Cup price storm as Clarets get back into league action

Last updated : 27 February 2010 By Tony Scholes
Firemen deal with the blaze in Rosegrove

Mr Hugh Shackleton was still celebrating a week after the Royal birth. He'd attended the special carnival to celebrate the birth at which all were presented with a cradle. One had a special mark on and that was in the possession of Mr Shackleton, of Padiham Road, and he won for himself a much sought after special golden cradle. It was thought it would be perfect for a ladies charm bracelet, bachelor Mr Shackleton was told.

If you recall, the Mayor Councillor Edith Utley had sent a telegram congratulating Her Majesty and His Royal Highness on the birth, and she was delighted that the couple took time out from changing dirty nappies to reply.

"The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh sincerely thank the people of Burnley for their kind message of congratulations on the birth of a son to Her Majesty and His Royal Highness," read the return telegram.

You've heard the expression 'singing from the same hymn sheet' often enough and for one 13-year-old boy that became a reality. He was in front of the Burnley Juvenile Panel on a charge of breaking into Burnley Grammar School and stealing a music book and six hymn books.

His solicitor Mr G. Newton told the court that the boy's only fault seemed to be that he chose the wrong companion. The boy himself denied breaking into the school and stealing the books, value £1 6s, but did admit to entering through a broken window to bring out another boy.

Mr Newton said that the other boy was an unsavoury character and that the magistrates should treat anything he said with caution whilst confirming that this was an isolated incident for his client. The magistrates fined the boy £2 after learning that he had appeared previously for causing wilful damage.

Back at the Grammar School it was very quiet at assembly with music teacher Mr Barlow having lost his music. Those feet in ancient times might well have been walking upon England's mountains green but there was no sign of the boys in the school being able to sing the school hymn.

A raging inferno swept through a cotton waste works at Rosegrove that week causing £50,000 worth of damage. One Burnley senior fire officer ignored his own safety to warn a family of the danger and he had a remarkable escape when tons of debris crashed all around him as a fire damaged wall collapsed.

For the firm of Moses Hargreaves Ltd, it meant a complete shut down and left the directors hurriedly exploring various possibilities in an endeavour to re-establish the business elsewhere.

For Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Herbert White it really was a lucky escape. He rushed to warn a family to leave their front room because of the possibility of a wall collapsing and, without warning, the wall cracked and toppled outwards.

Mr White had to press himself closely against the house wall and thrust his helmeted head through a window for protection. One enormous coping crashed just inches away from him.

Meanwhile, many people in Burnley were furious at the football club over the charges for the cup replay. For league games the ground price was two shillings, with 1s 3d for boys. For the cup replay the price increased to 2s 6d for men so it was assumed that boys would pay no more than 1s 6d. However, on arrival at Turf Moor they found that the boys charges had been withdrawn and it was 2s 6d for all.

Many boys had to leave Turf Moor in tears after arriving with too little money to gain admission. Some boys were much more fortunate with policemen on duty at the ground dipping into their pockets to find spare shillings to give to them so they could see the game.

The club had already confirmed that for the Blackburn game the admission would go even higher to 3 shillings and again there would be no boys' price.

"I hope something can be done about the disgusting way the boys were treated at Tuesday night's match," read one letter of complaint in the Burnley Express. Another read: "I was absolutely disgusted by Burnley Football Club's action in increasing admission prices for boys for the cup replay last Tuesday."

One supporter even reminded Burnley that boys at Manchester United are never asked to pay more than 9d for a first team game at Old Trafford.

All was quiet from Turf Moor, with no response forthcoming from Bob Lord or Henry Smith immediately.

Lord was happy to speak when he was given some good news though. Burnley had been invited to travel to New York in the summer to play in an international tournament. Interestingly The Football League, rather than contact Burnley Football Club, passed the news on to the Burnley Express who then had the pleasurable duty of informing the club.

"This is the highest honour ever offered to the club," said Mr R. W. Lord, chairman of Burnley FC, when the Express informed him. "I feel sure," he added, "that our players have the ability to represent the country in a proper manner as far as both behaviour and football are concerned.

"Obviously we shall do our best to play football as it should be played, and to try to win the trophy. The Burnley public should have every reason to be proud of their club. I still believe that a successful football club is the highest advertising medium for any town. This should help to put Burnley on the map."

Manager Mr Harry Potts added: "Naturally we are very delighted. It is a surprise now that it has come. We have been keeping our fingers crossed for some time. It is a great opportunity to give English football a boost and we will play as well as we can knowing that we are playing for the club, county and country. We are delighted to have the opportunity and feel that it is a great honour."

Meanwhile, Burnley had re-arranged two games. The home game against Tottenham, postponed because of the cup tie against Bradford City would now be played on Tuesday 1st March whilst the game against Manchester City at Maine Road, scheduled for FA Cup 6th round day would now be played on the following Tuesday provided there was no replay required against Blackburn.

Mr Potts had to make two changes from the team that won the cup match. Bobby Seith was out with a knee injury and that meant Jimmy Adamson moving to right half from left half and Brian Miller to left half from centre half with Tommy Cummings coming in at centre half. Also Ian Lawson played at inside left for Jimmy Robson who had a thigh injury.

Burnley's Burnden Park derby provide an unexpected set back in the tussle at the top of the league table, and the Turf Moor club's first defeat in 1960 as they went down 2-1 to Bolton Wanderers.

It was one of the best matches between the clubs seen at Bolton in the post-war era, and therefore, all the more a matter for regret that the North East Lancashire side did not gain at least a point and make it a more pleasurable memory for their large following of supporters.

There can be no excuses, and to try to find one in the fact that the team were not at full strength is merely to gloss over the facts. For some players the match will be one to forget, for errors were made in judgement and there was a lack of co-ordinated drive in defence.

The reorganisation of the half back line was not a complete success and one wondered if the introduction of one of the club's bright young reserves might not have been a more beneficial venture instead of the wholesale re-shuffle involving the intermediate line.

This was a problem and it led to the third minute defensive mix up which caught Blacklaw out of his ground and gave BIRCH the chance to run the ball into the net from a ricochet off a feebly waving leg.

Burnley were on even terms seven minutes later following a corner, CONNELLY adding the finishing touch after a McIlroy effort had been blocked.

Then came Burnley's most majestic spell. They rolled the ball from one to another until the Bolton defence were wandering in narrowly prescribed circles and on the point of giving up in face of all this nonsense which threatened to make them foolish chasers of shadows.

However, delightful though it was to watch, the Turf Moor team, with Adamson coming through in a devastating partnership with McIlroy, were apt to try the clever move too many in an attempt to arrive in close proximity to the goal line.

Referee Mr Howley was having an outstanding game and five minutes into the second half he penalised Miller for turning and breathing hard down the back of Deakin's neck on the half way line and when the Wanderers' right wing was checked illegally, HARTLE'S free kick soared into the goal area, Blacklaw made a fatal one step advance and failed to tip the dipping ball over the bar. It dropped into the net.

Burnley had to discard their casual air in the late stages of the game to try and rescue it, and forced corners. They revived too late and Connelly had the best chance to equalise but blazed over.

It was not Burnley's day but it so easily could have been.

The teams were;

Bolton Wanderers: John Bollands, Roy Hartle, Syd Farrimond, Derek Hennin, John Higgins, Graham Stanley, Brian Birch, Peter Deakin, Dennis Stevens, Freddie Hill, Doug Holden.

Burnley: Adam Blacklaw, John Angus, Alex Elder, Jimmy Adamson, Tommy Cummings, Brian Miller, John Connelly, Jimmy McIlroy, Ray Pointer, Ian Lawson, Brian Pilkington.

Referee: Mr K. Howley (Billingham).

Attendance: 28,772.

Having dropped two places during the week, this wasn't the result Burnley were looking for. Thankfully we didn't drop any further although we were now five points behind leaders Spurs although we did have one game in hand.

I suppose we couldn't be too hard on Spurs, they'd come up to Lancashire and beaten Blackburn 4-1 and were staying in the area ahead of their game at Turf Moor on Tuesday night.

Bottom club Luton beat Leicester and they and Birmingham were now just two points behind Leeds at the bottom of the table.

Click HERE to see the League Table

The reserves picked up both Central League points from a 2-0 win against Huddersfield. It was reported that Burnley managed to keep on top throughout the game against an obviously inferior Huddersfield side, but their play rarely had quality.

They seemed to be a general lack of enthusiasm and there were few exciting incidents. Lochhead and Joyce were the scorers for Burnley.

First Division Results 27th February 1960

Arsenal 1 Newcastle United 0
Blackburn Rovers 1 Tottenham Hotspur 4
Blackpool 0 Manchester United 6
Bolton Wanderers 2 Burnley 1
Everton 4 Preston North End 0
Fulham 4 Leeds United 0
Luton Town 2 Leicester City 0
Manchester City 3 Birmingham City 0
Nottingham Forest 3 West Ham United 1
Sheffield Wednesday 1 Chelsea 1
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 West Bromwich Albion 1