Tag Archives: 1960s

Player Profile – Dick Howard

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Over the years there have been a number of players whose first team career at Chester has failed to extend beyond a brief 90 minutes of league action. Players like Peter Donnelly, Phil Williams and Gary Tallon may not have made the impact of Stuart Rimmer and Grenville Millington but they remain part of the fabric of the club and have their own stories to tell. This is the strange tale of one of those lesser known Blues whose football career took an unlikely turn after leaving Sealand Road.

Goalkeeper Dick Howard played a single Football League game for Chester in the 1965/66 season. It proved to be an ignominious occasion as he conceded four goals against Bradford Park Avenue and was given a free transfer at the end of the campaign. There can’t be many supporters who recall the name and those who do remember the Wirral youngster will perhaps be surprised to hear what happened next.

Goalkeeper Dick Howard in the Possibles team that faced the Probables in the 1965 trial match – Cheshire Observer newspaper cutting

Born in Bromborough in 1943 Dick came to Chester’s attention while playing for Chester College where he was studying on a three year teacher training course. Known as Richard or Richie in his Chester days he signed for the club in summer 1965, as cover for Dennis Reeves, and was seen as a good prospect. After playing for 45 minutes in a friendly at Colwyn Bay he featured in the Probables v Possibles Public Trial where he impressed Cheshire Observer football reporter Ralph Houdley who wrote: “A six footer and strong with it, Howard bought off a number of spectacular saves. A completely relaxed looking sort of character his reflexes were sharp and he earned deserved approbation for the decisive way in which he dealt with determined scoring efforts from Talbot, Metcalf, Durie and Morris” With Reeves firmly established as first choice Dick started the campaign in the reserves at Hyde where Chester drew 1-1.

At that time the Cheshire County League was being dominated by the increasingly strong north west non-league sides like Macclesfield Town, Altrincham, Wigan Athletic and Runcorn. Chester had failed to finish in the top half of the table since the 1958/59 season and the first team only just scraped past Wigan in the FA Cup. Unsurprisingly interest in the the Cheshire County League side had tailed off and attendances were regularly below 1000. As an example there were barely 100 spectators in the ground for the fixture against Winsford United so it was a difficult situation for a young goalkeeper. Dick appeared in 35 reserve game that season in a side that conceded 116 goals and he himself was between the sticks when New Brighton, Altrincham and Stafford scored five, Runcorn and Oswestry hit six and Wigan hammered in seven. His very last game saw Altrincham inflict a humiliating 8-1 massacre to clinch the title.

Dick Howard in action in the Probables v Possibles triail game in August 1965 – Cheshire Observer newspaper cutting

Dick seems to have had a mixed campaign at the back of what would have been a busy defence. When Chester beat Ellesmere Port the match report stated: “Towns failure to find the net resulted mainly from the excellent display by goalkeepeer Richard Howard who made several spectacular leaps across his goal.” Similarly, against Crewe in the Cheshire Senior Cup, he “played a great game in the Chester goal making a number of spectacular saves” and against Stalybridge Celtic he “had a splendid game, his handling of high crosses was first class.“

On the down side, against Witton Albion, it was reported that “he will persist on standing well off his line exposing himself to the lob. Several times he was fortunate to see such efforts just drop over the bar.” In the league fixture against Wrexham Reserves, he was at fault for one of the goals when he threw the ball to the inside left who scored and against Rochdale, in the Lancashire Cup, he dropped a 30 yard lofted shot over his own line.

In April 1966 Dick was given his only first team opportunity when Dennis Reeves was dropped for the Good Friday fixture against Bradford Park Avenue at the Stadium. Sadly it didn’t go well for the youngster as Chester slumped to a 4-2 defeat. Ralph Houdley, reporting in the Cheshire Observer, stated: “Making his league debut, Richie Howard did not inspire confidence and, with all the good will in the world, I cannot exonerate him for some share of the responsibility for the first two Bradford goals at least.” The following day Reeves was reinstated for the 1-1 draw at Doncaster Rovers and on Easter Monday the first choice keeper kept a clean sheet in a flawless display as Chester won the return game at Bradford by a single goal. Meanwhile Dick was back in the Cheshire County League and on the end of a 5-2 home defeat to Stafford Rangers.

Under the circumstances the fact that he was given a free transfer would have come as no surprise and having been released you would have perhaps expected him to follow the trail of many former Chester players of the 1950s and 60s by moving into the Welsh leagues. However this is where the story takes an interesting twist.

Having successfully completed his teacher training and earned a diploma in Physical Education Dick emigrated to Canada to take up a teaching role and reinvigorate his playing career. A keen student of the game he ended up playing for the Hamilton Primos before moving down to Rochester to play for the Lancers where he remained until 1971 apart from a short stint with Detroit Cougars.

Returning to Toronto he played for the Metros where his displays caught the attention of the national team and he won five international caps for his adopted country including games against USA and Mexico in the 1974 World Cup qualifiers.

In the 1970s Dick also became a PE teacher and director of athletics in Toronto and when he retired from playing, later in the decade, he utilised his coaching skills by becoming a coach for the Canadian national youth teams. Further advancement followed and in 1981 he became an assistant coach for the senior Canadian national team that just missed out on qualifying for the 1982 World Cup. From 1986 to 1992 he was technical director of the Canadian Soccer Association and also became a long-serving FIFA coaching instructor in North America.as well as a member of the FIFA technical committee.

At the same time as he was making a name for himself as a coach Dick also made the move into broadcasting where he became a Canadian Gary Lineker, First of all he created a show called “Road to Wembley” which received accolades for bringing football into the forefront in Canada. As a result of this he was given the opportunity to cover the 1978 World Cup in Argentina for BBC Canada and ended up regularly covering the premier international competition on television until 2014.

Quite a career for a player who conceded nearly 100 goals for Chester Reserves in his one season in the Cheshire County League.

Dick Howard in 2008 – Photo by Djuradj Vujcic, CC BY 2.0, Link


Information on Dick Howard’s career in Canada from https://peoplepill.com/people/dick-howard and https://northernstartingeleven.com/peles-crazy-canadian-dick-howard-and-a-lifetime-of-soccer/

Copyright ©  Chas Sumner http://www.chesterfootballhistory.com All Rights Reserved

Photo Feature 2 – Pre-season 1969/70

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These photographs were taken at the start of the 1969/70 season as Chester prepared for their 12th season in Division 4. As the longest serving member of the league, alongside Aldershot, there was the usual degree of optimism that this would be Chester’s year as Ken Roberts’ started his second full campaign in charge. Roberts had gradually transformed the side and only four players, Terry Carling, Barry Ashworth, Mike Sutton and Graham Turner remained from when he had been appointed manager in February 1968. It was also the second season of the all sky blue kit which gave a fresh look to the team, evident from the pictures.

Although Roberts had been unable to prevent another application for re-election in 1967/68 there had been an improvement the following year with a 14th placed finish and this continued into the 1969/70 season as Chester ended the campaign in a comfortable 11th position. However it was cup competitions where the team excelled and they reached the 4th Round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1948 after victories over Third Division Halifax Town and Doncaster Rovers followed by Second Division Bristol City. The run was halted when an injury ridden team was beaten 4-2 at Swindon Town. Meanwhile there was another appearance in the Welsh Cup Final where they were beaten by Cardiff City over two games.

Cliff Sear, Terry Carling, Roy Chapman, Mike Sutton – Chester Chronicle photograph

The first photograph shows captain Cliff Sear emerging from the tunnel of the old wooden stand followed by Terry Carling, Roy Chapman and Mike Sutton. Sear, a former Wales international and Manchester City full back, had signed the previous season and went on to have a long association with the club that continued until 1987. As well as a reluctant spell as manager at the start of the 1982/83 campaign he had two spells as caretaker manager but will be best remembered for his work with the youth team which included the development of Ian Rush.

Ken Roberts, Terry Bradbury, Albert Harley, Roy Chapman, Keith Webber – Chester Chronicle photograph

In the second photograph Ken Roberts is shown welcoming his four new signings to Sealand Road. Terry Bradbury, a former England schoolboy international, joined from Wrexham while Albert Harley was a local lad who had previously been with Stockport County. The experienced 35 year old Roy Chapman had made his Football League debut with First Division Aston Villa as long ago as 1953 and scored nearly 200 league goals. His Chester career started with a brace in a 3-2 win over Scunthorpe United but by October he had moved on to become player-manager at Stafford Rangers. The fourth player, Keith Webber, also features in the picture below and was bought from Doncaster Rovers.

Keith Webber – Chester Chronicle photograph

The Cardiff born inside forward had started his career with Barry Town before signing for Everton where he made a goalscoring debut in a 3-1 League Cup win over Walsall. A stocky player, he managed only four First Division appearances at Goodison Park before moving to Brighton in 1963, where his exceptional pace proved an asset. A spell with Wrexham was followed by a move to Doncaster in 1966 and after coming to Sealand Road he managed 14 goals in 74 Football League games as well as scoring one of the goals in the 2-1 giant-killing of Bristol City. In 1971 he joined Stockport County and also played non-league football for Morecambe, Northwich Victoria, Oswestry Town and Rhyl. He was later licensee at the Grosvenor Arms in Handbridge but sadly died of a heart attack in September 1983 at the early age of 40.

Back Row – Vince Pritchard (trainer), Mike Sutton, Keith Webber, Derek Draper, Terry Carling, Billy Dearden, Andy Provan, Albert Harley
Middle Row – Miss Elaine Clover, Eric Brodie, Terry Bradbury, Graham Turner, Roy Cheetham, Roy Chapman, Cliff Sear, Barry Ashworth, Stan Gandy (secretary)
Seated – Mr K M Jones, Mr J H Auckland, Mr A E Cheshire, Ken Roberts (manager), Mr M W Horne, Mr R A Rowley, Dr M Swallow
Front – Neil Griffiths, Alan Davies, Alan Caughter, Nigel Edwards

Copyright ©  Chas Sumner http://www.chesterfootballhistory.com All Rights Reserved

Green Day 2

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Following on from the Everything’s Gone Green article and Fraser’s reminiscences I’ve uncovered additional information about the green kit and further evidence of its unpopularity, this time with the players.

I mentioned that the introduction of the green and gold shirts coincided with Stan Pearson’s appointment as player-manager in March 1959 and I have now learnt that the colours were chosen by Stan’s wife. While it’s easy to appreciate the new manager wanting to create an impression it seems astonishing that the move away from the long established blue and white should happen in this way. Perhaps understandably this information was not publicised at the time and there is little doubt that a similar move today would be met with a massive outcry.

I was speaking to Ronnie Hughes at a charity game in Mold on Sunday and he described the shirts as terrible. Ronnie, who played more than 400 times for Chester between 1951 and 1962 said that the switch from blue and white did not go down well with the players and the dressing room was very quiet for two or three weeks after the announcement.

Full back John Evans was a regular in the Cheshire County League side until he made his full league debut in 1961. According to John the reserves used to inherit the first team’s shirt at the end of the season which were then passed down to the A team the following year and eventually used in training. He thought the shirts were awful and because the material was a mix of wool and cotton they didn’t feel good or wear well. In addition the colours were a dull green and faded in the wash so never looked smart. With such a negative feeling towards the colours it’s perhaps unsurprising that performances on the pitch also suffered. It’s easy to see why supporters should associate the green with bad luck and why they were hastily dropped after Pearson was sacked.

The green shirts were provided by Hack’s who had a shop in the arcade, on the right hand side as you enter from Bridge Street, and were regular kit suppliers for many years.

In the earlier article I included a photograph of a scarf which is on display at the Exacta and was donated by an old supporter. Both Ronnie and John remember that they were given similar scarves by the club one Christmas. John recalls that the players were always well looked after by the board of directors and received ties and scarves which were supplied by Bradley’s, an outfitters on Foregate Street. Meanwhile chairman Reg Rowlands always presented the players with a bowl of hyacinths from his florist’s shop at the festive period. Clearly a different era and difficult to imagine Manchester City handing similar gifts to Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli.

Copyright © 2012 http://www.chesterfootballhistory.com All Rights Reserved

Green Day 1

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Thanks to Fraser Warburton for providing his memories of the green kit:

When I first starting watching Chester they played in green shirts, old gold trim and white shorts. This sounds very appealing and I was rather pleased as the colours were very unusual, in a period of unimaginative and somewhat plain strips, but it was not a pleasurable experience to see the kit in action.  The green, though by no means the dark ivy green of a hundred years or so ago, was by no means vibrant and was not as light as say Burscough’s kit. Neither did it have the brightening effect of a combination with white which we have seen in recent years with the hoops of  Yeovil and Northwich. The ‘old gold’ is an intriguing description, but was in practice a dark (you could almost say ‘dirty’) yellow, and had the effect of muting the green. It was the official kit for three seasons, from 1959 to 1962.  In the first two seasons it was combined with green and yellow hooped stockings, and in the last with yellow (‘old gold’). 

I don’t know whether statistics would prove that the winter of of 1960-1 was unusually wet, but my overriding memories of the time were of watching soaked and drab green shirts on a churned muddy pitch against the background of the weathered concrete and corrugated iron of the old stadium on an overcast day.  What wasn’t actually rusty was painted a dark rust-red colour; even the gravel on the Kop, where the flagged terracing finished, seemed to be crushed from the local sandstone.  Muddy green, brown, rust-red – it was like camouflage.

So where did the green come from?  For obvious reasons green isn’t the most practical colour to play a field-based sport in, and the few teams that use it tend to throw in generous dollops of white.  Was it a memory in the mind of a director of the older green kit?  Information was at a premium in those days, and no-one in my generation was aware that Chester had played in green until 1920.  But that was only forty years before 1959, when the colour was reintroduced.  Nowadays we’re well aware of Chester’s colours in the 1970s; in fact, next season’s kit is a bow to the 1974 strip.  So it could have been a harking back to the past. 

Or was it associated with Stan Pearson as manager?  It was certainly dropped pretty sharply when he left.  He was of course notably associated with Manchester United, and we have become aware in recent years that Newton Heath played in green and yellow.  But this is last recorded in 1896 and in seems unlikely that in those pragmatic and non-nostalgic days that Pearson would have been influenced by this.

It wasn’t very popular.  There was a feeling amongst the older generation that it was something of an aberration from the traditional colours of blue and white stripes, and even the younger supporters, who hadn’t seen the old strip, felt that it was a somewhat unnatural colour.  So the change to the iconic pinstripe in 1962-3 was generally welcomed. If nothing else it was brighter and cleaner.

News travelled slowly in those days.  Teams normally playing in predominantly blue colours still absentmindedly turned up with their change strip, which I remember annoyed me as a youngster.  I was, for instance, looking forward to seeing Hartlepools United playing in their blue and white stripes and was less than impressed when they trotted out in red.  By the time Chester readopted their blue and white in 1962 the penny had dropped that they played in green and we were treated to a succession of teams having to play in Chester’s old green shirts because they had brought only their (by now clashing) first choice colours.  Take a bow again, Hartlepools United.

On a personal level, the colours caused me some embarrassment.  In 1961 someone gave me a programme of a League Cup tie between West Ham United and Plymouth Argyle in which it was stated that Plymouth were the only team in the Football League to play in green. Ever sensitive to any slight to my beloved Chester, I fired off a somewhat snotty letter pointing out the true state of affairs and was a little ashamed to get a nicely conciliatory letter in reply.

Not a kit whose demise should be regretted.  But I’m still fond of it because that was my bonding experience with Chester.

Copyright © 2012 http://www.chesterfootballhistory.com All Rights Reserved

Everything’s Gone Green

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I like the look of the new green away shirt and it will not be the first time that the club have played in that colour. At various times throughout their history green has been used as the first choice strip as well as an alternative when colours have clashed.

2012/13 away shirt

After temporarily disbanding in 1899 Chester emerged at their new ground in Whipcord Lane in 1901 and played in various combinations of green and white until 1920 when they switched to black and white stripes. It appears to have been a dark green shirt and team photographs suggest that the club also played in green and white stripes. More recently the club switched to green shirts with gold trim and white shorts from 1959 to 1962 but more of that later.

By the time Chester entered the Football League in 1931 they had already adopted what we now consider the traditional blue and white stripes but initially used green as a change strip. For their first ever Division Three North away fixture, at Wrexham, Chester were forced to switch to green because of a clash with the home side’s blue shirts. Hard to imagine now.

More recently, in an era of some truly awful shirts, City used green and black stripes as an alternative in 1995/96 and green and black checks in 1997/98. The 1995 option was actually described as jade and black and I personally rate it as one of the best away strips the club has used. The less said about the checked shirt the better.

1995/96 away shirt
1997/98 away shirt

When Chester changed from blue and white stripes to green and gold in 1959 it was reported in the Cheshire Observer that the switch was made to avoid changes when colours clashed at away grounds. These days it seems to be the done thing for a club to automatically revert to a different strip for away games but at the end of the 1950s clubs would only change shirts if absolutely necessary. Blue was a popular colour at the time and a number of other clubs appear to have changed in 1959 including Watford (blue to yellow) and Southend (blue to white). With Cardiff City reputedly changing from blue to red next season it’s interesting to note that there were no reported objections when the change was announced at Chester.

In changing to green Chester became one of only two teams to play in that colour alongside Plymouth Argyle. There doesn’t seem to be any explanation as to why green was chosen but it appears to have been chosen for its rarity value rather than as a conscious move to revert to the green used at the start of the twentieth century. There certainly seems to have been no rational reason why gold should be chosen for the collar and cuffs.

The change in colours marked the beginning of Stan Pearson’s first full season in charge. The former Manchester United and England international had taken over as player-manager in March 1959 but the new kit brought little luck and became associated with a particularly bad run in the club’s history. The “continental style” kit had its initial outing in the traditional trial game at Sealand Road when the first team wore it against the reserves and promptly lost 3-1. It made its first appearance in a league game at Notts County where Chester lost 2-1 after Eric Davis had given Pearson’s side a first half lead.

Eric Davis scores the first goal in green at Notts County

Chester managed to narrowly avoid re-election in 1959/60 but the next two campaigns proved disastrous with two bottom of the league finishes. The green kit outlasted Pearson who was sacked after a 1-0 FA Cup defeat to non-league Morecambe at Sealand Road in November 1961. By that time Chester were in the middle of a run of 26 league games without a win and the green shirt was seen by some supporters as one of the factors behind this run.

In December, after a 3-2 home defeat to Aldershot, the Cheshire Observer reported that one gentleman in the boardroom had put the blame on defeat on the green shirts. There certainly seems to have been a general feeling amongst supporters that the colours were associated with bad luck and that the green was not bringing Chester the luck of the Irish. Many fans also expressed their regret that the traditional blue and white stripes had been abandoned as this was still associated with many pre-war achievements.

At the end of March 1962 the club announced they were discarding the green and gold and replacing it with white shirts with narrow blue vertical stripes and the new kit was first used in a friendly against German side Hamborn in April. Chester had briefly flirted with white shirts and black shorts in the weeks leading up to the announcement although ironically they were wearing the green and gold when the long run without a win was ended with a 4-1 victory over Chesterfield.

I’ve never seen a colour photograph of the old green shirt but even in the black and white pictures it comes across as an extremely lacklustre kit. Next season’s away shirt looks a lot more vibrant and it’s impossible to imagine it having the same disastrous effect as the early 1960s version.

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