@ken. Keep them coming when you feel up to it Ken, as they are a great read and I for one like learning about players before my time and to reminisce about players I remember from my younger days, Gordon Jones, Bill Gates, Willie Maddren, Eric McMordie, Stuart Boam, Frank Spraggon to name but a few.
I have been amazed to learn about how successful some former players have been outside the game.
Thanks for all your hard work and take care not to over do it. 😎
I recorded the National League Quarterfinal playoff match this afternoon whilst watching the Rugby League and watched it this evening and what an exciting match it was with Notts County twice coming from behind to beat their near neighbours Chesterfield 3-2 with the winner coming well in
I recorded the National League Quarterfinal playoff match this afternoon whilst watching the Rugby League and watched it this evening and what an exciting match it was with Notts County twice coming from behind to beat their near neighbours Chesterfield 3-2 with the winner coming well into added time. I hope Pools match against Bromley is as exciting with a home win also.
@ken. Keep them coming when you feel up to it Ken, as they are a great read and I for one like learning about players before my time and to reminisce about players I remember from my younger days, Gordon Jones, Bill Gates, Willie Maddren, Eric McMordie, Stuart Boam, Frank Spraggon to name but a few.
I have been amazed to learn about how successful some former players have been outside the game.
Thanks for all your hard work and take care not to over do it. 😎
Thats the same side as when I was a lad, you must have stood next to me in the boys end.
@allan-in-bahrain. Could well of done albeit I have to admit that I did climb over the wall on a few occasions before I became a resident on the Holgate! 😎
ALAN NIGEL KERNAGHAN 1985/93
Alan Kernaghan was born in Otley, West Yorkshire in 1967 although his family moved to Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland when he was only 4 years old. He played 6 times for Northern Ireland as a schoolboy before signing apprenticeship forms for Boro in 1985 and made his first team debut at home to Huddersfield in a 2-2 draw in February of that same year making 8 appearances and scoring the only goal in the 1-0 home win against Sheffield United a month later. The following season he usually made his rare appearances from the substitutes bench as a defender. That of course was the season when Boro were relegated and went into liquidation. In the 1987/88 season he scored 7 goals one of which was during extra time as Boro held First Division Everton to a 2-2 draw at home in an FA Cup replay. In the First Division the following season he became a valuable member of the first team squad although Boro suffered relegation. After a winless run of 9 matches Boro experimented by selecting Kernaghan as a striker at Blackburn in November, and he scored a first half hat trick as Boro won 4-2, but he soon reverted to defence where he played in the final match of the season when Boro beat Newcastle United 4-2 to avoid successive relegations. In 1991 Kernaghan was sent out on loan to Charlton Athletic whose manager Lennie Lawrence wanted to sign him permanently, but when Boro manager Colin Todd surprisingly left in the summer of 1991, and was replaced by Lawrence, Kernaghan returned from his loan spell and remained at Boro ofor a couple of more seasons taking his total number of appearances up to 268 including 53 as a substitute whilst scoring 22 goals.
When Manchester City offered £1.6M for Kernaghan in the summer it was too good to turn down, although not such a good deal for the Sky Blues as he made only 63 appearances for them and was sent out on loan spells to Bolton Wanderers, Bradford City and St Johnstone before signing permanently for the Perthshire club and making 60 appearances. Then came a succession of clubs including Clyde where he became player/manager, Livingston as player/assistant manager for whom he played 63 times, Falkirk as player/coach, and Dundee where he was appointed manager. In 2012 he took up a coaching job with Glasgow Rangers, the first ever former Republic of Ireland player to hold such a position, although that post only lasted a few months before he joined the coaching staff at Brentford. Three years later he became manager of Glentoran, but after they lost 2-3 to struggling Annagh United in a League Cup tie he tendered his resignation.
Earlier in his career Alan Kernaghan had hoped to play international football for Northern Ireland, but their policy was to allow only direct parentage to qualify for selection, but the Republic of Ireland selectors were less stringent, and as Alan’s grandmother was an Irish citizen he qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland, so Jack Charlton was quick to select him as a member of his squad where he was capped 22 times as well as playing in the 1994 World Cup. Including all the clubs Alan Kernaghan played for, his number of appearances totalled 457 includes those as a substitute.
ROBERT DENHOLM BAXTER 1931/39
Bob Baxter was born in Gilmerton, Edinburgh in 1911 and started playing football as an inside left for Musselburgh Bauntonians and was discovered by Peter McWilliam the Boro manager at the time, and was persuaded to sign for Boro in 1931. He made his debut in October 1932 away to Birmingham City in a 4-1 victory and scored his first goal for Boro at Blackburn on Christmas Eve finishing with 6 goals in his first season. However when Wilf Gillow succeeded McWilliam as manager two years later he decided that Baxter would make an ideal centre half and for the 1937/38 season appoint
ROBERT DENHOLM BAXTER 1931/39
Bob Baxter was born in Gilmerton, Edinburgh in 1911 and started playing football as an inside left for Musselburgh Bauntonians and was discovered by Peter McWilliam the Boro manager at the time, and was persuaded to sign for Boro in 1931. He made his debut in October 1932 away to Birmingham City in a 4-1 victory and scored his first goal for Boro at Blackburn on Christmas Eve finishing with 6 goals in his first season. However when Wilf Gillow succeeded McWilliam as manager two years later he decided that Baxter would make an ideal centre half and for the 1937/38 season appointed him as captain. This proved to be a masterstroke as Boro never finished outside the top five in the the three years prior to the war.
ROBERT DENHOLM BAXTER 1931/39
Continuing the story of Bob Baxter, he was an inspirational captain and the quintessential centre half back of his time, clean shaven, squared jaw, sunken eyed, with black slicked down hair, and well respected by his colleagues although with a penchant for dribbling opponents in his own penalty area rather than clearing the ball to row Z. There was also a code of conduct in those days that junior first team players addressed the senior players by ‘Mister’ and all players addressed the captain as ‘Sir’. On one occasion though Wilf Mannion called Baxter by his christian name and was promptly thrown fully clothed by a couple of senior players into a bath of cold water. This was not the usual horseplay that might take place today, but a reminder that the captain was boss and any disrespect of his status would not be tolerated. George Hardwick in his memoirs idolised Baxter and stated that it was an honour to clean Baxter’s boots, and said that Baxter was the greatest Boro captain of all time. However Bob Baxter had a sense of humour and would occasionally mimic some of his colleagues eccentricities. It was very rare when Peter McWilliam was manager that he did any coaching or gave the players any tactics or pep talks; indeed the captain had the responsibility for tactics, and training usual consisted of running round the pitch. In fact McWilliam rarely watched the match being played at all but often stayed in the dressing room. Wilf Mannion confirmed in his memoirs that the Boro players rarely saw a football between matches, the theory being that by matchdays Boro would be gasping for the football by the time matchday arrived.
Bob Baxter’s last competitive match was the final league match of the 1938/39 season although he did play in the three matches against Aston Villa, Liverpool and Stoke City in September 1939 which were declared null and void after war was declared. His actual final match for Boro was in a 3-3 friendly match against Newcastle played at Falkirk. He won 3 international caps for Scotland whilst a Boro player, and made 266 appearances for Boro scoring 20 goals. He signed for Heart of Midlothian but only for one season before becoming a coal miner during which he played several times for the Jam Tarts and Hibernians, once in October 1941 against Boro for Hibs in a friendly match which Boro on 3-2. In 1947 he became manager of Leith Athletic and Cowdenbeath four years later. He later became joint manager of Edinburgh Monarchs Speedway club whilst also forming his own dance band in Cowdenbeath.
Later he returned to Teesside where he was a member of Eaglescliffe Golf Club often playing with his schoolboy grandson, who appeared on Roy Castle’s BBC show ‘Record Breakers’ show for holing his tee shot whilst playing with his grandfather. Bob Baxter was one of the biggest legends of Boro’s history, and died in Middleton St George, County Durham in 1991 aged 80.
Apologies for the split blogs of this article, but my iPad is occasionally jumping about lately and I’m not sure what causes it and may need to ring Apple Support to solve the problem.
JAMES ADAMSON MATHIESON 1926/32
John Mathieson was born in Methil, Levenmouth, Scotland in 1904 and worked down the coalmines whilst playing part time for Dubbleside Hearts and Colinsburgh United before getting his big chance as a goalkeeper with Patrick Thistle in 1922 but after a year he signed a three year contract with Raith Rovers for whom he made 98 appearances. He then signed for Boro making his debut in the first match of the season in a 0-3 defeat at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea. He then conceded 4 more goals in the next 2 matches against Southampton and Preston before keeping a clean sheet in his fourth match in a goalless draw at South Shields as Boro started the season disastrously and bottom of the Second Division. However this was the season when Boro scored 122 goals still a record for the Second tier of English football with George Camsell scoring 59 goals. Nevertheless Mathieson played in every match and conceded 66 goals in his 45 appearances. In all in his 264 appearances for Boro he conceded 542 goals which was over 2 goals every match, quite a high average by today’s standards although one must take into consideration that over 75% of his appearances were in the First Division. His last match for Boro was in early November 1932 at Derby where Boro lost 0-3.
Mathieson was then transferred to Brentford where he made 130 appearances and helped the Bees to become Champions of the Second Division and thus the only player to ever win three Second Division Championship medals, and also to help Brentford reach the First Division for the first time, and stun English football by finishing 5th in their first season there. He returned to Scotland in 1938 to play for Queen of the South for a couple of seasons to bring his total appearances up to 534 but died in 1950 aged only 45.
MARK GERARD PROCTOR 1978/81 & 1989/93
Mark Proctor was born in Middlesbrough in 1961 and signed with Boro as a schoolboy, progressing through the youth set up, and made his first team debut as a 17 year old at St Andrew’s in a 3-1 top flight victory against Birmingham City in August 1978, and by the completion of an excellent season had made 37 appearances and scored 9 goals from midfield, his first goal coming in December in a 7-2 thrashing of Chelsea as Boro finished 12th that season. He earned 4 caps for England at Under 18 level, by the end of his third season he had made over 100 appearances and played for England’s Under 23 side, and during the summer break had signed for Nottingham Forest firstly on loan, and then permanently with Brian Clough having paid £440,000 for his services. He made 63 appearances with Forest before moving on to Sunderland for 4 years making another 117 starts and scoring 20 goals, but when the Black Cats were relegated he moved on to Sheffield Wednesday in September for a fee of £275,000. Two years later in 1989 Bruce Rioch brought Mark back to Boro on transfer deadline day for £300,000, although he was unable to prevent Boro from being relegated. His final game for Boro was as a second half substitute in a 0-2 defeat away to Sheffield United during a slump of only 4 wins from 29 matches as Boro were eventually relegated. He had made a total of 263 appearances for Boro jincluding 26 as a substitute and has scored 20 goals after which he played a few games for Tranmere Rovers, South Shields and Hartlepools.
Mark Proctor then returned to Boro as the Youth team coach, and successfully led them to successive Youth Cup Finals in 2003 losing to Manchester United 1-3 on aggregate, but beating Aston Villa over two legs in 2004. He then became reserve team manager at Boro, and then assistant manager at Darlington and then Hibernian to Tony Mowbray, also briefly being head coach following Mogga’s departure. After becoming manager of Livingston he returned to Teesside in 2008 to take over as coach to Boro’s Under 18s side, before later teaming up with Mowbray again on first team duties before they both left the club in 2013.
ROBERT GEOFFREY WALKER 1946/55
Always known as Geoff Walker, he was a left winger born in Bradford in 1926 and during the last two years of the Second World War played for Bradford Park Avenue who nowadays play in the National Conference League North, a far cry from the club who along with their near neighbours Bradford City were a First Division club in the years before and after the First World War. Of course Geoff was only playing for the Green Army’s Youth team when Boro manager David Jack signed him in 1946 on professional terms, and Walker made his debut in the first league match in the season after the Second World War at Villa Park which Boro won 1-0. Boro started the season well with three wins, winning at Liverpool four days later with another 1-0 win before beating Stoke City next 5-4 at home with only goal average determining their not being top of the League after the first 3 matches. Geoff Walker scored his first league goals for Boro with a brace at home to Huddersfield in a 4-1 win in late October. He scored 9 times in his first season, the most significant one being in the FA Cup Quarterfinal tie at home to Second Division Burnley just before half-time. This was in front of a record crowd of 53,025 with some 5,000 fans locked outside. Boro’s Chief Constable tried to placate the fans, many from Lancashire, as he gave a running report of the match through the main gates to the fans in freezing conditions. However the match finished in controversial circumstances as Burnley’s inside forward Billy Morris equalised in the closing minutes whilst lying on the ground and appearing to use his hand in scoring. However it was fortunate that nobody was killed, so congested was the crowd inside the ground. Of course Boro lost the replay and Walker missed the next League match at home to Wolves, the only match he missed all season.
That was the era when every Boro schoolboy could recite the Boro team - Goodfellow: Robinson, Hardwick: Bell, Whitaker, Gordon: Spuhler, McCormack, Fenton, Mannion, Walker, often before they learned their multiplication tables. Boro were relegated along with Liverpool in 1954 and Geoff Walker played his last match for Boro in the following September and also scored in the 2nd minute away to Ipswich as Boro led at half time, only to concede six goals in the second half and lose 1-6. Walker had scored 53 goals in 259 appearances for Boro, not a bad return for a winger. He then scored a further 10 goals in 77 appearances for Doncaster Rovers staying with the Dons for almost 3 years, then played a couple of matches for Bradford City followed by a few appearances for Clacton and Chelmsford in Essex where he died in 1997 aged 70.
GARY ANTHONY PARKINSON 1986/93
Gary Parkinson was born in Thornaby in January 1968, but started his career as a junior with Everton as a 17 year old though never playing for the first team. It was Bruce Rioch that signed him for Boro a year later in the early part of 1986 before the club went into administration. Gary made his debut for Boro at the Victoria Ground, Hartlepool in August of that season along with Alan Kernaghan and Lee Turnbull, the latter only for the final three minutes as a substitute, as Boro started the season on the long road back to normality with a 2-2 draw against Port Vale. Indeed Gary was one of only five players along with Stephen Pears, Colin Cooper, Tony Mowbray and Bernie Slaven who played in all 58 matches that season. He was one of the peroxide-haired quartet that formed the team that won successive promotions to the First Division and their first Wembley appearance in the Zenith Data Systems Cup Final, although Tony Mowbray was too injured to play but was given the honour of leading the team out on to the hallowed turf. However Parkinson missed much of the 1990/91 season through injuries and after having been sent out on loan to Southend United where he made 6 appearances for the Shrimpers, he returned to Boro making his final appearance as a substitute against Nottingham Forest in February 1993. His total statistics for Boro were 258 appearances including 8 as a substitute and scoring 5 goals.
He was then signed by Bolton Wanderers later that year but only made 3 appearances, but then continued his career in Lancashire firstly with Burnley where he made 135 appearances and scored the winning goal against Stockport County in the 1994 Division 2 Playoff Final, but tore his hamstring against Shrewsbury in November 1995 and was sidelined until the new year. In 1997 he was transferred to Preston for £50,000 and made another 88 appearances for the Lilywhites although he suffered a cruciate ligament injury which took him a year to recover from although he did total 88 appearances. His final clubs were Stalybridge Celtic and Rossendale United for whom he only made a handful of appearances, but his career total was 454 appearances including 15 as substitutes and he scored 15 career goals.
After retirement he passed his UEFA coaching badges, and coached Blackpool to the Lancashire FA Youth Cup Final against Wigan. In September 2010 Gary suffered a stroke which to date has completely disabled him except for eye movement. After periods in Royal Bolton Hospital and Salford Royal Hospital, he is now living at home with his family, though progress from his disability has been slow. One hopes that at the age of 53 he will soon make a full recovery.
ROBERT FREDERICK BRUCE 1927/35
Bobby Bruce was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland in January 1906 and signed for Aberdeen in 1924 spending four seasons with the Dons making 94 League appearances and scoring 36 goals as an inside forward. His signing for Boro in 1927 as a replacement for the ageing James McClelland especially for a fee of £4,500 at the time might have surprised the Ayresome faithful as Boro had just scored 122 goals in the previous promotion season, and many would have thought how he might fit into a side boasting George Camsell and Willie Pease. After all Bruce was only 5 and a half feet tall and more of a dribbler, not suitable for Boro’s direct system of playing. However he made his debut in the following February in a 2-5 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers and his tricky skills certainly didn’t impress some of the fans at first as Boro slid down the League table and were relegated on the last day of the season despite accruing 37 points after losing 0-3 at home to Sunderland when a draw would have saved Boro and relegated the Mackems for the first time ever. Nevertheless he did score 4 times in his 12 appearances, his first goal coming in only his second match in a 3-2 away win against Sheffield Wednesday. Possibly the reason for the fans not being too impressed with him at first was that he saved his best performances away from home, and of course only a few fans could afford to watch Boro away from Ayresome Park.
However Boro were Champions in the following season with Camsell and Pease scoring 57 of Boro’s total of 92 goals, and Bobby Bruce scored 11 from his 35 starts. During the next five seasons Bobby scored 54 goals and became the regular penalty taker. His final match though was in a humiliating 0-8 defeat away to Arsenal in April 1935 and his final statistics in a Boro shirt showed that he scored a total of 72 goals in 253 appearances. His one and only Scottish cap came in 1933 against Austria whilst still with Boro, though his club career continued at Hillsborough and Portman Road, and ended as player/manager at Mossley AFC after which he retired and returned to Scotland where he died in Johnstone aged 78.
JAMES GORDON 1945/54
Jimmy Gordon was born in Fauldhouse, West Lothian, Scotland in 1915 and spent the first five years of his life working as a coalminer in West Lothian whilst also playing football as an amateur for Wishaw Juniors. He started his professional career in 1935 as a wing half with Newcastle United and made 144 appearances for them before serving in the Army during the Second World War. Boro manager David Jack signed Jimmy up immediately after hostilities ceased, and he made his debut for Boro in the Second Leg of the Third Round of the FA Cup as Boro went rampant against Leeds United to lead 7-1 at half time, and finally won 7-2 (11-6 on aggregate). In the following season he kept his place, and although not noted as a goalscorer he did score the second goal in the 2-0 league win against Arsenal in December in which Boro goalkeeper Dave Cumming knocked out Leslie Compton and handed his shirt to George Hardwick before walking off the field without waiting for the referee’s decision. Jimmy Gordon was a tenacious ball-winner, and his prime asset was after winning the ball to quickly supply Wilf Mannion to display his magic which he did effectively on many occasions. Bill Shankly was a great admirer of the toughness of Jimmy in his heyday and observed that one knew that they’d been in a real battle after facing Jimmy’s aggression for 90 minutes. He retired from playing at the age of 38, his final match being a 2-2 draw away to Sheffield United in February 1954 as Boro were relegated. He had made 253 appearances for Boro, but then came the second phase of his career.
He was the club trainer at Boro before becoming chief coach at Blackburn Rovers in the mid 60s. However he was then persuaded by Brian Clough to become assistant coach at Derby County following their promotion to the First Division in 1969. He became such an essential part of Derby’s coaching team as Peter Taylor spent some time scouting for new players, whilst Brian Clough liked his short breaks away from football and knew that he could trust Jimmy to take over the training sessions. When Clough was dismissed, it was Jimmy Gordon who became caretaker manager until the appointment of Dave Mackay. After that Jimmy took a brief spell as a foreman at Rolls-Royce, but when Clough took over the reins at Nottingham Forest he persuaded Jimmy to join him and Taylor at the Trentside club. This is when Jimmy really came into his true role even though not having been one of football’s household names and virtually unknown professionally outside the confines of the game.
Jimmy Gordon exercised a profound influence on one of the most remarkable success stories of modern times. He spent the last six years as Chief Coach at Forest playing an unsung but crucial part in the hitherto unfashionable Forest’s rise from Second Division strugglers to twice-crowned Champions of Europe. Throughout this glorious interlude between January 1975 until his retirement in May 1981, his skilful preparation of footballers was admirable especially the way he coped with the management team of Clough and Taylor. Jimmy became the ‘father-confessor’ to which the players turned to when the twosome were away from the City Ground, supervising the day-today running.of the club with a calm efficiency. Such was Jimmy Gordon’s involvement with the success of the club, that Ciough rewarded him by allowing him to lead the team out at Wembley for the League Cup Final against Wolves in 1980.
Sadly Jimmy Gordon suffered with Alzheimer’s disease after his wife’s demise and he died in Derby in 1996 aged 80.
SAMUEL AITKEN 1903/10
Sam Aitken was born in Ayr, Scotland in May 1878 and really is a blast from the past, even 4 years before Middlesbrough Football Club existed and the oldest Boro player with over 240 appearances that I have written a pen picture about. He played at centre half for Ayr from 1897 until 1903 when he was made captain before the club amalgamated with Ayr Thistle to become Ayr United. Sam made 99 appearances for his home town club and scored 18 goals for them. It was Boro’s first ever manager Jack Robson from Gainford, County Durham who signed Aitken from the Ayrshire club and he made his debut in November in a 1-2 defeat at Newcastle 18 months after the start of goalkeeper Tim Williamson’s debut. By then Boro were a First Division club which lasted for 23 years. I’ve not been able to find much about Aitken’s time at Boro except that he made 242 appearances (making him the 50th highest number of appearances in the history of Boro at this moment), and scored 6 goals the first of which was in a 6-1 home win against Manchester City in April 2006. Sam Aitken spent over seven years at Boro with his last appearance being in the final match of the 1909/10 season after which he returned to Scotland and signed for Raith Rovers where he stayed for two years making 62 appearances.
Every football club has at least one hero, and there was great jubilation when Aitken returned to his roots in Ayrshire then renamed Ayr United. The Scottish Press raved over his appearances, stating that at 34 years of age he was as agile and effervescent as he had been twenty years ago. However he was controversially released by the club after only another 24 appearances, and so decided to retire. He then signed up with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers for the duration of the First World War during which his eyesight began to deteriorate. By May 1924 he was almost completely blind. The Scotland Football Association Council awarded him a £10 gratuity (equivalent to about £1,000 today), and a year later was admitted to St Dunston’s Nursing Home which was known as Wingfield House and situated in Regent’s Park, London in those days. Sam Aitken died five years later in Ayr in March 1930 aged 51.
The flag at Somerset Park flew at half mast and the players wore black armbands at Ayr United’s next home match.
JOHN GRATTAN HENDRIE 1990/97
John Hendrie was born in Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire, Scotland in October 1963 but turned down the chance to join Celtic, the team he supported as a teenager, and actually never played for a Scottish club in his whole career.
He first signed for Coventry City in 1981 though never really settling there, although staying with the Sky Blues for three years yet only making 21 league appearances and scored only 2 goals, and was even sent out to Hereford on loan during that period. In 1984 he signed for Bradford City on a free transfer and stayed there for four years including the final match of the 1984/85 season which ended in the Valley Parade fire tragedy when 56 people died and 265 were seriously injured. He made 173 appearances in that season and scored 46 goals before signing for Newcastle United for a fee of £500,000. He only stayed one season as the Magpies were relegated making 34 appearances and scoring 4 goals, before being transferred to Leeds United for £600,000 where again he stayed for only one season scoring 5 times in 27 matches. In all his former clubs he had played as a winger, and it wasn’t until he signed for Boro in 1990 at the age of 26 that he really made his mark as a genuine goalscorer although his debut was in a goalless draw at home to West Ham United in the opening match of the 1990/91 season. His first goal was against Leicester City in September as Boro won 6-0. However it was the 2-1 home game two weeks later that endeared him to the Ayresome crowd. He collected the ball only 15 yards outside his own penalty area, then embarked on a weaving run, jinking past several opponents before firing a low shot from 12 yards out, past the goalkeeper’s left hand and into the corner of the net.
The following season Boro were promoted to the new Premiership and Hendrie was Boro’s second top scorer albeit with only 9 goals although it did include a hat trick in December as Boro came from behind to beat Blackburn Rovers 3-2. Despite being relegated, John Hendrie performed with great distinction in the following two seasons scoring 36 goals including Cup ties under Bryan Robson, which also included the last goal ever scored at Ayresome Park, and Hendrie’s final goal for Boro as he only appeared as a substitute in the first 8 matches in season 1996/97. In total he made 234 appearances of of which 15 were as a substitute, and he scored 55 goals in all competitions. He then signed for Barnsley and made 65 appearances and scored 17 goals, and became the Tykes manager but was sacked after only one season in charge.
Met JH a lot of times over the past few years and what you see is what you get.
A very lively bubbly character who is very likeable and also a skilful player
OFB
ARTHUR FITZSIMONS 1949/59
Arthur Fitzsimons was born in Dublin in December 1929 and started his career with the famous schoolboy nursery club Johnville FC. Already well known for his talent at junior level, the scouts were anxious to see how he would perform at a higher level. It was Shelbourne who won the race for his signature, and he was so outstanding as an inside forward that Shelbourne won two of the major Irish football competitions. In those days Boro often did an end of the season tour of Eire as the Republic of Ireland was then known and First Division Middlesbrough not only signed Fitzsimons but also his teammate Peter Desmond another inside forward who played in the famous 2-0 win against England at Goodison Park in 1949 only days before making his Boro debut. Incidentally this was England’s first ever home defeat to a non-UK country, and Desmond won 4 international caps whilst at Boro, yet only played twice for Boro before drifting into ignominy.
Meanwhile Arthur Fitzsimons made his debut in April 1950 away to West Brom in a 3-0 win. He scored his first goal for Boro in September 1951 but his best season was in 1955/56 with 14 goals in 40 League matches. His final match for Boro was on the right wing at Fulham in March 1959, so he became one of only a few players to start his Boro career alongside Wilf Mannion and finish it alongside Brian Clough. He went on to score 51 goals for Boro in 231 appearances, and as an international he was known as a skilful and competitive player capable of making an impact on big games as he proved when scoring twice away to Holland in a famous 4-1 victory in 1956. He scored 7 goals for his country in his 26 internationals, all but one of them whilst on Boro’s books. At the time he and Mannion with 26 caps had won more caps for their countries than any other Boro players, although George Hardwick played 30 times for England, 17 were war-time internationals for which caps were not awarded.
After leaving Boro in 1959 Fitzsimons played 7 matches for Lincoln City, then spent two seasons with Mansfield Town scoring 23 goals in 62 matches. He then played a few matches for Wisbech Town before returning to Ireland and playing for Drogheda where he took over as manager and finally in 1969 he was appointed manager of Shamrock Rovers. In 2009 he was inducted in the FA of Ireland’s hall of fame. Arthur Fitzsimons was a true gentleman and loved by his fellow countrymen as well as Boro supporters. He died in May 2018 aged 88.
I’ve now come to the end of the road writing about Boro stalwarts and leading goalscorers. Originally I intended to write about players who had made at least 250 appearances for Boro but to accommodate some of my favourite players I have extended that to include Brian Clough, though I wrote about him under the list of top goalscorers. In all I have written about 62 Boro players including George Hardwick who only made 166 appearances due to missing so many seasons because of the Second World War. I’ve therefore made the cut-off point at 220 appearances. To date 952 players have made at least one appearance for Boro which seems quite astounding although pales into insignificance when Aston Villa list over 2,700 on its website. I’ve enjoyed researching the history of all these players, but I have to draw the line somewhere and Brian Clough seems an appropriate stalwart to finish with.
I’ve been pleased with the reaction to some of my blogs of Boro’s finest players, and also classical composers. But now I have so much reading to catch up with if I can keep awake, and also so much music to listen to which will probably send me to sleep anyway. I’m still mentally alert, but unfortunately the lockdown has taken its toll physically as it has for many people of my age. I’ve become weary of watching television even watching my favourite sports of football, golf, cricket and Rugby League. I’ve enjoyed foreign travel, but am not fit enough now to put up with the hassle of airports any more. So pleased that I’ve been lucky enough to visit so many countries since my dear wife died, but grateful for the kindness shown by so many members of this forum. Alone but not lonely has always been my raison d’etre but in the words of the little sparrow “Je ne regrette rien”.
thankyou for all of the effort you have put in as our resident historian. I hope that you find enjoyment in the coming year. Who knows…maybe even a trip to the Riverside.
keep well
utb
Thanks Ken - what a trip down memory lane.
I visited my mum and stayed at her place for a few days to quarantine [Bahrain is Red list now!!] and got to know her neighbour. He was a Boro supporter, an old expat like most of us, on the blog but his son in law is John Craggs - what a small world. Memory is strange thing - I recall his goals and the runs down the right wing and he was certainly built like the proverbial . . . . . Hope to meet him next time I mow the lawn.
I have enjoyed reading your memories on the Boro and I hope you already have a new subject lined up.
I have really enjoyed your writing, Ken. A big thank to you and all the best. Keep save and enjoy the summer. I hope you are able to have some walks now when the weather is desent. Up the Boro!
Hats off to all the pleasure you’ve given us with your posts, Ken. I’m sure you’ll come up with a new topic to entertain us before long. I, for one, would love to hear about some of your trips abroad. I know it wouldn’t be Boro related but this Forum has a wide remit.
Stay safe and enjoy the summer.
Ken,
Many thanks for your considerable efforts with your topics and particularly 'Boro Stalwarts', great subjects and characters and it was really interesting. Some players I obviously remember, Fitzsimmons, Holliday, Day, Harris, Maclean, Philips and many more. A real effort that has lightened the 'tumbleweed weeks' considerably.
Once again many thanks and look after yourself.
UTB,
John
Well said John we owe a lot to Ken for his amazing knowledge, dedication and research which has added so much to this blog.
Thanks Ken we appreciate all your hard work
OFB
A wonderful history of all things Boro doesn't do Ken's work justice, it is far more than that, an incredible piece of work built up over the last few years.
The Pandemic has taken it's toll on a lot of people Ken from all walks of life and affected us in many different ways. Like yourself my TV viewing has become a lot more "selective" of late including Football which I've become disenfranchised with at a fast rate over the last few years for a multitude of reasons.
Reading your articles takes us all back to a time when it was simply a sport, just 11 v. 11 and an outlet for the ordinary man in the street. Nowadays it has been badly tarnished with money and corruption. It's more important than ever that history is recorded with all the passionate detail and dedication provided by yourself of a simpler time, woodbines, bovril and all.
Agree with all of the above tributes. It has been a great achievement, Ken, which not only brought back innumerable memories, but put flesh on the bones of all of the names from the 20s and 30s that my dad used to talk about.
I often wonder how the Boro will fare in the future when I'm no longer around. I'm not religious, but if, by some fluke, there is an afterlife, will we still have access to the football results?
What Ken's work has illuminated is that other great unknown - what the Boro were like before we were here - and the ups and downs we would have gone through as contemporary fans.
So thanks a million, Ken. It's been a great feat carried out at some speed. Indeed you have written your portraits faster than I have been able to read them, so I'm looking forward to catching up with the final few.