Category Archives: 1913-14

The Death of a City Player

On this day (30 October) in 1916 the death of Manchester City defender Pat McGuire was reported in the Manchester Evening News (image) and the Athletic News. McGuire’s story is a tragic one as he was killed in battle but his wife had previously been told of his death several months earlier. Understandably there was a lot of confusion on the battle field but imagine being told your husband had been killed and then a short while later told he’s alive and then only a few weeks after that being told for the second time that he has been killed.

The report in the Athletic News read:

‘It was with very deep regret that news was received at Grimsby on Saturday of the death in action in France of Lance-Corporal P. M’Guire [sic], of the Manchester Regiment, the brilliant young full-back of the Manchester City club, who played for Grimsby Town throughout last season. Last winter he played better football than at any period of his career, and Grimsby regarded him as the best defender who had worn their livery for a decade. He was clear-headed, resourceful, and a master of defensive tactics. Now he has given his life in the greatest of all causes. That something had befallen him had been feared for three weeks past, as Mr. Hickson did not receive any acknowledgement of the letters and parcels of comfort which he and his wife make a practice of dispatching regularly to the “boys” at the front. On Saturday came the sad official news that M’Guire was no more.‘

McGuire joined City from Hurst on 18 Aug 1912 and made his debut v Chelsea (a) 1.3.1913

Former City historian John Maddocks wrote this about him:

Pat McGuire was a full-back who was used mainly as an understudy to the regular backs in the years immediately before WW1, Bill Henry and Eli Fletcher, and as these two were consistent players Pat rarely got a look in. He joined the armed forces for the duration and guested for Grimsby Town, making 31 appearances and scoring six goals. Sadly he was killed in action in October 1916.

Appearances: 15 in the League (plus at least 85 in the reserves)

The story is an incredible one and the following website tells it much better than I can here:

Patrick McGuire

Heatwave at Tottenham

110 years ago today! A famous heatwave game for Manchester City at Spurs. Photos from this match often get mistakenly published as Hyde Road but this match was definitely in London and played on 27 September 1913. The City scorer was Billy Lot Jones (Spurs won 3-1).

I know it’s difficult to work out but this is the City goal:

Billy Lot Jones’ goal v Spurs, 27 September 1913. The person nearest the camera is the Tottenham keeper. Jones doesn’t appear to be on the image.
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Maine Road 100 – Day 75

For post 75 of my Maine Road 100 countdown I’ve posted this image of entertainer Norman Wisdom doing some prematch stuff at Maine Rd in the 90s. That day many of us stood on the Kippax saw the elderly entertainer take to the field but didn’t recognise him at first. In fact many of us thought it was Peter Reid wearing a flat cap!

There were lots of odd prematch activities over the decades and you can read about them in this 2000 word article on the history of pre-match entertainment at Manchester City. There are mentions of the St Joseph’s Industrial School and Beswick Prize Bands, various DJs, athletic challenges, Norman Wisdom, Frank Sidebottom & more. Enjoy:

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True Blues – Joshua Parlby

Continuing the weekly series of ‘True Blue’ figures associated with the early years of Manchester City, here’s an article on Joshua Parlby who was the visionary who was the main figure behind the creation of Manchester City. He was also a former Stoke footballer and committeeman. As an appetizer for my forthcoming talk (1 March – see below). You can find out why this man was such an important figure in Manchester City history below:

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There will be another ‘True Blue’ featured next Monday. Use the tag ‘True Blues’ to find other profiles in this series. If you want to join my free online talk concerning Parlby and City see:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/joshua-parlby-the-launch-of-manchester-city-tickets-537769542177

The full series of True Blue profiles will feature:

Lawrence Furniss, John Allison, Joshua Parlby, Walter Chew, William Sumner, Tom Maley, St Mark’s community leaders, Billy Meredith, John Chapman, William Beastow and James Moores.

Pre-match Activities

In recent years many night games played across football have seen light shows. Manchester City have established a few of these at the Etihad Stadium too. The spectacle has proved popular, particularly with young supporters who are perhaps experiencing a night match for the first time. For today’s subscriber piece I have written a 2000 word article on the history of pre-match entertainment at Manchester City. There are mentions of the St Joseph’s Industrial School and Beswick Prize Bands, various DJs, athletic challenges, Norman Wisdom, Frank Sidebottom & more. Enjoy:

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A Rare Action Photo From 1913 – MCFC V LFC

Here’s an image I found a few years back while researching Manchester City’s games against Liverpool. I know it’s a poor quality photo and so was unable to use it in the piece I was doing back then. However, I think it’s worth posting here to highlight that there are photos out there that appeared in newspapers of key games involving both clubs.

This photo shows City attacking the Liverpool goal. The game ended 1-0 to City with Fred Howard the goalscorer. Howard had scored two goals against Liverpool the previous day (yes, Christmas Day) at Anfield as well.

A Rare Hyde Road Action Photo

Here’s an action image I found while researching about ten years ago of Manchester City v Preston North End played at Hyde Rd on 20 December 1913. That day a crowd of about 20,000 watched as the two sides drew 1-1 with Tommy Browell scoring for Manchester’s Blues.

On This Day in 1913 – MCFC v MUFC

A ticket that may interest a few MCFC & MUFC collectors. This is for the Lancashire Cup semi final replay between City and United played at Hyde Road on this day (November 24) in 1913.  Both the initial semi final and the replay were played at Hyde Road with the first game ending in a 1-1 drawn before approximately 8,000. The replay was watched by 12,000 and ended in a United 2-0 win.

MCFC Attendances Sequences

Lots of people talk incorrectly of Manchester City’s support and so for today’s subscriber feature I’ve decided to focus on the growth in City’s average attendance from the club’s first season in the League through to recent years, alongside other crowd related statistics. Hopefully, this will help to answer any questions raised on the loyalty of City’s support (but somehow I doubt it!).

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