Matchday Memories: On This Day 1962 – Sir Elton’s Sky Blue Uncle Stings The Hornets
Jimmy Hill CCFC Manager 1961-67
On this Monday night (March 12th) in 1962 the Coventry City Sky Blue era had already begun. It started when legendary manager Jimmy Hill took over from Billy Frith the previous November after CCFC had suffered an ignominious home defeat by non-league Kings Lynn in the Second Round of the F.A.Cup. This was very much a season of transition as JH‘s new ideas began to be introduced but many of the players of the old era were still being utilised. Today’s Division Three game at Highfield Road was against Watford and a smallish crowd of 7,233 had turned up to watch what turned out to be a pretty poor, error strewn game played on a patchy and very muddy pitch.
Roy in the early 60s
In the end the Sky Blues squeezed home against the Hornets by the only goal of the game scored in the 82 minute by centre-forward Roy Dwight who had been signed by JH the previous January from non-league Gravesend United. Roy headed a Mike Grice chip into an empty net after the Hornets’ ‘keeper Dave Underwood misjudged the ball.
Mike Grice
Roy (whose father, as it happened, was brother to Sir Elton John’s dad) was no callow youth but a seasoned professional with both Fulham and Nottingham Forest where he scored their winning goal at Wembley in the 1959 F.A.Cup Final before badly breaking his leg. Recuperation and loss of confidence saw him slip into non-league football and JH cannily brought him back to resurrect his career.
Roy took a while to find his scoring boots but got his debut goal in his sixth game and his second today. He finished with a decent return of seven goals in eighteen games (but faded in subsequent seasons before being sold to Millwall in January 1964).
JH fielded the following winning team against Watford (CCFPA members underlined):-
Arthur Lightening*, Frank Kletzenbauer*, Frank Austin*, Brian Nicholas*, George Curtis*, Mick Kearns, Mike Grice*, Ron Farmer*, Roy Dwight*, Bob Allen and Stuart Imlach*
Sadly, many (marked *) of this early sixties Sky Blue team have since passed away, including Roy. A number joined CCFPA before their demise. Survivor Mick has attended our events in the past and Bob, Ron and Brian attended quite a few Sky Blues home games at the Ricoh and St Andrews until COVID19 put a stop to supporters attendance at live games. Recently deceased and mourned ‘Iron Man’ George Curtis and John Sillett later managed the Sky Blues to F.A.Cup victory in 1987.
The defeated Hornets lined up:-
Dave Underwood, Bobby Bell, Ken Nicholas, George Catleugh, Vince McNeice, Tony Gregory, Andy Porter, Tommy Harmer, Sammy Chung, Roger Day and Bobby Brown Referee:- J.E.Cooke (Cambridge)
CCFC 1961-62
The newly christened Sky Blues had to be content with a fourteenth placed finish in Division Three this season before mounting a successful challenge on the Championship of this league two season’s later. Watford finished seventeenth in 1961-62. Portsmouth went up with second place Grimsby Town.
Torquay United, Lincoln City, Brentford and Newport County (bottom) were all relegated.
Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images.
