Starting tomorrow I’ll be posting a series of articles on Manchester City in the 1950s. It will be similar to the series I’ve posted on the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s etc. The series will start with a subscriber article on the 1949-50 season – a season that saw Bert Trautmann make his City debut.
Category Archives: 1954-55
Les McDowall
Now that Pep Guardiola has managed his 500th Manchester City game (yes, I know he’s been ill and missed games but he’s still the manager when they occurred) here’s a brief look at the only manager ahead of his record at the club, Les McDowall (note: Les missed some games on scouting missions, so similar to Pep’s missed games?). Enjoy!
Les McDowall
June 1950 – May 1963
Previously: Impressive wing-half for City during 40s.
Took Over From: Jock Thomson, who left in February 1950 as City headed towards relegation, but it is believed Wilf Wild with Fred Tilson filled the void between managers.
Inherited: Bert Trautmann, Roy Clarke, Joe Fagan & Johnny Hart.
Players Brought In Included: City’s talented forward Don Revie & inspirational captain Roy Paul. Also Alex Harley & Peter Dobing.
Best Buy: For his role in the Revie Plan and long term commitment to the City cause – Ken Barnes.
Youngsters He Gave Debuts To: Joe Hayes, Dave Wagstaffe, John Benson, Neil Young, Alan Oakes & Glyn Pardoe.
First Game: Preston North End 2 City 4 (City scorers George Smith 2, Roy Clarke and Dennis Westcott), 19 August 1950, attendance 36,294.
High Points: Winning promotion during his first season; FA Cup finalists in 1955 & FA Cup winners in 1956 (and finishing fourth that season).
Coaches: Thirties stars Fred Tilson & Laurie Barnett.
Tactics: Became noted for tactical innovations such as the Revie Plan (although people assume this to be Revie’s idea the name came from the fact he was the key player; it had previously operated in the Reserves with Johnny Williamson in the role). The Plan revolutionised City’s play and led to the mid-fifties success.
Last Game: West Ham United 6 City 1 (City scorer Alan Oakes), 18 May 1963, attendance 16,602.
Season By Season Record:
League
1950-51 P 42 W 19 D 14 L 9 GF 89 GA 61 Pts 52
1951-52 P 42 W 13 D 13 L 16 GF 58 GA 61 Pts 39
1952-53 P 42 W 14 D 7 L 21 GF 72 GA 87 Pts 35
1953-54 P 42 W 14 D 9 L 19 GF 62 GA 77 Pts 37
1954-55 P 42 W 18 D 10 L 14 GF 76 GA 69 Pts 46
1955-56 P 42 W 18 D 10 L 14 GF 82 GA 69 Pts 46
1956-57 P 42 W 13 D 9 L 20 GF 78 GA 88 Pts 35
1957-58 P 42 W 22 D 5 L 15 GF 104 GA 100 Pts 49
1958-59 P 42 W 11 D 9 L 22 GF 64 GA 95 Pts 31
1959-60 P 42 W 17 D 3 L 22 GF 78 GA 84 Pts 37
1960-61 P 42 W 13 D 11 L 18 GF 79 GA 90 Pts 37
1961-62 P 42 W 17 D 7 L 18 GF 78 GA 81 Pts 41
1962-63 P 42 W 10 D 11 L 21 GF 58 GA 102 Pts 31
2 points for a win
FA Cup
1950-51 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 0 GA 2 Reached 3rd round
1951-52 P 2 W 0 D 1 L 1 GF 3 GA 6 Reached 3rd round
1952-53 P 3 W 1 D 1 L 1 GF 9 GA 6 Reached 4th round
1953-54 P 2 W 1 D 0 L 1 GF 5 GA 3 Reached 4th round
1954-55 P 6 W 5 D 0 L 1 GF 10 GA 4 Reached final
1955-56 P 7 W 6 D 1 L 0 GF 11 GA 4 FA Cup winners
1956-57 P 2 W 0 D 1 L 1 GF 5 GA 6 Reached 3rd round
1957-58 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 1 GA 5 Reached 3rd round
1958-59 P 2 W 0 D 1 L 1 GF 3 GA 4 Reached 3rd round
1959-60 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 1 GA 5 Reached 3rd round
1960-61 P 4 W 1 D 2 L 1 GF 4 GA 4 Reached 4th round
1961-62 P 2 W 1 D 0 L 1 GF 1 GA 2 Reached 4th round
1962-63 P 3 W 2 D 0 L 1 GF 3 GA 2 Reached 5th round
League Cup
1960-61 P 2 W 1 D 0 L 1 GF 3 GA 2 Reached 3rd round
1961-62 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 2 GA 4 Reached 2nd round
1962-63 P 6 W 3 D 2 L 1 GF 10 GA 12 Reached 5th round
TOTAL (League & cup fixtures)
P591 W220 D127 L244 GF 1049 GA 1135
Trophies Won: FA Cup (1956)
Other Competitive Fixtures: 1 Charity Shield game
They Said: “Les McDowall was very much an old school manager – shirt & tie, office type. You rarely saw him but when you did it was usually when he was unveiling one of his new tactical plans. We had one where we played with 5 at the back and I had a number 7 shirt on. He would probably have excelled in today’s game because he was absolutely driven with tactical formations.” Defender Bobby Kennedy talking in 2005.
Followed By: George Poyser
After City: Became Oldham Athletic manager shortly after leaving City. Died in August 1991 at the age of 78.
Don Revie
On this day (10 November) in 1956 the great Don Revie left Manchester City for Sunderland. Revie had been in and out of favour with manager Les McDowall for over a year, but fans recognised his qualities. Here for subscribers is a profile of Don. Enjoy.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or there’s a special discounted rate of £20 a year. Subscribers have access to everything posted on the site, including PDFs or Manchester A Football History and my 1st book on MCFC (published in 1989).
The Goalie who broke his neck!
I’m always conscious that time moves quickly within football and that names of legendary players that your parents were familiar with may not be known by your children. Today, as it was 101 years since his birth yesterday (he was born on 22 October 1923) I’m publishing here a brief folklore piece I did on Manchester City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann. Hopefully, some newer/younger football fans may be familiar with the name. If not this may help…
It is one of City’s greatest stories involving a true Blue legend and a remarkable example of how Manchester has always been a welcoming city. Bernhard Trautmann was born in Germany in 1923 and, as a keen young athlete, he became a member of the Hitler Youth. He had high hopes of representing Germany in the decathlon at the 1940 Olympic Games and went to Berlin for several training camps. Sadly, war was to end all possibility of him becoming an Olympic hero.
Indoctrinated throughout his teenage and early adult life, Trautmann became a paratrooper during World War Two. The simple facts of what followed are astounding:
- After being captured and escaping from the Russians and the Americans, Trautmann became a Prisoner of War held by the British.
- He began playing as a goalkeeper while a prisoner.
- He joined St Helen’s Town.
- City’s goalkeeping crisis meant the Blues were desperate for a ‘keeper, any ‘keeper!
- Trautmann given chance and joined City.
- Protests and season tickets returned in disgust, but some including Rabbi Altmann spoke in support
- Known as ‘Bert’, Trautmann soon became a hero to City fans.
- In 1955 he became the first German to play in the FAC final.
- 1956 he helped City win the FA Cup.
In the 1956 final Trautmann was outstanding, diving brilliantly at times and bravely often. With a little over 15 minutes left to play the ‘keeper made a daring save at the feet of Birmingham’s Murphy. The collision left Bert in tremendous pain and film of the final shows that his head and neck were at an odd angle. The ‘keeper bravely played on, despite obvious pain. No one knew the full extent of the dramatic injury and then a second collision occurred a short while later. These were the days before substitutes and City had been down to ten men the previous year. Bert knew that it had cost them the final, but the pain was excruciating.
City won the FA Cup and in the days that followed the full extent of Bert’s injury was revealed. It was claimed he had ‘broken’ his neck and that a slight knock could have killed him.
Bert’s home city of Bremen, Germany, is well worth a visit and his boyhood home is still standing. There is also a small square named after him, next to his first football club Tura Bremen – where he played as a midfielder! Significantly, the square uses the English version of his name, adding to the view that Trautmann did so much for Anglo-German relations.
Bert once told me “I was born in Germany but I grew up in Manchester”. Now his birth city recognises his significance to our city.
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 City’s record is:
| Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | 174 | 71 | 38 | 65 |
| FA Cup | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| League Cup | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| European | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
There have been lots of significant games in the League, FA Cup and League Cup. A League Cup final in 1976 saw them meet at Wembley when Peter Barnes and Dennis Tueart both scoring for the Blues.
Anyone remember being at Maine Road on the day City played away against Newcastle at Maine Road? That was in 1975. See:
101 years ago there was the last meeting at City’s famous old Hyde Road ground:
In 2012 a Newcastle v City game was crucial in the Blues’ title charge:
Elano’s wonder goal in 2007:
In 2021-22 there was a memorable City victory:
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:
When I was a teenager there was a second tier meeting that attracted a significant crowd for the period:
My Dad’s generation will remember the 1955 FA Cup final:
During 1956-57 there was a ‘game of the season’ in the FA Cup between the clubs:
My grandad’s generation would’ve remembered Billy Meredith’s last game:
Who remembers the title decider at Newcastle? Details:
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:
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:
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.
Roy Clarke Signs
On this day (23 May) in 1947 Roy Clarke signed for Manchester City. His debut came on 14 June when the Blues defeat Newport 5-1. Until the Covid affected seasons, this was the latest finish to a season for the Blues. It had been delayed due to poor weather causing postponements.
Years ago I wrote the Manchester City Hall of Fame book and as part of that I featured Roy. The game selected for his ‘most significant’ was the 1955 FA Cup semi final and subscribers can read that below.
City 1 Sunderland 0
FA Cup Semi-Final at Villa Park
26th March 1955
Goalscorer: Clarke
City Team: Trautmann, Meadows, Little, Barnes, Ewing, Paul, Fagan, Hayes, Revie, Johnstone, Clarke.
Attendance: 58,498
Subscribe to get access
If you would like to read this and all the in-depth articles on this site (including the entire Manchester A Football History book and the audio interviews with Malcolm Allison & John Bond) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time.
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.
Anyone at Maine Road on the day City played away against Newcastle at Maine Road? See:
100 years ago there was the last meeting at City’s famous old Hyde Road ground:
In 2012 a Newcastle v City game was crucial in the Blues’ title charge:
Elano’s wonder goal in 2007:
In 2021-22 there was a memorable City victory:
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:
When I was a teenager there was a second tier meeting that attracted a significant crowd for the period:
My Dad’s generation will remember the 1955 FA Cup final:
During 1956-57 there was a ‘game of the season’ in the FA Cup between the clubs:
My grandad’s generation would’ve remembered Billy Meredith’s last game:
Who remembers the title decider at Newcastle? Details:
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:
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:
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.
1955 Manchester City Photo
I like this colour team photo of Manchester City which was taken as part of the build-up to the 1955 FA Cup final between the Blues and Newcastle United. City lost that final – and at the time of writing it remains the last major domestic trophy won by the Geordies.
At least two of the men here later had involvement in women’s football with the Manchester Corinthians. Bert Trautmann acted as an ambassador for the pioneering women’s team later in the 1950s while Dave Ewing coached the team when it used City’s Platt Lane facilities in the late 1970s/early 1980s. You can find out more about the Corinthians here:
Maine Road 100 – Day 73
For post 73 of my Maine Rd 100 countdown I’ve posted this great newspaper cutting from a significant Manchester derby. The game was on 29th January in 1955 and goals from Joe Hayes and Don Revie gave Manchester City a 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the FAC in front of 74,723. I’ve posted it partly because of the game’s significance but mostly because I just love the way newspapers would try to explain everything via images and text like this.
If you’d like to know the story of the game and see some great footage of it too then please subscribe (see below).
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
If you take out a monthly subscription (£3 a month) you get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and can cancel anytime). if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time.
Subscribe to get access – Annual
If you would like to read this and the blog’s other in-depth, longer articles (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) then please subscribe below. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Annual subscribers get full access to the 1000+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.
Maine Road 100 – Day 47
For day 47 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game I’ve posted this photo from 1954. Lots changed at the stadium but a few things to look out for…
- The original Main Stand roof has an advert where the architect Charles Swain had envisaged the club’s name (who says commercialisation of football is a new thing?).
- The original floodlights can be seen (or at least one in the Platt lane corner). These were switched on for the first time in 1953
- The Players’ tunnel is still its original size before the seating in the directors box was brought forward above the tunnel.
Here’s an aerial photo of Maine Road from 1971 to help with understanding of what’s what and to compare. So this was only taken 17 years after the main image but so much changed. The main image was taken from the old Scoreboard End (somewhere close to number 10 but obviously from the old terracing) looking towards the Platt Lane. The old floodlight was behind number 4 and you can see the second set of lights there in the image below. The Maine Stand roof had obviously changed between these images.
If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:
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.
Gary James' Football Archive 