position in Division Two.

The following season, when Stan played in 31 of the 42 games, Stoke were Second Division champions with, just like something out of the Boys' Own Paper, Stan scoring the goal against Luton Town that clinched promotion. He was set to end his career in the First Division.

He played 10 further First Division League games and became the oldest player to appear at that level before retiring, "too early" as he always said.

His final League game, the 710th of his career, came as something of a surprise as he had not played for 12 months due to knee problems.

Stoke were short of players so Stan was drafted into the side against Fulham on 6 February 1965. He helped Stoke to come from a goal down to win 3?1 and provided the pass from which John Ritchie equalised.

In April 1965 he had an emotional testimonial game at the Victoria Ground where 35,000, plus our own Ken Parr who ran the line, saw a World XI play a 10?goal thriller in which he "played well" and was carried shoulder high from the field.

But his involvement in football was not over. He became Port Vale manager in 1965 before acting as football ambassador in such places as Australia, America, Canada, South Africa and Malta. And he even played in a charity match at Grangemouth as late as 1981.

He met his second wife, Mila, in Prague in 1968 and subsequently married her in Johannesburg in 1975 and when the pair of them finally returned to live in Penkhill in 1989 he was made president of Stoke City, becoming life president in 1992.

He has been celebrated with a bronze statue in Hanley, with a mural in the Potteries Shopping Centre and has had a stained glass window dedicated to him.

His 80th birthday tribute was a star?spangled occasion at which Graham Kelly presented him with a replica Cup winners medal to replace the one that he had mislaid some years earlier.

At the 1994 World Cup finals he was honoured as the world's greatest ever player but Stan Matthews will forever be remembered for the immense contribution that he made not only to football but also to good sportsmanship throughout the world.

A fitting tribute remains in the words of Brian Clough who said, "I grew up in an era when he was a god to those of us who aspired to play the game."

Nothing more need be said!

HARRY BEDFORD

Harry Bedford was arguably the first in a long line of great Blackpool centre forwards and he was certainly the first Englishman to win international honours while at the club.

He was born at Grassmoor near Chesterfield on 15 October 1899 and he was signed by Blackpool, "to improve the chances of promotion", from Nottingham Forest on 10 March 1921 for a fee of less than £1,000 [reputedly about £900 although some sources credit the fee as being £1,500].

He had played 13 League games and scored five goals for Nottingham Forest in the 1919/20 season and had cost that club just a £10 signing?on fee. He had previously played for Grassmoor Ivanhoe, where he had mainly featured at inside right.

At the time of his signing for Blackpool he was said to be "a thrustful player and dangerous in front of goal, as well as having good command of the ball and keeping in touch with his wings". Other critics felt that he was "little except a run?of?the?mill centre forward".
Blackpool expected that he would "make the forward line a more virile and effective force".

He made his debut in a 1-0 defeat at South Shields on 12 March, although Blackpool lost, he "showed that he had a good idea of the centre forward game and was more prominent after the interval notwithstanding that the home centre half played a great game throughout".

The overall opinion was that he "displayed evidence of being able to keep the forward line together better than has been done during this season so far".

He scored his first goal for the club in a 3-2 victory over Stoke City on 25 March and ended the 1920/21 season having played in 11 League games and scored seven goals. His efforts were, however, not sufficient to see Blackpool into the "upper circles" [Division One] as the club finished the season in fourth place.

Surprisingly he failed to score in the opening eight League games of the 1921/22 season as Blackpool plummeted to the foot of the table.

He was, therefore, given a game in the mid-week Central League side against Oldham Athletic reserves on 3 October and he cracked in a 30-yard left-foot drive to earn Blackpool a 1-1 draw.

As he was "unable to reproduce the form of last season", he was left out of the side on other occasions throughout the season but he ended up as the club's leading goalscorer with 11 goals in his 32 League games.

He returned to brilliant form in the 1922/23 season and he played in all 42 League games and was not only the Second Division's top scorer but also the leading scorer in The Football League with 32 goals.

His goalscoring exploits continued and brought him to the attention of the media in the 1923/24 season. Discussing the international prospects of potential England players, in September 1923 the Athletic News commented "H Bedford of Blackpool is a centre who has earned respect in official circles. He scored 32 goals last season, and is credited with four goals in five games in the current campaign."

He was duly selected and made his England debut against Sweden in Stockholm on 21 May. England won 4-2 but it was to be his only international appearance of the season.

He did, however, gain a second cap when playing against Ireland on 22 October 1924 when he scored one of the goals in a 3-1 win at Liverpool.

His 34 goals in the 1923/24 season once again made him the Second Division's top scorer and also the leading scorer in The Football League.

He kept fit during the summer by playing for Blackpool Cricket Club, starting with the junior teams but making his first team debut against Burnley St Andrew's on 14 June. He scored 21 "in quick time" with one six smote out of the ground and then, when Burnley batted, his "fielding was the acme of smartness".

The 1924/25 season saw a slight decline his goalscoring as he managed only 24 goals in 40 League games but this still put him 13 ahead of his nearest rival at Bloomfield Road, Matt Barrass with 11.

He started the 1925/26 season with six goals in seven games but then, almost out of the blue, he was transferred to Derby County for a fee of £3,500 on 24 September 1925.

He had played a total of 172 League games and 11 FA Cup ties for Blackpool, scoring 120 League goals and six in the FA Cup, a grand total of 183 games and 120 goals.

He went on to play 203 League games for Derby County, scoring 142 goals. He left the club under unsatisfactory circumstances in that he had been obliged to play in an unaccustomed centre half position and he was unhappy at having to do so.

He was, therefore, transferred to Newcastle United in December 1930 when he was still universally recognised as "a skilful leader". He played 30 League games and scored 17 goals for Newcastle United up to January 1932.

He had three further League clubs after leaving St James's Park. Firstly he was transferred to Sunderland on 13 January 1932 where he only played seven League games and scored two goals in a short stay at Roker Park.

Secondly he was transferred to Bradford Park Avenue on 12 May 1932 and he played 33 League games and scored 15 goals for the club in the 1932/33 season.

Finally he joined his hometown club, Chesterfield, in June 1933 and played in 25 League games and scored 12 goals during the 1933/34 season. And then he inexplicably refused Chesterfield's terms for the 1934/35 season and the club decided not to retain him.

He did, however, receive an offer from Heanor Town in August 1934 and he chose to join the non?League club where he subsequently ended his playing career.

In the late 1930s he joined the coaching staff at Newcastle United and later joined the coaching staff at Derby County where he was appointed as masseur in 1938.

After World War II he briefly played for Belper and Heanor Town, where he subsequently became manager, resigning the post in November 1955.

He died at Derby on 24 June 1976 with his record as probably the first of Blackpool's great goalscoring centre forwards secured.

STAN MORTENSEN

Stan Mortensen was one in a long line of great centre forwards who have played for Blackpool over the years. He followed such players as Harry Bedford, Jimmy Hampson and 'Jock' Dodds and preceded Jackie Mudie and the prolific Ray Charnley.

He was born in South Shields on 26 May 1921 and his move to Blackpool was somewhat fortunate as he was originally the make-weight in a two-player deal.

A Blackpool scout, Mr Franks, was impressed in early January 1938 with Dick Withington, an outside right, and Stan Mortensen, an inside right, in the South Shields ex?Schoolboys XI. He recommended that Withington be taken on the Blackpool ground staff and at the time he identified as "another player of promise" his young inside forward partner.

Blackpool tentatively signed him, along with Withington, from the South Shields Ex?Schoolboys side on 21 January 1938. But a decision on whether to sign Mortensen was put on hold until the club had seen him play over the Easter period of 1938 in a junior game involving South Shields Ex?Schoolboys at Bloomfield Road.

Following the South Shields Ex?Schoolboys game, in which he scored two goals in 3-1 win for his side, Blackpool took him on as an amateur in May 1938.

He was given a job at the Parkinson Sawmills on Talbot Road and this paid him £3 5s 0d [£3.25] per week, later increased to £3 15s 0d [£3.75]. He played no senior football for the club in his first season but he did accompany the Central League side to Newcastle on 18 November 1938 "as a gesture" that he had a future with Blackpool.

He was offered professional terms just before his 18th birthday and he sought his mother's views and then signed as a professional for the club on 13 May 1939. Blackpool sent a £50 donation to the South Shields Schoolboys side in respect of signing him and Withington. He was paid a £10 signing-on fee.

For the aborted 1939/40 season he was offered terms of £3 summer, £4 winter plus £1 when appearing in the Central League side, terms which, the directors had agreed, if he had refused he would have been granted a free transfer. Not surprisingly he agreed and remained with the club but soon found himself in the Royal Air Force once war had broken out.

In between serving in the RAF he made spasmodic appearances in the Blackpool first team, playing in 10 games and scoring five goals from inside right in the 1941/42 season.

Then he made his first Blackpool appearance at centre forward when substituting for the unavailable 'Jock' Dodds, who had been delayed due to a puncture, in the game against Manchester City on 29 August 1942.

Blackpool won 3?1, he scored one of the goals and was said to be "as deputy leader, a success" as he "plied the ball to both wings with skill and precision" and he was "consistently clever in creating openings".

A practice parachute jump on 12 February 1943 very nearly cost him his life. On a bomber training exercise he parachuted from his aeroplane only for the parachute ropes to curl round his neck and very nearly strangle him as he fell to the ground. Fortunately within an hour or two he was said to be "none the worse" for his experience.
He made his first international appearance during the warm, playing for Wales against England when Ivor Powell went off injured and he went on as a substitute.

He subsequently played in three wartime internationals for England and scored three goals. Another injury, this time when on duty as a bomber pilot very nearly cost him his life but once again he recovered to play an active part in football for both Blackpool and England once the war was over.

In February 1946 he sensationally put in a transfer request but quickly withdrew it following discussions with Blackpool's manager Joe Smith. Smith had allegedly warned him "should he show any further signs of dissatisfaction, or fail to devote the whole of his efforts to the advantage of the club, the Directors would not hesitate in negotiating with any club who might be interested".

'Morty' decided that his best policy was to remain at Bloomfield Road. He did so with great effect and he led Blackpool's goalscorers with 29 League and Cup goals in the 1946/47 season.

The following season he once again headed the goalscoring charts with 31 League and Cup goals and, scoring in every round, he was instrumental in taking Blackpool to Wembley in 1948 but Manchester United triumphed 4-2 in what is still regarded as one of the greatest ever FA Cup finals.

Blackpool returned to Wembley in 1951 only to lose again 2-0 to Newcastle United but then in 1953 in what most people refer to as 'The Matthews Final' he scored a hat trick to lead Blackpool to what at one time seemed an unlikely 4-3 victory.

On the international front he made a sensational England debut scoring four goals in a 10-0 rout of Portugal in May 1947 and he went on to score 23 goals in 25 full appearances for his country, a phenomenal scoring record.

He was still a spring-heeled centre forward but his time at Bloomfield Road was coming to an end and he was in and out of the side, a situation to which he was unaccustomed as he had previously only been missing through injury.

Then as a guest player for Jimmy McIntosh's Ballymena in October 1954 against Servette the Swiss champions he played well and scored a goal.

This prompted his former team-mate to comment, "I can't understand how Morty could be left out of any team on this show. He was the old Morty of 1948, the finest opportunist in the game. I want to thank him for the great football he showed us. The spectators loved him and from several of them I have letters praising him to the sky."

In November 1955 Blackpool refused to loan him to Wigan Athletic, a club managed by his former team-mate Ron Suart and when he travelled to Newcastle as 12th man on 5 November 1955 he announced that he might ask for a transfer on his return. Ironically he was transferred to Hull City for a fee of £2,000 on 10 November 1955.

He had played in 316 League games, scoring 197 goals, and 29 FA Cup ties, scoring 25 goals, giving him an overall senior appearance record of 345 games and 222 goals. He had also appeared in 11 Central League games and, keeping up his scoring record, had netted 13 times.

He played in 42 League games for Hull City and scored 18 goals before he joined Southport on 20 February 1957.

For the Sandgrounders he played 36 League games and scored 10 goals and for a spell at the start of the 1957/58 season he was player-coach and team supervisor, making him manager in everything but name.

However, following a run of seven consecutive defeats in December 1957 he asked to be relieved of his position. Thereafter he only played only a few more games for the club before he was transferred to non-League Bath City, a team that he had appeared for as a guest player during the war, in July 1958.

His stay at Bath was short for he retired from the game in May 1959 but he was persuaded to make a comeback for Lancaster City in November 1960.

He finally retired from the game to devote his energies to his Blackpool business and to local politics in March 1962.

In February 1967 he was a popular choice as Blackpool manager, succeeding his friend and former team-mate Ron Suart. His appointment was too late to preserve First Division status for the Seasiders but he quickly transformed the club and was unfortunate to miss out on promotion back to the top flight by 0.21 of a goal on the final day of the 1967/68 season.

He made some shrewd signings during his time in charge of the club, most notably when he picked up Tony Green from Alloa Athletic for a bargain £15,000 and, from the same Scottish club, Tommy Hutchison. But there were rumours of discontent in the camp towards the end of the 1968/69 season and although there were no bad words for the manager, he was inexplicably dismissed from the post in April 1969.

However, he held no grudges and once said "To me, the name of Blackpool Football Club is the most important thing in the world."

He continued to support and speak well of the club until his death on 7 May 1991.

JIMMY ARMFIELD

Jimmy Armfield was undoubtedly one of the very best full backs to ever pull on a tangerine shirt. He brought a new dimension to the game with his overlapping runs down the wing and as a one-club man he played in a record number of games for the Seasiders.

After the 1962 World Cup in Chile, Jimmy Armfield was voted by the Press Corps as 'the best right-back in the world.' It was a supreme honour and one which he thoroughly deserved.

Born in Denton, Manchester in September 1935, his family moved to Blackpool where he spent his school years at Arnold School where, as an all-round sportsman, he played rugby and was also in the cricket team, swimming team and athletics team.

It was as a footballing outside right that he was signed by Blackpool as an amateur in 1952 from the Blackpool Association of Boys' Clubs. He made his first appearance at full back in a game for the 'A' team that he started at outside right; the full back got injured and he was pulled back to deputise and thus began a long and prosperous career in the position.

Blackpool manager Joe Smith offered him a professional contract before he played his first Central League game of the 1954/55 season. "At 17, Blackpool cannot afford to lose a player of his quality," said Mr Smith, conscious that Armfield would be going away to complete his National Service. He duly signed as a professional on 4 September 1954 when Mr Smith also prophesied England honours for the youngster.

On 27 December 1954 he made his league debut at Portsmouth when Blackpool lost 3-0. Then, as a Lance Corporal, wearing the flashes of The King's Own on his uniform, he joined Blackpool's team coach at Preston, having travelled from camp headquarters at Lancaster, en route to his second League game against Manchester United on 1 January 1955. Blackpool lost 4-1 so it had been an inauspicious start to his League career.

If any player can be described as a 'one club man' then Jimmy Armfield must be that player. His main attributes were speed, superb distribution, outstanding tackling and an enormous capacity for hard work.

Time and time again, especially during the team's difficult days in the 1960's he would somehow find an extra ounce of energy when all seemed lost, and in turn motivate the men around him.

This was one of the many things that made him a great captain, not only for Blackpool but also England. He developed the overlap, so loved by defenders nowadays to such an art form that fans used to flock to the grounds to see him in action and in the late 1950's struck a partnership with the great Stanley Matthews that would mesmerise opposing markers.

Armfield was voted Young Player of the Year in 1959 and was unlucky not to become Footballer of the Year in 1966, being narrowly beaten by Bobby Charlton. He lifted the Blackpool Player of the Year title instead, a tribute to his marvellous loyalty and leadership.

Unfortunately, he shared in little success whilst with the club, the exception being promotion in 1969-70. Following the game at Preston, he was chaired off the field by jubilant supporters with a smile on his face and pride in his heart. He more than anyone had helped Blackpool back to Division One.

His international career began in 1956, when he appeared for England's under 23 side, and he made his full debut on 13 May 1959 against Brazil in front of over 120,000 fans.

There then followed 43 caps, a record for a Blackpool player, which included 15 games as captain. As well as the 'best right-back in the world' honour, he was also voted as 'best right-back in Europe' for three successive seasons from 1962-1964. He bowed out of international football in 1966 to be replaced by George Cohen of Fulham, and so missed an opportunity to appear in a World Cup Final.

He was made Blackpool captain in January 1961 and proved to be an inspirational figure leading the side. But he sensationally asked for a transfer on 19 October 1963. The "request exploded like a bomb" on the club and, not surprisingly, it was turned down.

He went on to complete 568 League games, 33 FA Cup ties and 25 League Cup ties, a grand total of 626 appearances for Blackpool, playing his final game in 1-1 draw with Manchester United on 1 May 1971. He was rewarded with a testimonial on his 35th birthday when thousands turned out to pay tribute to him.

He later went on to manage Leeds Utd and Bolton Wanderers before settling down as a well-respected journalist and radio pundit as well as doing important ad hoc jobs for the Football Association.

He continues to live in Blackpool and is a popular figure around town and at Bloomfield Road where he regularly attends games.

PETER DOHERTY

Peter Doherty was arguably one of the finest inside forwards ever to play for Blackpool.

A Magherafelt?born [5 June 1913] inside forward, he was signed by the club from Glentoran on 8 November 1933 for a fee of £1,900 plus an agreement that Blackpool would play a friendly against Glentoran during the latter part of the 1933/34 season.

The game was subsequently played on 23 April when Glentoran defeated a strong Blackpool side 3?1.

Doherty made his Blackpool debut for the Central League side against Aston Villa reserves on 11 November and scored two goals in Blackpool's 3?2 victory. And then, after he had made a big impact in the Central League game against Manchester United reserves on 25 November, one far-seeing critic proclaimed "Blackpool have a star player who is going to do big things in League football".
He had scored twice in a 3?0 win.

His League debut came on 23 December 1933 in a 2-1 victory over Bradford City after he had scored seven goals in five Central League games.

He was selected at centre forward in the return game against Bradford City on 6 January 1934 and although he was said to be "a player with a big heart, aggressive, little disturbed by the punishment a centre forward has to accept" he was thought "not a centre forward". Indeed, he stated that he preferred not to play in the position. Even so, Blackpool won 3?2 and he scored one of the goals.

Following the success of his first season, it was to everyone's surprise he started the 1934/35 season in the Central League side, featuring in a 2?1 win over Bury reserves on 25 August 1934. And then he was "an outstanding success" when playing at outside right, Blackpool's problem position, in the 3-2 Lancashire Senior Cup tie by Liverpool on 17 September.

He was subsequently tried at outside right in the first team in a 2-1 win against Plymouth Argyle on 6 October when "adapting himself to an unfamiliar position, he made direct progress in nearly every move and sent across low square passes in front of the Argyle goal".

While it was considered he "may not solve the right wing problem", the view was "no player in the position has equalled the game he played, however unconventional it may have been". Blackpool won 2?1. Perhaps surprisingly in view of the favourable comments, he was back at inside forward for the following game!

Major Frank Buckley, manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, was interested in signing him in November 1934 but Blackpool emphatically said "No". And then when playing for Ireland in an international in Belfast in October 1935, many First Division clubs were interested in signing him but Blackpool told them all "Hands off". He subsequently made four of his 16 appearances for Northern Ireland while with Blackpool.

He was transferred to Manchester City for a fee of £10,000 in February 1936 with £5,000 to be paid by 1 March and £5,000 by 1 May. He was granted permission to continue training at Bloomfield Road for the rest of the 1935/36 season.

Doherty had played in 83 League games for Blackpool scoring 28 goals and in five FA Cup games scoring one goal. He made his debut for the Maine Road side against Preston North End at Maine Road where Bill Shankly completely blotted him out as Preston won 3?1. Ironically it was also Matt Busby's final game for Manchester City before his move to Liverpool.

He remained with Manchester City until the 1938/39 season by which time he had played in 119 League games and scored 74 goals for the club and he had also won a First Division championship medal.

He joined Derby County in December 1945 but he only played 15 League games, scoring seven goals before moving on. He was transferred to Huddersfield Town in December 1946 and played 83 League games and scored 33 goals in a three-season stay.

He then became Doncaster Rovers player/manager in June 1949 and took the team to the Third Division championship. He remained at Doncaster until the 1952/53 season, playing in 103 League games and scoring 55 goals.

He was manager of Northern Ireland when the country reached the final stages of the 1958 World Cup and he later had a number of coaching appointments and was chief scout at Bloomfield Road.

Peter Doherty died at Fleetwood on 6 April 1990.

GEORGE FARM

Goalkeeper George Farm was virtually unknown when Blackpool signed him from Scottish club Hibernian for a fee of £2,700 in September 1948. It was reported that he was the fourth team goalkeeper at the Scottish club although later Farm himself was to say that he was the reserve choice.

He made his Blackpool debut in the Central League game against Aston Villa reserves on 11 September 1948 and although Blackpool lost 2-0 he acquitted himself well.

Despite his unique style of goalkeeping in which he developed an over and under grip of the ball that was said to cause a rising of blood pressure in the spectators and critics alike, the general view was "He showed promise."

George played in a further Central League game, a 4-1 victory over Derby County reserves, when after just the two central League games he supplanted Joe Robinson in the first team goal. He made his League debut on 18 September 1948 and he was not entirely blameless for Blackpool losing a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Bolton Wanderers.

It was said that thereafter he spent many afternoons at Bloomfield Road practising his goalkeeping skills but he still maintained his so-called 'nutcracker' type handling, hand above and below the ball.

He then became a permanent fixture in the Blackpool side and played the remaining 34 League games and three FA Cup ties during his first season at the club. In the 1949/50 season he was an ever-present, playing in all 42 League games plus the five FA Cup ties.

The defence earned itself the title of "the iron curtain" and it was Farm who provided a sound last line in front of two sturdy fullbacks, Shimwell and Garrett, and the talented half back line of Johnston, Hayward and Hughie Kelly.

He played all 42 League games in the following season and was instrumental in Blackpool reaching the FA Cup final. He played in all the Cup ties and only in the eighth and most important, against Newcastle United at Wembley, was he on the losing side as the Magpies won 2-0.

His goalkeeping was an integral part of Blackpool's continued success and ninth and seventh position was achieved in the 1951/52 and 1952/53 seasons respectively.

He missed his first League game for four years and one month, a run of 190 League and Cup games, on 18 October 1952 when he was winning the first of his 10 international caps playing for Scotland against Ireland.

In addition he played in eight FA Cup ties over the two-season period, culminating once again in a Wembley appearance. His goalkeeping on that day in May 1953 started off very shakily and he was at fault with the first two Bolton Wanderers' goals. But he settled down to concede only one more goal when, as every Blackpool fan knows, the club went on to win a memorable final 4-3.

He missed three further games in the 1952/53 season and then in the 1953/54 season he played his first Central League game since he initially joined the club. Following two successive defeats, 5-2 to Liverpool and 3-1 to Newcastle United, and four defeats in five games he was left out of the side and his deputy Ron Wylie was given a rare chance in the First Division.

Wylie fared no better than Farm had done as Blackpool lost 5-1 to Chelsea and Farm himself was on the losing side as the reserves lost 2?1 to Barnsley reserves on 19 December 1953.

He played two further Central League games, Blackpool winning both, but he missed five League games over the Christmas period. Blackpool lost two and drew three of those games so Farm was reinstated in the side for the FA Cup tie against Luton Town on 9 January and the subsequent League game against Huddersfield Town on 16 January. He remained in the side for the rest of the season when Blackpool finished in a creditable sixth place.

The season of 1954/55 was one of Blackpool's poorer ones in the First Division, eventually ending up in 19th place and narrowly escaping relegation. Goals were conceded all too frequently and after a run of four successive defeats with 12 goals conceded, Farm was left out of the side once again in February 1955. But once again he bounced back and, after playing just three Central League games, and missing four League games, which resulted in only one win with two defeats and one draw, he was back in the side.

He never lost his place through loss of form again while he was at the club. The 1955/56 season provided him with one of the highlights of his career at Bloomfield Road when he became the first regular Blackpool goalkeeper to score in a League game. He was injured in the home game against Preston North End on 29 October 1955 and, eager to assist the side in any capacity, he returned to play in the outfield. And he headed one of Blackpool's consolation goals in the 6-2 defeat.

The season was overall a success as the club ended as runners-up in the First Division, its highest ever position (excepting the top place after three games of the aborted 1939/40 season).

After a further 124 consecutive games since he last missed a first team game, he was absent for the Bolton Wanderers match on 28 December 1958, a month in which he became the second Blackpool footballer to be paid one of the newly introduced £1,000 benefits.

And then, after another ever-present season in 1958/59 he sprang a bombshell when he requested a transfer in November 1959. The reason he gave was "My wife and I had already decided we would eventually return to Edinburgh and it seemed sensible to go back, if possible, while I am still capable of playing top?class soccer for several more years. During this time I hope to start in business on my own account or seek an appointment in football management. Although it will be a big wrench leaving Blackpool and the many friends I have made here in more than 11 years, it is quite exciting to think of starting a new career in the city in which I was born and brought up." He did assure supporters, however, "Meanwhile, I will continue, as always, to give of my best to Blackpool Football Club."

Perhaps not surprisingly, his previous club Hibernian immediately expressed an interest in signing him. The Edinburgh side was short of an experienced goalkeeper and offered 23 year old wing half Bobby Nichol, who was a Scottish Under 23 international in exchange. Blackpool manager Ronnie Suart played down the offer and said that the club knew nothing about any proposals and had not looked at Nichol.

Again not surprisingly, no deal took place. Farm became the first ever Blackpool player to appear in 500 League and Cup games when he played in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Bloomfield Road on 28 November 1959. Few of the 17,085 spectators who gave him an extended round of applause that Saturday realised that his time with the club was very nearly over.

Blackpool was grooming an up-and-coming young goalkeeper by the name of Tony Waiters and he replaced Farm for the Christmas and New Year games with Blackburn Rovers and Fulham, Farm was convinced that his return to Scotland would be imminent providing, as he said, that his deputy, Tony Waiters, "can win his spurs in first class football".

Despite making a second request for a transfer early in January 1960, he was reinstated for the FA Cup tie with Mansfield Town on 9 January. Blackpool won 3-0 but strong rumours persisted about his future at Blackpool as the club was said to be about to release him.

Manager Ronnie Suart said "We have heard several rumours that certain Scottish clubs were going to make a bid for Farm but so far no offer has been made." Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian were two clubs said to have shown considerable interest in signing the 35 year old goalkeeper.

Farm played just two further League games and two FA Cup ties, the last being his 47th consecutive FA Cup tie since he joined the club. It was to end in sad defeat as Blackpool, having been unfairly treated at Ewood Park on the previous Saturday when Blackburn scored an equaliser with Farm being held down in the goalmouth, won convincingly 3-0 on a Wednesday night 3 February 1960.

As Farm walked off the field from the Spion Kop goal that he had just defended he may well have known that it was his farewell appearance, for by then the Queen of the South directors had let it be known that they wanted to sign him and they subsequently made the first concrete offer that Blackpool had received.

Manager Ronnie Suart commented "Although originally we said we would prefer a player exchange deal, the Directors are to consider this straight cash offer at their next Board meeting." Farm had already been by car to Dumfries on 31 January 1960 for an interview and said "Naturally I am very interested in the offer. Queen of the South have promised me that, if I wish, I can live in Edinburgh which is just over 70 miles from Dumfries. But at this stage I cannot say whether or not I shall sign. I shall make my decision after meeting Queen of the South officials to discuss terms and other matters."

He was duly transferred to Queen of the South for a fee of £2,000 in February 1960 after his last game for Blackpool, his 508th in 11 and a half years at the club. He made his debut for Queen of the South the following Saturday in a 3?3 draw with Hamilton Academicals.

Farm continued to be in the news north of the border and in October 1960 he commented caustically on Morton's floodlights following a 1-1 draw which had a bearing on promotion. Farm said "Every ball crossed from the wing rises above the glare of the lights, then passes down it again. You can't focus on the ball until the last moment. That's how we lost the goal. I had to punch a cross away hurriedly and their winger was able to whip the ball back in before I had recovered."

He was appointed player-manager of Queen of the South in the 1961/62 season and by January he had steered them to the top of the Scottish Second Division table. He was the only full-time player on the club's books and only two of his 26 part-timers lived and trained at Dumfries so his effort in taking Queen of the South to promotion in his first season as player-manager was no mean feat.

He was eventually sacked as Queen of the South manager in January 1964 but he was retained by the club as a player. After retirement from football he became one of the few, if not only, ex-professional footballers who became a lighthouse keeper.

When he finally retired he and his wife settled down to a quiet life in Edinburgh. He shunned the spotlight in later life although he did return to Blackpool for the Centenary celebrations of the football club in 1988. He will always be remembered at Bloomfield Road as a tremendous goalkeeper and he is still one of only two players to have made over 500 games for the club, Jimmy Armfield being the other.