Matchday Memories: On This Day 1976 – Bryan’s Benefit Less Than Friendly At The Den!!
Bryan King’s Benefit (Millwall v CCFC) 1976
We were very pleased to see highly regarded former Sky Blues ‘keeper, and now CCFPA member, Bryan King (pictured below) at our Legends Day 2023 reunion this time last year (travelling over especially from his Norwegian home). He had previously been our ‘special guest’ for the first time last season at a Sky Blues game at the CBS Arena and has done us the honour again in this 2023-24 season.
Bryan originally came to Highfield Road from Millwall (where he bacame a legend) in August 1975 for £57k and pulled on the Sky Blue 27 times in two seasons after which a knee injury forced his retirement. Bryan received a benefit game on the last day of April 1976 when both his main clubs Coventry City and the Lions (with whom he played 339 games since signing from Chelmsford Town in 1967) played a testimonial friendly at the Den.
Bryan (right) at LD23 with former playing colleague & CCFC Legend Tommy Hutchison
An item a while back in CCFPA chairman Jim Brown‘s Sky Blues historical blog (click on Jim Brown’s Journal) reported an interesting personal reminiscence of this game which turned out to be not so ‘friendly’ in the end! Jim’s regular reader Ian Greaves reminded him that Bryan’s testimonial was ended prematurely!
David Cross in the Sky Blue
Some of the young fans in the 6,395 crowd got over-excited as newly promoted Millwall came from behind to beat the Sky Blues 2-1. David Cross had put the Sky Blues ahead only for Tony Hazell to equalise. Terry Shanahan got the Lions’ winner in the 78th minute. The crowd invaded the pitch after each goal and after the second incursion referee Derek Reeves pulled the players off the pitch!
The chosen Sky Blue squad is shown below (all bar Donato Nardiello, later to join this Association).:-
The Millwall team was as follows:-
Ray Goddard, Dave Donaldson, Jon Moore, Terry Brisley (sub. Steve Hamberger), Alan Dorney, Tony Hazell (sub.George Borg), Trevor Lee, John Seasman, Phil Summerill (sub. Peter McGillicuddy), Phil Walker (sub. Terry Shanahan) and Barry Salvage (sub. Green) Unused Substitute:– Nicky Johns (gk)
Sky Blue Bryan King
According to the programme there was also to be a friendly on the same night between a Jimmy Hill XI and a Lions XI including the likes of other well known London players Mervyn Day (gk), Alan Mullery, Trevor Brooking, Derek Possee, Keith Weller, Eamonn Dunphy, Len Julians and Barry Bridges as well as future Sky Blue Larry Lloyd (who has all too recently passed away).
The JH XI was composed of 1966 England World Cup ‘keeper Gordon Banks plus, among others, George Eastham, Bill McGarry, Alan Sealey, Theo Foley, CCFC staff Gordon Milne, Ron Wylie and George Curtis (all later CCFPA members) and TV personalities Richard O’Sullivan and ‘Diddy’ David Hamilton! We have no record of this contest, sadly!
Bryan King in the Sky Blue
Ian writes: ‘It was the Bryan King testimonial at the Old Den, Millwall on 30th April 1976. I was there with Dave Freeman and Lionel Bird. It was held on a Friday night, the day before the FA Cup Final. This was my only ever visit to that ground and what an awful place it was. Even for a testimonial game it was the most intimidating ground I ever visited.
Bryan King‘s career at City had been plagued by injury, ironic as he rarely missed a game in his nine-year career at Millwall. He started the game but was substituted after a token 20 minutes or so. There was a decent sized crowd and we even sat in the stand (courtesy of Ron Wylie*) but it was a scary atmosphere. When Millwall took the lead there was a pitch invasion which took time to clear. With about fifteen minutes left Millwall scored again with the same result. The referee gave up, took the players off, and there was a tannoy announcement that he had ended the game. It was utter mayhem and we were glad to get out in one piece.
The postscript to the game is that we had been invited to the players’ reception after the game at a pub in Bethnal Green. It went on into the early hours and some players of both teams were worse for wear. One of the revellers was Gordon Hill, who had left Millwall for Manchester United a year earlier and who was due to play at Wembley in the final against Southampton the following day. We were not surprised to see Hill turn in a lacklustre performance in the final, being substituted in the second half as United suffered a shock defeat to the Saints’.
This is a great story from Ian about Bryan’s testimonial. Bryan’s autobiography cleverly entitled ‘The Lions’ King’ was published at the end of November 2020 and was reviewed on this site then.
*Like Bryan, Ron also later became a CCFPA member but, sadly, Ron passed away in April 2020.
The Coventry Evening Telegraph’s take on the game
Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images.
