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Hopkinson, Hartle, Banks, Henin, Higgins, Edwards, Birch, Stevens, Lofthouse, Parry, Holden – even the name of the famously-unlucky Ralph Gubbins tripped off the tongue of every Wanderers fan in the fifties at Burnden Park.
Before football moved for good out of the traditional heartlands, in an age of loyalty and modest wages, the Whites were still giants of the English game.
Crowds packed into Burnden to watch England centre-forward, our Sir Nat, in action. But they would just as easily be entertained by other knights of the day – Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Tom Finney or Sir Bobby Charlton.
Wanderers’ home was a famously inhospitable place, not least for a tricky winger. And painful tales of full-backs Roy Hartle and Tommy Banks’ rough-housing have not dulled with time.
But while there was the odd lull as football got back into full swing after the war, the decade was widely regarded as Bolton’s finest.
It was the decade which brought an end to traditional Christmas Day fixtures at Burnden, although they went out with a bang as Wanderers shared 10 goals with Arsenal in 1952, losing 6-4, with two goals apiece for Lofthouse and Willie Moir.
The final festive fixture was played two years later, as a Dennis Stevens strike was not enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in front of 25,978 fans. And if modern day players think they have it tough – Bill Ridding’s team were at White Hart Lane two days later, losing 2-0.
It was also the last era in which Wanderers had a true upper hand on their local rivals Manchester United.
During the fifties, Bolton lost just five of 20 encounters between the two teams and chalked up some famous victories.
Of course, the 1958 FA Cup final top most fans’ lists as it gave the club their last major honour against a United side still reeling from the Munich air disaster several months earlier.
The great Busby Babes were a forced in world football at the time, yet the Whites proved more than their match on several occasions.
In 1956 Matt Busby’s side were on their way to a second successive league championship but could not find a way past a ferocious Bolton team. Goals from Terry Allcock and Dougie Holden edged a thrilling derby duel, personified by the fascinating battle between the great Tommy Banks and United’s winger Johnny Berry.
A year later Burnden was lit up as the first game under floodlights was played against Scottish First Division leaders Hearts. The new lights had cost £25,000 and were somewhat of a novelty in the English game.
Southampton were the first club to have them installed permanently in 1950 but it was not until 1956 the first Football League fixture was played under the lights, as Portsmouth took on Newcastle United.
Burnden was determined to make the most of their new facility and after a friendly against Blackburn Rovers was called off, they invited Russian army team CDSA Moscow to become the first European side to play a game at the stadium. A crowd of 34,139 watched the Whites win 3-1 with goals from Lofthouse, Ray Parry and Ralph Gubbins.
Each pylon stood 160ft tall and were anchored by eight steel bolts which were as tall as an average-sized man.
But there was nothing the lights could do about the perennial fog problem at Burnden, and another titanic victory over rivals United was almost lost on the 33,000 fans who packed into Burnden in November 1958.
Months after the FA Cup final win, Bolton’s team was nearly identical to the one at Wembley aside from Gubbins replacing the injured captain Lofthouse. United had four new names on the team-sheet.
Wanderers rattled in six goals, almost all of which were lost to the majority of the crowd. Gubbins and Bryan Edwards scored twice. Or so the history books tell us.
After finishing fourth on goal difference from Arsenal in 1958/59, the sixties would mark the end of the Whites’ time as a major force in the top flight. By 1964 their 29-year stay in the First Division had ended.
There was a passing of the torch in 1960 as the great Lofthouse scored his last Burnden league goal in a 3-1 victory over Manchester City. Also on the scoresheet that day was a 16-year-old Francis Lee, whose star would shine briefly and brightly in the years to come.
Source
Before football moved for good out of the traditional heartlands, in an age of loyalty and modest wages, the Whites were still giants of the English game.
Crowds packed into Burnden to watch England centre-forward, our Sir Nat, in action. But they would just as easily be entertained by other knights of the day – Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Tom Finney or Sir Bobby Charlton.
Wanderers’ home was a famously inhospitable place, not least for a tricky winger. And painful tales of full-backs Roy Hartle and Tommy Banks’ rough-housing have not dulled with time.
But while there was the odd lull as football got back into full swing after the war, the decade was widely regarded as Bolton’s finest.
It was the decade which brought an end to traditional Christmas Day fixtures at Burnden, although they went out with a bang as Wanderers shared 10 goals with Arsenal in 1952, losing 6-4, with two goals apiece for Lofthouse and Willie Moir.
The final festive fixture was played two years later, as a Dennis Stevens strike was not enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in front of 25,978 fans. And if modern day players think they have it tough – Bill Ridding’s team were at White Hart Lane two days later, losing 2-0.
It was also the last era in which Wanderers had a true upper hand on their local rivals Manchester United.
During the fifties, Bolton lost just five of 20 encounters between the two teams and chalked up some famous victories.
Of course, the 1958 FA Cup final top most fans’ lists as it gave the club their last major honour against a United side still reeling from the Munich air disaster several months earlier.
The great Busby Babes were a forced in world football at the time, yet the Whites proved more than their match on several occasions.
In 1956 Matt Busby’s side were on their way to a second successive league championship but could not find a way past a ferocious Bolton team. Goals from Terry Allcock and Dougie Holden edged a thrilling derby duel, personified by the fascinating battle between the great Tommy Banks and United’s winger Johnny Berry.
A year later Burnden was lit up as the first game under floodlights was played against Scottish First Division leaders Hearts. The new lights had cost £25,000 and were somewhat of a novelty in the English game.
Southampton were the first club to have them installed permanently in 1950 but it was not until 1956 the first Football League fixture was played under the lights, as Portsmouth took on Newcastle United.
Burnden was determined to make the most of their new facility and after a friendly against Blackburn Rovers was called off, they invited Russian army team CDSA Moscow to become the first European side to play a game at the stadium. A crowd of 34,139 watched the Whites win 3-1 with goals from Lofthouse, Ray Parry and Ralph Gubbins.
Each pylon stood 160ft tall and were anchored by eight steel bolts which were as tall as an average-sized man.
But there was nothing the lights could do about the perennial fog problem at Burnden, and another titanic victory over rivals United was almost lost on the 33,000 fans who packed into Burnden in November 1958.
Months after the FA Cup final win, Bolton’s team was nearly identical to the one at Wembley aside from Gubbins replacing the injured captain Lofthouse. United had four new names on the team-sheet.
Wanderers rattled in six goals, almost all of which were lost to the majority of the crowd. Gubbins and Bryan Edwards scored twice. Or so the history books tell us.
After finishing fourth on goal difference from Arsenal in 1958/59, the sixties would mark the end of the Whites’ time as a major force in the top flight. By 1964 their 29-year stay in the First Division had ended.
There was a passing of the torch in 1960 as the great Lofthouse scored his last Burnden league goal in a 3-1 victory over Manchester City. Also on the scoresheet that day was a 16-year-old Francis Lee, whose star would shine briefly and brightly in the years to come.
Source
