Matchday Memories: On This Day 1949 – CCFC’s Ted, ‘Spud’ & ‘Plum’ Make It Grim For Grimsby

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Les Warner

On this day (March 19th) in 1949 the ‘Bantams’ of Coventry City gave a footballing lesson to Grimsby Town. CCFC won 4-1 in front of a Highfield Road crowd of 22,260! They were 1-0 up at half-time.  This was ample revenge against the Mariners who had beaten the ‘Bantams’ by exactly the same score in Cleethorpes the previous October with Peter ‘Spud’ Murphy getting CCFC’s consolation goal three minutes from time!

Peter Murphy

The ‘Bantams’ manager at the start of this Division Two season, Billy Frith had given way to Harry Storer (in his second spell at the club) in November 1948. Frith himself came back to Highfield Road as gaffer from 1957-61 when, of course, the Jimmy Hill era began.

This was only the third proper season post World War Two when the Sky Blues finished successively eighth, tenth and sixteenth. The Bantams comprehensive win on this day became the seventh undefeated in a row at Highfield Road and left them twelfth in Division Two.

Ted Roberts

CCFC’s stalwart goalkeeper Alf Wood was playing his 200th consecutive game for the City but had to go off in the eightieth minute with a dislocated finger and utility full-back Harry Barratt had to deputise in goal for the last ten minutes!

The Bantams’ goals were scored by ‘Spud‘ early in the game, a brace of headers from Ted Roberts (57 & 70 mins) and one from Leslie ‘Plum’ Warner ten minutes before the end. The Mariners’ Stan Lloyd got their consolation in the 67th minute to give them a little hope at 2-1.

Harry Storer

The City team that day was:-

Alf Wood (c), Harry Barratt & Dick Mason; Jack Snape, George Mason (captain) & Noel Simpson; ‘Plum’ Warner, Jack Marsh, Ted Roberts, Peter ‘Spud’ Murphy & Norman Lockhart

C.W.Spencer‘s Men of the Mariners lined up as follows:-

Wilf Chisholm; Ken Moody & Fred Fisher; Tom McKenna, Ernie Forrest & Paddy Johnston, Jim McStay, John Shearer, Tommy Briggs, Stan Lloyd & George Hair   Referee:- B.J.Flanagan (Sheffield)

Alf Wood

Captain for the day, goalkeeper Alf Wood was a great club servant being a CCFC player from a junior between 1935-51 when he moved to Northampton Town and returning to Highfield Road as a player-coach from 1955 until he retired from the game in 1959 (and along with many other former ‘Bantams’ worked at Massey Ferguson in Coventry). In 1958 Alf responded to an injury crisis by donning the CCFC shirt at age 43 for twelve successive Division Four games (only losing two of them)! Ted is the father of a later Sky Blue centre forward (and CCFPA member) Dudley Roberts.As mentioned earlier, Coventry City subsided to sixteenth place in Division Two, just two points clear of the higher of the two relegated clubs, Nottingham Forest. Their fellow East Midlands side Lincoln City were bottom (22nd) a further seven points adrift. Our opponents today Grimsby Town were firmly mid table in eleventh.

Fulham (champions) and West Bromwich Albion got themselves promoted this season.

Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images.

 

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