Tag Archives: Ken Barnes

Guess Manchester City’s FA Cup Final Shirts: The Answer And More

Yesterday I posted images of early Manchester City FA Cup final shirts and asked ‘which shirts are from which finals’ with a bonus question of ‘can anyone work out the players’ who wore these (no searching on t’internet for matching player numbers please!).’ So here are the answers and further details on these players/shirts.

The shirts and players who wore them are:

4, pale blue, top right – Ken Barnes 1955 FA Cup Final

Unnumbered maroon, top middle – Ernie Toseland 1934 FA Cup Final

5, shiny blue, top right – Paul Power 1981 FA Cup Final

4, maroon & white, bottom left – Ken Barnes 1956 FA Cup Final

Cornflower blue, bottom middle – Sam Cookson 1926 FA Cup Final

8, red/black, bottom right – Colin Bell 1969 FA Cup Final

Notice the two balls on the photographs? They are the 1956 FAC Final ball and the 1969 FAC final ball. All shirts and balls were on loan to the Manchester City Experience (the original club museum set up in 2003) as part of our exhibition.

I’ve got further images and more information on these shirts below but first it’s worth talking about the only City FA Cup final shirts missing when we did this exhibition in the mid 2000s (obviously City have reached multiple FA Cup finals since that time) being 1904 and 1933. We simply could not track down shirts from either final, though we kept getting close to borrowing a scarlet shirt from the 1933 final. We put the shirts together and I took these photos of them.

Here’s a contemporary photo of the 1904 FA Cup final shirt. The player here is James McMahon.

James McMahon wearing his 1904 FA Cup final shirt

The 1933 FA Cup final was the first final to feature numbered shirts (Everton wore 1-11, City 12-22) and City’s shirts were usually described as being scarlet. City had word what they called ‘Lucky Scarlet’ a few times in the previous decade, though it never quite seemed that lucky! Here’s a contemporary image of the 1933 FA Cup final shirt back, worn by Matt Busby, showing the numbering used.

Matt Busby in the 1933 FA Cup Final

The oldest shirt we had on display was Sam Cookson’s 1926 FA Cup final shirt and here’s a close up of the Manchester coat of arms worn on that shirt. This was the first time City had worn the coat of arms in a final (City didn’t wear any emblem in 1904):

Notice the shade of blue too. It’s a darker blue than City were known to wear and was known as cornflower blue at the time. It was a special colour for the final against Bolton. Someone at City must have remembered (or maybe it was the FA) that there had been some comments in 1904 that City’s blue and Bolton’s white were too close in colour. I’ve always found that a bit odd but I guess City didn’t want to take any chances when the two sides met again in 1926.

The 1933 final was scarlet as mentioned earlier and the players wore numbers for the first time but in 1934 numbers were not worn. Personally I’d have thought they’d keep up the idea but maybe someone somewhere moaned about these new fangled ideas like wearing numbers in a similar way to how some moaned when squad numbers were introduced and player names were added. Here’s a close up of Ernie Toseland’s 1934 shirt badge. The shirt was described as maroon and the shorts were revolutionary…. We had an expert from Umbro come to visit and he looked at the shorts (we had Toseland’s full kit on display) and was delighted to see an exclusive design. They contained a diamond shaped piece of fabric stitched in and he told me that this was a pair of Umbro’s ‘crotch resistant’ shorts. He explained more, but whether they gave benefit is open to question.

Here’s Ken Barnes’ 1955 emblem. A more traditional blue but it’s interesting that the away colour of maroon makes its way on to the emblem. I wonder if they thought City would wear maroon at some point when the sew on patch was created?

In 1956 the emblem colour was red with yellow edging (to match the numbers on the back). People often try to suggest yellow is not a traditional City colour but it has been used on plenty of kits, including the numbering in 1956 and as the main colour of the away shirt in 1959-60.

Here’s Colin Bell’s 1969 FA Cup final shirt in front of the old honours board. I believe this honours board is still held in City’s archive somewhere. Maybe we should dig it out and update it. I may post another feature on the board itself another day – people think it’s as old as Maine Road but Bernard Halford had it made in the mid 1970s, just after the League Cup win if my memory is working today!

Here’s the special emblem to mark the 100th FA Cup Final. People get confused about this cup final with some saying it was the Centenary Cup Final (as the emblem does!) or the 100th FA Cup Final. The FA were quite clear at the time – the 1972 FA Cup Final was the Centenary Cup Final (marking 100 years since the FA Cup was established) and 1981 was the 100th FA Cup Final. So City or Umbro got this wrong and if you look at the First Day Cover (below) or any of the match programmes, souvenirs etc. you’ll see they created a special 100th cup final emblem.

I’ve done a lot of research on City’s kits over the decades. There’s lots of comments on them in my books, especially Manchester The Greatest City, Farewell To Maine Road and my City Folklore book. There are also other features across this website. Some only for subscribers and some for all. Why not subscribe (see below) and read all the content on this site? You can subscribe for a month at £3 per month or sign up for a year at £20. Why not try it for a month?

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The 1950s: The 1956 FA Cup Final

70 years ago today (5 May 1956) Manchester City defeated Birmingham City 3-1 in the FA Cup final with goals from Bobby Johnstone, Jack Dyson and Joe Hayes. The final became known for Bert Trautmann’s exploits and during the night I was on Talksport about 2am talking with Paul Ross about Bert’s life. I also, briefly, mentioned Bert’s role with the Manchester Corinthians. You can listen here (my part starts around 1 hour 17 minutes into the show):

https://talksport.com/play/talksport/catchup/20260505-24517

Subscribers can read more on the 1955-56 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.

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The 1950s: The 1956 FA Cup Semi Final

70 years ago today (17 March 1956) Manchester City defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the FA Cup 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:

https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/60611/

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.

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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.

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The 1950s: An 8-4 Defeat for Manchester City!

Today (22 February) in 1958 saw a remarkable game where Manchester City’s Bobby Johnstone scored in the third minute but the Manchester Blues lost 8-4 to Leicester City. This is a simple report from that game. Were you there? I’d love to hear your memories of that strange day. Note the Arsenal-Tottenham match ended 4-4 – another strange result for a London Derby. To find out more on this period in football then why not read my series on Manchester City in the 1950s. Here’s a 2,200 word article on the 1957-58 season. Enjoy!

This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.

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The 1950s: Stanley Matthews’ 250th Blackpool League Game (A MCFC Victory)

Seventy years ago today (4 February 1956) Stanley Matthews made his 250th league appearance for Blackpool on a snow covered Bloomfield Road ground. In treacherous conditions Manchester City defeated the home team 1-0 with a goal from Roy Faulkner. Interestingly Faulkner only ever made 7 first team appearances for City but scored 4 goals. This match report highlights Faulkner’s contribution. Notice also the mention of Joe Mercer’s early managerial career (Sheffield United match report).

You can read more on Manchester City in the 1950s 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.

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John Stapleton – 2014 Interview

Back in August 2014 I interviewed John Stapleton on his career and support of Manchester City. As part of my tribute to him, I’m posting it here as it was published eleven years ago. Hopefully it adds to the positive stories of him that have been appearing over the last few days. I always enjoyed meeting and chatting with John. Here’s the feature as published in August 2014:

John, you’re known today for ITV’s Good Morning Britain but your career started in local newspapers, with your early TV work coming on This Is Your Life. It was your idea to make Joe Mercer a subject for one show wasn’t it?

Yes it was. I did it purely for the benefit of me and my dad.  Eamon Andrews, the presenter, had of course a great interest in sport and I put the idea to him and the rest of the production team.  Together with Norah, Joe’s wife who in recent years I often sat with at games sharing her boiled sweets, we concocted a situation where Joe and Malcolm were in a London hotel before a trip to watch a European game in 1970. Malcolm disappeared – deliberately as part of the show though Joe didn’t know this – and Joe was called to reception urgently.  Eamon leaped out to do the big ‘This Is Your Life’ reveal and Joe had no idea whatsoever. It was a great day for us all and Joe was thoroughly deserving of it as well.

More on that special ‘This Is Your Life’ here: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2023/03/25/this-is-your-life-joe-mercer/

This is Your Life Joe Mercer 1970 MCFC squad

How did you first become interested in City?

My grandfather, who lived in Denton, was at the first game at Maine Road and attended matches at Hyde Road and now my son Nick is a regular, so we’ve had a good four generations of Blues so far.  When I was about 7 I was taken to watch City play Blackpool, in the days when Stanley Matthews played for them of course, and I loved simply being at the ground.  It felt like home and that was it really.  I was hooked.  We used to have to go on two buses and a tram to get there from where we lived in Saddleworth – it seemed such a long journey at the time, but it was always worth it. No matter what the result.

Can you remember who your first heroes were?

Well, my dad went to the 1955 FA Cup final and then the year after we watched the final against Birmingham on our television.  So exciting, because televisions were new to most of us back then and to be able to live the drama of the game, and of course Bert Trautmann’s injury, live in your own home was amazing really.  The world’s moved on so much, but the black & white set felt so modern at the time.  It was then that my first real hero emerged – Dave Ewing.  A wonderful, uncompromising defender and I remember him protecting Bert in those final minutes as best he could.

Did you ever meet Dave?

Sadly, no, but I did meet his son. I left Manchester when I was 21 to work in Fleet Street and so opportunities to bump into your heroes were few. I was also less able to get back to Manchester as often as I do now, and so I watched City in the south and travelled back as often as work and finance allowed.  I have since met quite a few of my heroes from that period, people like Ken Barnes and of course his son Peter. Two great City legends. Ken was a wonderful rascal and very funny and Peter is a really nice guy. I’ve also got to know Mike Summerbee quite well – and bought several of his shirts over the years and they weren’t cheap!  He came to our house a few years back and charmed my parents.  For my father it was great to be in his company and I think we all cherished that day. Even my lawyer was talked in to buying some of Summerbee’s shirts.

How do you feel about attending games today?

It’s an absolute joy and the fan in me never goes away.  For my son, living in London and under so much pressure from his peers to support Arsenal, the years before the takeover were difficult.  Those that had experienced the glories of the fifties to seventies had good memories of success, but the younger generation who had never seen us lift a major trophy must have found it tough.  But it was all character building and fortunately he can now experience the success that this club deserves.  It means more if you’ve been through the thick and thin – and he certainly experienced the thin alongside me!

Alongside the Mercer-Allison era, today is the best we’ve ever known and, hopefully, will keep on getting better.  We’ve waited a long time but it’s been worth it.  I’ve no complaints about any aspect of City today and the club is as friendly as ever, if not more so in some respects. It gives me a real buzz every time I walk into the stadium, or meet a former player, or chat to a fellow Blue like you Gary.  We all have a shared bond and recognise that what we’re experiencing now is truly exceptional – long may it last!

In the mid 1970s you came in to contact with City professionally via the Junior Blues rally.  What do you remember of it?

It was held at Belle Vue and there were thousands of Junior Blues there. It was a great event and we had the full team on the stage, giving fans the chance to ask questions to the team and the management. Peter Swales had asked me to present it – for free I might add but it was a major honour to do it – and it was probably the first time any club had opened up in such a way. City were quite forward thinking in terms of the media and fan relations at the time. I was also involved with the BBC Nationwide series on City.

That was another landmark moment in football’s relationship with the media. What was your involvement?

I was a Nationwide presenter and we’d managed to get City to open their doors for the cameras. Reporter Kevin Cosgrove did most of the progress reports and I came in at the end of the series to do a big outside broadcast on the last day of the season. I did some pre-recorded interviews, including one with Franny Lee, and then I did all the links at the ground. It went out to the full BBC network and was very good for the club and, of course, the BBC.

There’s a chant “City Are Back!” we’ve been singing for years, but I now feel that the club I first supported is back. Is this true for you?

In many ways yes.  I’ve been a good friend of present day FA boss Greg Dyke for years as we’ve worked together in TV. He was given a tour of the club and the new facilities by Brian Marwood and he told me that this really is a friendly and forward looking club. He was very impressed and it’s satisfying to know others are now recognising how special this club is.

Those facilities will help City develop talented young players in future years. It’s ironic really that people have been urging certain other clubs to spend, spend, spend recently, but we’ve been the ones tagged as the big spenders.

That’s going away now I believe. The evidence is clear and we had to spend to catch up, just like other teams have throughout history. We should never forget either that two of our greatest and most consistent players – Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta – arrived before the takeover.  Kompany is a truly great leader and I’ve been fortunate to meet him and he is also a wonderful man.  He is the perfect captain for this club, but we’re so fortunate to have so many brilliant players. Just think of David Silva… outstanding quality!

You’ve worked with Manchester United supporter Eamon Holmes in the past, did the two of you ever discuss football?

We’ve had some good banter over the years.  Good craic!  In fact I took him to two games.  The first was when Beckham scored from a free kick at Maine Road. Eamon jumped up in the directors’ box and you can imagine how that went down.  The second time he was booed into the ground by City fans!

Your own personal greatest game?

Obviously, the last game v QPR in 2011-12, but also the 6-1 against United at Old Trafford.  I turned to Nick my son and said ‘savour this moment. No matter how long you live you’re unlikely to experience this feeling again.’  And of course, there’s the 1999 play-off final without which we may never have come back at all. What a transformation in 15 years – hopefully, there’s more to come.

Opening of the Gilford, County Down MCFC Supporters Club

Here’s a cutting from 23 June 1978 reporting on the official opening of the Gilford branch of the Manchester City Supporters Club by Ken Barnes and Ian Niven. From my notes I understand the branch is now the oldest affiliated MCFC supporters club branch in Northern Ireland but I’m happy to be corrected if that’s not the case. Is there anybody mentioned in the article or on the photograph still involved with the supporters club? Feel free to let me know.

The 1950s: John McTavish

On 3 March this year (2025) the former Manchester City centre-half John McTavish died at the age of 93. Here’s a brief profile of him to give some background on the player.

Height: 5’10.5″   Weight: 11st.7lbs.

Born in Glasgow on 2 February 1932

John joined Manchester City on 12 June 1952 at the age of twenty after spells with Bathgate Thistle and Dalry Thistle in Scotland. Known as a solid and reliable player John was given his first team debut at Middlesbrough on 21 November 1953. For that game he played as City’s right half, allowing Don Revie to move into the forward line. John retained his place pretty well throughout the rest of the season.

The following season saw the introduction of the “Revie Plan”, with John part of the initial team, away at Preston. Unfortunately, City were defeated 5-0 and John was dropped for the next game in favour of Ken Barnes. Barnes was viewed by players of the period as the main reason the plan had succeeded in the reserves, and so his selection helped transform the club’s fortunes that season. It was a shame for John, who then found opportunities became limited.  

John became regarded as a reserve player, before he was transferred to St Mirren in November 1960 as part of a deal that saw Gerry Baker arriving at Maine Road. He stayed at St Mirren for five years (91 League games, 2 goals) before spending six months with Stranraer.

Away from football John found a new career as a manufacturer’s agent in children’s fashion.

City appearances: FL:93 apps & FAC: 3 apps. Total 96 apps.

City Reserve appearances: 196 apps. 5 goals.

Other City appearances: 26+1 apps. 1 goal.

You can read more on John’s debut season of 1953-54 below. This 1,700 word article on the 1953-54 season is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.

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The 1950s: The 1956 FA Cup Semi Final

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:

https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/60611/

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.

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The 1950s: The 1958-59 Season

The new series on Manchester City in the 1950s continues today with this 1,500 word article on the 1958-59 season. Enjoy!

This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.

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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.

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