On this day (6 May) in 1944 the North Regional League (a wartime league) game between Manchester City victory and Bradford (Park Avenue) ended in a 2-1 City victory before 5,000 at Maine Road. The City scorers were Peter Doherty (photograph) and Billy Bootle. Together with Peter Doherty, notable players in the City team that day include: Frank Swift, Billy Walsh, Jack Bray, Les McDowall, Bert Sproston and Jimmy Heale.
This was the last game of the 1943-44 season for City.
You can read more on MCFC in the 1943-44 season below. The story of George Smith is included within this. George was the victim of friendly fire and his story is remarkable.
This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.
Tomorrow brings the 2025 FA Cup semi final between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest at Wembley – I’m always pleased that my team has reached Wembley but I do wish FA Cup semi finals were played at neutral League grounds instead! For many fans the timing and cost of a Wembley semi final are simply too much. Sadly, I don’t think they’ll ever change that now. Reaching the semi does give opportunity to remember past Wembley trips. A few years back I made this special audio recording talking about the years building up to the 2011 FA Cup semi and the day itself from a Manchester City perspective. Many of you have listened to this already but if you haven’t then it tells the story of the 2011 FA Cup semi final and the years between 1976 and that moment in 2011 for City.
I included audio from interviews I did with a variety of people including Khaldoon, Peter Swales, Garry Cook, Brain Marwood and many others.
If you have heard it before then maybe you should listen again to remind yourself of how we all felt and why that game was so significant.
I included a few words from Roberto Mancini recorded in 2011 and at one point he talks about the view that was then being expressed that City were ‘trying’ to buy success (now they say City ‘have’ bought success!). His words are a reminder that City have been having that particular criticism thrown at them for well over a decade! Oh well, I wonder how long those criticisms were laid at other clubs who had seen major investment which propelled them forward?
Anyway, get yourself a brew and be prepared to be transported back in time. Here’s the recording:
If you enjoy the recording then please let me know, comment or subscribe to the site. If you don’t fancy doing that then there’s also the option to make a welcome donation to keep this site going (see below). I’ve produced videos/talks like this highlighting key points in Manchester City’s footballing history which subscribers can watch too.
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.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year to subscribe (it works out £1.67 a month) or £3 if you’d like to sign up a month at a time. Annual subscribers get full access for as long as you subscribe (you can always try it for a month). It’s worth bearing in mind that the 2010 Manchester A Football History cost £24.95 and all subscribers will be able to access all of that for as long as they are a subscriber (plus all the other stuff of course).
It costs £3 a month to subscribe a month at a time. Why not give it a try! Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 for as long as you subscribe.
On this day (30 March) in 1956 Manchester City defeated Sunderland 3-0 before 40,394 at Roker Park. The City scorers were Joe Hayes and Don Revie (pictured with Ken Barnes and Johnny Williamson) plus an own goal. You can read more on this season below…
Here for subscribers is a 3,900 word article on the 1955-56 season when City won the FA Cup final (nowadays known as the Trautmann Final) and Bert Trautmann was FWA Footballer of the Year (presented in the days before the final). Enjoy!
You can read the article by subscribing below.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.
On this day (27 March) in 1926 the first all-Manchester FA Cup semi final occurred. You can see film of that game here and subscribers can read about the match below. Here’s the film from Bramall Lane:
Read everything on the site when you subscribe today. Monthly subscription is £3 per month (cancel anytime). Monthly subscribers access everything posted since 1 October 2022. Alternatively, sign up for a year at a time for the special discounted annual subscription of £20 for access to everything posted since the site’s creation in 2020.
On this day (17 March) in 1956 Manchester City defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the FA Cup semi final with a goal from Bobby Johnstone. The game was watched by 69,788 at Villa Park and you can watch film of it here:
Here for subscribers is a 3,900 word article on the 1955-56 season when City won the FA Cup final (nowadays known as the Trautmann Final) and Bert Trautmann was FWA Footballer of the Year (presented in the days before the final). Enjoy!
You can read the article by subscribing below.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.
The new series on Manchester City in the 1950s continues today with this 3,900 word article on the 1955-56 season when City won the FA Cup final (nowadays known as the Trautmann Final) and Bert Trautmann was FWA Footballer of the Year (presented in the days before the final). Enjoy!
This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Way back in 1911 Manchester City signed a player from Forfar Athletic with the name Valentine. He was born in May 1889, not 14 February as maybe some would expect. He joined City on 5 July 1911 but only made 22 first team appearances in defence before signing for Oldham Athletic on 31 May 1913 (£50 transfer fee). Sadly he only managed one League appearance at Oldham.
A year later he was on his way to Leeds City. War ultimately limited his opportunities and he later played for Southend in 1921 before joining Abertillery in July 1922.
When he signed for City he was expected to be a significant member of the team but it didn’t quite work out like that. His debut was against Oldham on 7 October 1911 and he did play in a goalless Manchester derby. I first wrote about him in The Pride of Manchester, the history of the Manchester derby I co-wrote with Steve Cawley.
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.
On this day (February 3) in 1990 Manchester City and Manchester United drew 1-1 at Old Trafford. The derby became remembered as the ‘Wellied It!’ derby. Here is the story of that day with quotes from an interview I did with Ian Brightwell a few years ago. He explains how the ‘Wellied It!’ phrase came about and why he said it. Enjoy….
Howard Kendall’s City arrived at Old Trafford for the return derby match on February 3 1990. So much had changed since September when Mel Machin’s City had defeated Alex Ferguson’s United 5-1 and so the game was always going to be a difficult one to call. As the Blues were now supposedly a better side it is true to say most City fans eagerly awaited this particular match. Disappointingly, United only gave City 600 seats and 4,500 terrace tickets, although even that was considerably more than in the years that followed. The eventual attendance was only 40,274 in a stadium holding a minimum of 48,000, as many disenchanted United fans stayed away.
Although there were noticeable gaps in the United sections, the paddock in front of the Main Stand appeared full of City supporters. They were later joined by Blues evacuated from the Stretford End and estimates from impartial observers suggested there were around 12,000 City fans in the 40,000 crowd.
The match was the 100th meeting in the First Division and commenced with City tearing into the Reds as they had in September. The Blues were actually two points better off than United in the League and the difference in position prompted City fans to chant “Fergie in” to annoy the home contingent… Football humour, hey?
Squandering some early chances, City looked the more composed overall but when Clarke missed a sitter some fans still muttered about Everton rejects (it had been a thing ever since Howard Kendall’s arrival and transfer of several former Evertonians to Maine Road). It wasn’t just the Evertonians who should have given City the lead; Ian Brightwell was also guilty of a shocking miss when, with Leighton off his line, the youngster feebly lobbed the ball wide. Don’t worry, he made up for it!
Against the run of play it was actually United who took the lead when Clayton Blackmore was gifted a free header. Fortunately, within five minutes Mark Ward found Brightwell who, from fully 25 yards out, blasted a stunning shot past Leighton for the equaliser. Afterwards the delighted player explained exactly how he’d scored by succinctly telling the media: “I just wellied it!” In May 2010 he remembered how the expression came about: “We totally outplayed them, but Clayton Blackmore scored even though we’d had most of the chances. I had a chance in the first half, but that’s a different story. Once they went a goal ahead you’d normally think it’s going to be difficult, but we still had a lot of chances and I felt we’d still do it. I remember that the ball was out on the right and Mark Ward sort of half-crossed it. It came to me and I’ll never forget this – I heard Steve Redmond on the half way line shout: “Bob…” I’d best not say his exact words, but let’s just say he wanted me to have a go in his strong scouse accent! It was on my left foot, which isn’t my strongest, but I did what Reddo said. It went in the top corner!
“I ran off and jumped about twenty feet in the air – or at least that’s how it looks on the photos. I remember the noise because back then the away fans used to get about 10,000 tickets at Old Trafford and it was phenomenal.
“When we came to do the post-match TV interview I was asked the usual stuff and then was asked about the goal. So I told him what I just told you, being careful not to say what Reddo actually shouted! Just as I was doing it, someone walked past and we had to do the interview again. But then the same happened again. So we had to do it a third time. By this point I thought I had to say it in a different way – inexperience I guess. I didn’t need to, but I ended up saying: ‘the ball came out to me and I just wellied it!’ It’s true I did, but now it’s the phrase that people remember. It summed it up nicely, but it wasn’t what I’d meant to say.”
The match should have brought a City victory, but everyone seemed satisfied with a point. You can watch highlights of the game here:
This is a free taster of the content on my website. If you have enjoyed it why not subscribe? It costs £20 a year (£1.67 per month) or £3 per month if paying a month at a time. You can always sign up for a month and see what you think.
There’s more on the entire 1989-90 season in this article for subscribers for example:
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate of £20 per year.
There are a few events lined up where I’ll be talking about the Corinthians. These are free to attend (details below) and tonight (31 January) I’ll be on Lewis Connell’s sport show on Tameside Radio too. That’s on at 7pm (link below). Thanks to Lewis for the invite. He’s been a key supporter of the Corinthians project over the last few years.
Wednesday 12 February 2pm at Tameside Library, Ashton under Lyne
Thursday 27 February (evening) at the West Yorkshire branch of the MCFC Supporters Club
Wednesday 5 March – 5.30pm (general) at Manchester Central Library
Watch this space for further details soon.
There will also be talks with schools and other groups soon. If you’d like me to talk at your library, group or school then please get in touch.
The book is now beginning to appear at bookshops. Amazon now say they have copies if you want to buy it from them. You can also buy copies direct from me.
The book consists of 356 pages. It is illustrated throughout and you can order it below for £25 (including UK postage and packaging).
If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.
You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account
UK ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This will be published in late December 2024. This is UK only at £25 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.
£25.00
To get a feel for the Corinthians’ story and the book you can watch an 18 minute video put together by Imprint Films here:
If you’ve issues watching the video there (youtube may ask you to sign in) you can also watch it here (click on the ‘Watch on Youtube’, bottom left if your link doesn’t work):
I’d like to say my heartfelt thanks to Manchester City for their help and for inviting the Corinthians. I’s also like to thank all at Imprint Films for doing the video. In the spirit of Percy Ashley himself, they have funded the production of this video themselves and have the desire to see the Corinthians story spread widely. This is, of course, something I totally believe in myself. We need to spread this story and let the entire world know about the Corinthians.
Please share the video and, while you’re at it, spread the news about the book too. Both are self funded and we need help to spread the word.
I missed this yesterday but another Manchester footballing figure has died. Manchester United’s record-breaking former goalkeeper David Gaskell, has died aged 84. Gaskell was just 16 years and 19 days old when he came on for United, following an injury to first-choice keeper Ray Wood. The game was the first ever Manchester derby in the Charity Shield, played at Maine Rd in October 1956. He remains the record for the youngest player to make their debut for United.
He kept a clean sheet and United won the Shield match 1-0.
My thoughts are with Gaskell’s family and friends.
Here’s a report of the 1956 Charity Shield. Note they say Gaskell is 15 not his actual age, but he made history that day not just as United’s youngest player. He was also the first substitute in a Manchester derby. Substitutions were not allowed in competitive football but as this was a charity game and Wood could not continue in nets both teams agreed.
Gary James' Football Archive 