Category Archives: 1923-24

COMPETITION ENDS TONIGHT: From Maine Road To The Etihad 100 Years Book

Fancy winning a copy of the new book on Maine Road and the Etihad? The publisher, Reach, has offered to post out a copy of the book to the winner of a competition (Sadly, only UK postal addresses will be allowed). See below for details of how to enter…

The competition ends tonight (Sunday 1st October) at 9pm UK time and only one entry per person will be allowed. To enter simply send the answer to the following question, along with your name and location (not your address, just your nearest town/post town), via email to: comp@GJFootballArchive.com

The question is: Who was the architect of Maine Road when it was first built in 1923?

The answer does appear on my website in a variety of locations, so go search for it if you don’t know and then enter the competition. The winner will be selected at random from all the correct entries received on Monday 2nd October and will be informed later that day.

As for the book…

I’m delighted to say I’m one of the co-authors on the new book which focuses on Maine Road and the Etihad stadia (the two most recent permanent homes of Manchester City).

I’ve contributed the Introduction, the story of Maine Road’s first game and the 100 Maine Memories of Maine Road. I tried to make sure the 100 Maine Memories cover both the great and the unusual so, inevitably, Colin Bell is featured but so is the wonky North Stand scoreboard! If you attended Maine Road it will all make sense and if you didn’t it’ll give you a great feel for what life was like at the old place.

Please enter the competition and good luck with it.

While you’re here, why not subscribe to the website and unlock all the articles on here? See:

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Newcastle v Manchester City: The Story So Far

City v Newcastle is one of the most enduring fixtures in English football. There have been cup finals, title deciders, dramatic games, shared heroes and so much more. The two clubs first met in the League in October 1893 (Ardwick/MCFC’s 2nd season in the League) and have since played each other 189 times overall with City winning 76 and Newcastle 72 games.

As tonight is a League Cup tie, the most famous meeting of the teams in that competition came in 1976 at Wembley when Peter Barnes and Dennis Tueart both scored for the Blues.

MCFC 20TH CENTURY CHRONICLE SEASON 1975-76

Anyone at Maine Road on the day City played away against Newcastle at Maine Road? See:

Maine Road 100 – Day 87

100 years ago there was the last meeting at City’s famous old Hyde Road ground:

Maine Road 100 – Bonus Article!

In 2012 a Newcastle v City game was crucial in the Blues’ title charge:

The Title Race Moves To Newcastle

Elano’s wonder goal in 2007:

On This Day: Elano Wonder Goal

In 2021-22 there was a memorable City victory:

Newcastle 0 Manchester City 4

Most Blues of my age and above will remember where they were when our King returned to action on Boxing Day 1977. Here’s an interview I did with him a few years back when we talked about that special day:

IN SEARCH OF THE BLUES – Colin Bell MBE (interviewed in January 2005)
On This Day in 1977: Colin Bell’s Emotional Return

When I was a teenager there was a second tier meeting that attracted a significant crowd for the period:

Manchester City v Newcastle United 1984

My Dad’s generation will remember the 1955 FA Cup final:

The 1955 FA Cup Final
IN SEARCH OF THE BLUES – 1955 FAC Team (first published May 2005)

During 1956-57 there was a ‘game of the season’ in the FA Cup between the clubs:

Game of the Season 1956-1957: Manchester City V Newcastle United

My grandad’s generation would’ve remembered Billy Meredith’s last game:

Billy Meredith’s Last Game: 1924 FA Cup Semi

Who remembers the title decider at Newcastle? Details:

Manchester City Win The League

There was a really odd thing a while back where a Newcastle paper claimed that their local team had first worn bar scarves at games. A few simple searches soon proved there were much earlier bar scarfs:

Showing Your Colours

Some of the above are free to read and some are for subscribers only. Follow the link below if you want to find out more about subscribing:

How To Subscribe

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

Choose an amount

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate

COMPETITION: From Maine Road To The Etihad 100 Years Book

Fancy winning a copy of the new book on Maine Road and the Etihad? The publisher, Reach, has offered to post out a copy of the book to the winner of a competition (Sadly, only UK postal addresses will be allowed). See below for details of how to enter…

The competition is open until Sunday 1st October at 9pm UK time and only one entry per person will be allowed. To enter simply send the answer to the following question, along with your name and location (not your address, just your nearest town/post town), via email to: comp@GJFootballArchive.com

The question is: Who was the architect of Maine Road when it was first built in 1923?

The answer does appear on my website in a variety of locations, so go search for it if you don’t know and then enter the competition. The winner will be selected at random from all the correct entries received on Monday 2nd October and will be informed later that day.

As for the book…

I’m delighted to say I’m one of the co-authors on the new book which focuses on Maine Road and the Etihad stadia (the two most recent permanent homes of Manchester City).

I’ve contributed the Introduction, the story of Maine Road’s first game and the 100 Maine Memories of Maine Road. I tried to make sure the 100 Maine Memories cover both the great and the unusual so, inevitably, Colin Bell is featured but so is the wonky North Stand scoreboard! If you attended Maine Road it will all make sense and if you didn’t it’ll give you a great feel for what life was like at the old place.

Please enter the competition and good luck with it.

While you’re here, why not subscribe to the website and unlock all the articles on here? See:

How To Subscribe

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

Choose an amount

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate

Our Home: From Maine Road To The Etihad 100 Years

I’m delighted to say I’m one of the co-authors on a new book on the stadia of Manchester City. I’ve contributed the Introduction, the story of Maine Road’s first game and the 100 Maine Memories of Maine Road. I tried to make sure the 100 Maine Memories cover both the great and the unusual so, inevitably, Colin Bell is featured but so is the wonky North Stand scoreboard! If you attended Maine Road it will all make sense and if you didn’t it’ll give you a great feel for what life was like at the old place.

The City Keeper Who Wore Glasses

During the 1920s Manchester City had a goalkeeper Jim Mitchell who played in glasses – not specially produced glasses, ordinary glasses of the period!

Here are some images of him in action. I’m not quite certain what’s happened but it looks like he changed his shirt during the game because these are definitely from the same match:

Born in Prestwich, Jim Mitchell was a former Manchester University and Northern Nomads ‘keeper.  He also had spells at Blackpool and at Preston where he gained an extremely good reputation.  He gained several significant honours and was the Great Britain goalkeeper at the 1920 Olympics.  He also kept goal for Preston in the 1922 FA Cup final (the last played at Stamford Bridge before Wembley Stadium opened) against Huddersfield and hit the headlines by leaping around while a penalty was being taken against him – this caused the rules to be changed.

He joined City shortly after the final and replaced Goodchild as City’s number one the following September, making his debut on 9th September 1922 at home to Birmingham.  Despite wearing glasses – on the pitch as well as off it – Mitchell was an agile ‘keeper and made 22 appearances in his first season. 

Always an amateur, Mitchell made history by being City ‘keeper for the first game at Maine Road (25th August 1923) and was generally recognised as a quality ‘keeper by neutrals.  He was certainly known nationwide and was capped at both an amateur level and for the full England side.

He later had a spell at Leicester, though he never appeared in their first team, and joined the footwear firm Stead & Simpson.  He went on to become their Managing Director.  He passed away in 1975.

Appearances:  League: 99  FA Cup: 10

Search my site and you’ll find film of Mitchell at Maine Road’s opening game in 1923. There’s also much more on this 1924 FA Cup semi final featuring Mitchell. It was Billy Meredith’s last game and subscribers can read more and watch film of it here:

Billy Meredith’s Last Game: 1924 FA Cup Semi

Maine Road 100 – Day 100: The English Hampden

2023 marks the 100th anniversary of Maine Road’s first game and to commemorate this landmark moment I have been posting a different image or feature on the old stadium each day for the last 100 days. Today is day 100 and is the actual centenary of that historic first game. So guess what I’m covering today? On this day (25 August) in 1923 Manchester City’s Maine Road Stadium staged its first game. Here is film of that landmark day in Manchester’s sporting history…

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-million-spectators-welcome-return-of-football-1923-online

You can also read a 1100 word article about the opening of the stadium and on why the ground was considered to be the ‘English Hampden’ and not the ‘Wembley of the North’ that some have tried to claim in more recent times.

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Maine Road 100 – Day 99

It’s Day 99 of my Maine Road 100 countdown to the centenary of Maine Road’s first game. One more day to go! I hope you’ve enjoyed this free series. Today it’s about the oldest and youngest players to have appeared for City at Maine Road. Any ideas who they may be?

Billy Meredith was the oldest to play for City at Maine Road. He was 49 years & 238 days old when he played for City against Preston on 22/3/1924. This was Maine Road’s first season too!

Billy Meredith Returns to MCFC in 1921

Glyn Pardoe was the youngest to play for City at Maine Road. He was 15 years and 314 days old when he made his debut v Birmingham City on 11/4/1961.

Tomorrow will be the centenary of Maine Road’s first game. I hope you have enjoyed my 100 day countdown. If you have enjoyed this series of articles and posts on Maine Road then why not become a subscriber and access all the other great content. To find out more see:

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Maine Road 100 – Day 96

It’s Day 96 of my Maine Road 100 countdown (not long to go now!) to the centenary of Maine Road’s first game and a brief post on the first and last first team penalty takers at Maine Road. Anyone know who they were? I’m sure many people reading this were there when the last penalty was taken in a first team game at Maine Road. Got it?

That’s right the last first team competitive penalty taken at Maine Road was by Stuart Pearce on 21 April 2002 v Portsmouth. He missed (Elsewhere on this site I tell the story of that day – well worth reading if you’re wondering what was so special about it).

The first penalty at Maine Road was also missed. That was taken by Frank Roberts in the opening game v Sheffield United on 25 August 1923.

Of course Garry Bradbury will claim it’s actually him who took the last penalty at Maine Road as he took one for Merseyside CSA in the Supporters’ Club challenge against Prestwich & Whitefield, in a match that was claimed to be the final game at Maine Road on 12 June 2003.

If you have enjoyed this series of articles and posts on Maine Road then why not become a subscriber and access all the other great content. To find out more see:

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BBC & MCFC Interviews

Busy day today talking about the history of Manchester City, in particular the story of City’s stadia. It’s 100 years on Friday since Maine Road’s first game and we’ve just had the 20th anniversary of the Etihad’s (then known as City of Manchester Stadium) first game. Time flies!

The interviews today started with Mike Sweeney interviewing me about Maine Rd and the Etihad for BBC Radio Manchester – that will be played on Friday assuming all is okay – and then it was off to Manchester City for the next set of interviews about the club’s grounds and other stuff.

Later I’m chatting elsewhere about football, sorry soccer, in the USA. A busy day.

Mediacity BBC

100 Years Ago Today!

On 18 August 1923 the last ever game, a practice match, was staged at Manchester City’s Hyde Road ground with a crowd of about 10,000.  Afterwards the goal posts and a few turnstiles were taken from the old ground and erected at Maine Road – about 6 were still at Maine Road in 2003 when it was demolished. Attempts were made to keep one of the oldest (from 1896) and re-erect it in a public area at the new stadium. Sadly, the day before it was to be removed the external wall was smashed and the turnstile was stolen.