With thanks to Gavin
Willacy's 'england schoolboys international players' records 1907-99' (English
Schools' Football Association 1999), which was an invaluable reference for this research.
Six successive years of schoolboy internationals were lost to
World War II, though it was extremely likely that the talented few that left school between 1944 and
1946 were given opportunities in the new England youth team between 1947 and
1950. The English Schools' Trophy resumed in 1946, but it took another year
before the internationals returned.
Season 1946-47 |
Class of 1947 (born after 31 August 1932 - 14 or under on
31
August 1947):
Football League debuts: Arthur Evans (Bury) 1950 (Division
2) Brian Jackson (Leyton Orient) 1950
(Division 3 South) Bryan Brennan (Stockport County) 1951
(Division 3 North) Reserve goalkeeper, Peter Heathcote
debuted for Southend United in the Third Division (South) in
1951 Billy Watkin (Gateshead) 1952 (Division 3 North) Tony Marchi (Tottenham Hotspur) 1953 (Division 1)
- England B captain (1957) John Flood
(Southampton) 1953 (Division 2) Gren Jones (West
Bromwich Albion) 1954 (Division 1) England Youth
internationals: Gren Jones (1947) aged 14 in Amateur Youth
Championship, Arthur Evans - aged 16 and Tony Marchi - aged 17 (1950) |
x |
International Selection Committee |
Victory Shield |
72 |
3 May 1947
- Wales 0 England 3
[0-3]
Vetch Field, Swansea
(24,000) |
Tippett, Marchi (2) |
AW |
England: R.Simms, P.Reevesᶜ, L.Vickerton,
R.Griffiths, R.Gray, J.Waring, B.Jackson, A.Marchi, C.Tippett, B.Brennan,
D.Green. Reserves:
P.Heathcote, P.Talbot, K.Elkin, Parr. |
In
the first post-war schoolboy international, in front of a record Welsh
crowd, Terry Medwin, who went on to score the goal that put Wales into
the World Cup quarter-finals in 1958, picked up an
injury early on and could not subsequently make an impression on the game.
Wales lost 2-1 to Ireland at the Coleraine Showgrounds, two weeks later. |
73 |
10 May 1947
- England 1 Scotland 1
[1-1]
Goodison Park, Liverpool
(32,229) |
Marchi Thomas |
HD |
England:
R.Simms, P.Reeves, L.Vickertonᶜ, R.Griffiths, R.Gray, J.Waring,
C.Hunter, A.Marchi, C.Tippett, B.Brennan, T.Watkin. Reserves: A.Jones,
J.Flood. |
Receipts of over £3,000 helped to fund England's two games in Ireland
at the end of the month, whilst Scotland beat Wales, 4-0 at Somerset Park, Ayr, two weeks later,
to edge ahead of England on goal average. |
Friendly match |
74 |
29 May 1947
- Ireland 8 England 3
[5-2]
Dalymount Park, Dublin
(tbc) |
Cummins (4), Finglas, Duffy (2), Quinn (pen)
Tippett (2), Marchi |
AL |
England: A.Evans, P.Talbot, L.Vickertonᶜ, R.Griffiths, R.Gray,
S.Peacock,
G.Jones, A.Marchi, C.Tippett, B.Brennan, T.Watkin. Reserves: R.Simms,
P.Reeves, J.Flood. |
England visited Dublin on the eve of their final Victory Shield match in an
effort to encourage schoolboy football in the Republic of Ireland. There was no
governing body for schools' football in the country, as only Gaelic football
was allowed to be played in schools, and there was no state-funded secondary
education, only private secondary schools, so their players were sourced from
Dublin youth clubs. Having suffered four defeats in five meetings with their
neighbours since the war, the latest of which by 6-0 to the Belfast-based team at Larne,
two months earlier, they now called themselves Ireland, just
as the Irish Schools' FA's team did. They were distinguished from them in the press
as 'Éire', the team was selected by the Football Association of Ireland, and
they had been training together for several weeks, coached by Charlie Turner, who
had just led Shelbourne to the League of Ireland title. Against England,
they proceeded to
annihilate their opponents with deadly finishing, and then reversed their
previous beating at the hands of their northern counterparts, by thrashing
them 7-0 at Dalymount Park, two weeks later. This is when questions began to
be asked about the validity of the Dublin team. It was discovered that their
ages were not checked beforehand and that the FA of Ireland had not imposed
an age limit. So it was that captain, Albie Murphy and four-goal scorer,
George Cummins were actually 16 years of age, two years older than their
opponents. It is likely that they were not the only ones. |
Victory Shield |
75 |
30 May 1947
- Ireland 2 England 0
[1-0]
Solitude, Belfast
(8,000) |
Blanchflower (pen), Bradford |
AL |
England: R.Simms, P.Reeves, L.Vickertonᶜ, K.Elkin, R.Gray, J.Waring,
G.Jones, A.Marchi, B.Brennan, J.McCarthy, J.Flood. |
Evans, Griffiths and Watkin were originally named in the side, but it was
decided to use all of the 16-strong squad in the two games, the second of
which was brought forward by a day to the Friday night, so as not to clash
with any Dublin and Belfast Inter-City Cup ties on the Saturday. The five
changes were not enough to prevent defeats on consecutive evenings, as a
tired England team failed to beat the boys from Northern Ireland for the
first time. Ireland were now top and guaranteed to finish above England for
the first time. England were also up against two future Manchester United
stars, in captain, Jackie Blanchflower, whose career was ended by the Munich
air crash in 1958, and goalkeeper, Harry Gregg, who also survived the crash,
pulling Blanchflower from the wreckage, but went on to help Northern Ireland
into the World Cup quarter-finals, four months later. Eight days after this
game, needing only a point to take the Victory Shield to Belfast for the
first time, Scotland beat Ireland, 3-2 at Dens Park, Dundee, to snatch the
title from them. |
The class of 1947 found that they had to stay on for another
year at school, due to the minimum leaving age being raised from 14 to 15, and
this meant that they potentially had another year of international football.
This was possibly the point when they began to use the same size of goal posts
used in senior football (eight feet tall).
Season 1947-48 |
Class of 1948 (born after 31 August 1932 - 15 or under on
31
August 1948):
Football League debuts: Brian Nicholas (Queen's Park
Rangers) 1950 (Division 2) - born in Wales Mark
Jones (Manchester United) 1950 (Division 1) Arthur Evans
(Bury) 1950 (Division 2) Cliff Birkett
(Manchester United) 1950 (Division 1) Arthur Kaye
(Barnsley) 1951 (Division 3 North) - Football League XI
(1957) Albert Quixall (Sheffield
Wednesday) 1951 (Division 2) - Young England XI v. England
(1955), Football League XI (1956) Bryan Brennan (Stockport County) 1951
(Division 3 North) Norman Deeley (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
1951 (Division 1) Ray Barnard (Middlesbrough) 1951
(Division 1) Colin Longden (Rotherham United) 1952
(Division 2) Frank Austin (Coventry City) 1953 (Division 3
South) Dennis Viollet (Manchester United) 1953 (Division 1)
- Young England XI v. England (1954), Football League XI
(1959) Andy Malcolm (West Ham United) 1953 (Division
2) - Football League XI (1958) Roy Hart
(Brentford) 1955 (Division 3 South) Ray Spencer
(Darlington) 1958 (Division 3 North) Full internationals:
Albert Quixall (1953), Norman Deeley (1959) and Dennis Viollet
(1960) Under-23
internationals: Arthur Kaye (1955) and Albert Quixall (1956) Youth internationals:
Andy Malcolm (1950) aged 17 |
76 |
10 April 1948
- England 2 Wales 1
[1-0]
Highfield Road, Coventry
(25,199) |
Birkett (2) Harris |
HW |
England: K.Atherton, R.Barnard, M.Jones, A.Malcolm, C.Nicholas, Norman Deeley,
C.Birkett, Albert Quixall, B.Brennanᶜ,
R.Spencer, D.Green. Reserves: R.Hart, R.Matthews. |
Wales began the season, seven days earlier, by picking up their first
post-war points in a 3-0 win against Ireland at Barry. Norman Deeley, who
was four feet, ten inches tall in 1948, scored twice in the 1960 FA Cup
Final as Wolves won the trophy at Wembley. |
77 |
24 April 1948
- Scotland 1 England 0
[0-0]
Pittodrie Park, Aberdeen
(28,000) |
Kerr |
AL |
England:
K.Atherton, R.Barnard, R.Hart, A.Malcolmᶜ, C.Nicholas, M.Jones, A.Kaye,
C.Birkett, J.Twiss, Albert Quixall, D.Green. Reserves: J.Ford, J.Austin. |
Quixall was a late replacement from the reserve
list for Brennan.
Scotland's defence withstood the English challenge in front of the biggest
ever crowd for a schoolboy international in Scotland, and then drew 1-1 with
Wales, a week later, at Ninian Park, Cardiff. |
Friendly match |
78 |
8 May 1948
- England 0 Ireland 1
[0-1]
Griffin Park, Brentford
(tbc) |
Boggan |
HL |
England:
J.Ford, R.Barnard, R.Gray, M.Jones, C.Nicholas, J.Austin, C.Birkett,
A.Malcolmᶜ, B.Brennan, P.Armstrong, D.Green. |
Gray replaced Roy Hart, who had an injured ankle. Another fine performance,
and a clean sheet, for the team from the Football Association of Ireland on
their first trip to England, and coached again by Charlie Turner over a
six-week period, though they did include 16-year-old players again. Three weeks later, they defeated the Northern Irish boys,
3-1 at Derry. |
Victory Shield |
79 |
15 May 1948
- England 4 Ireland 0
[3-0]
Old Trafford, Manchester
(40,000) |
Viollet (2), Levitt,
Birkett |
HW |
England: A.Evans, R.Barnard, C.Nicholas, A.Malcolmᶜ, M.Jones, R.Gray,
C.Birkett, J.Osbourne, F.Levitt, Dennis Viollet, C.Longden. Reserves:
R.Matthews, J.Austin, Yeoman. |
A new record attendance for a schoolboy international which had a reduced
capacity in a bomb-damaged stadium that Manchester United would not be able
to use again for another year. Though it was a convincing win to erase the
memory of the previous year's defeat in Belfast, the Victory Shield was out
of England's hands, due to their defeat at Aberdeen. Seven days later,
Scotland travelled to Solitude, Belfast, needing to win to retain the title.
They conceded first, but went on to beat Ireland 4-1. A record 15 England
Schools' internationals went on to make their league debuts over the coming
years, emphasizing how influential these games had become.
Sadly,
Mark Jones died in the Munich air crash at the tragically young age of 24. |
Season 1948-49 |
Class of 1949 (born after 31 August 1933 - 15 or under on
31
August 1949):
* Under-14 Class of 1949 (born after 31 August 1934 - 14 or
under on 31 August 1949) Football League debuts: Jeff Whitefoot (Manchester United)
1950 (Division 1) - aged 16 Cliff Birkett
(Manchester United) 1950 (Division 1) Peter
Vickers (Leeds United) 1951 (Division 2) Reserve, Ron
Smillie debuted for Barnsley in the second division in 1952 Ron
Archer (Barnsley) 1952 (Division 2) Stan
Anderson (Sunderland) 1952 (Division 1) - Young England XI
v. England (1954), England B international (1957) *Johnny Haynes (Fulham) 1952 (Division 1) - England B
international and Football League XI (1954), Young England XI
v. England (1955) Reserve, Joe Maloney debuted for
Liverpool in the first division in 1953 *Gerry Crickson (Queen's Park
Rangers) 1953 (Division 3 South) Dennis Viollet (Manchester United)
1953 (Division 1) - Young
England XI v. England (1954), Football League XI (1959)
Alan Bassham (Brentford) 1953
(Division 2) *Eddie Clamp
(Wolverhampton Wanderers) 1954 (Division 1) - Football
League XI and Young England XI v. England (1958) Ken Ames
(Portsmouth) 1954 (Division 1) Ray Young (Derby County)
1954 (Division 2) Tosh Chamberlain
(Fulham) 1954 (Division 2) - scored in the first minute
Micky Lydon (Leeds United) 1955 (Division 2)
Jimmy Jackson (Aldershot) 1955 (Division 3 South)
*Fred Cooper (West Ham United) 1956 (Division 2)
after Southern Floodlight Cup debut
Full internationals: *Johnny Haynes (1954) aged 19, *Eddie Clamp (1958), Dennis Viollet (1960) and Stan
Anderson (1962) Under-23 internationals: Jeff
Whitefoot (1954), and *Johnny Haynes and Stan
Anderson (1955) all aged 20 Youth internationals: Tosh
Chamberlain (1950) in Amateur Youth Championship, Jeff
Whitefoot (1950), both aged 16, *Gerry Crickson, *Malcolm
Spencer and Peter Vickers (1951) all aged 16 in Amateur Youth Championship,
*Michael Charlton (1952) in Amateur Youth Championship and
*Johnny Haynes (1952) aged 17 |
80 |
9 April 1949
- Wales 4 England 3
[2-1]
Vetch Field, Swansea
(19,000) |
Jones (3), Davies Chamberlain,
Lydon, Birkett |
AL |
England: P.Taylor, J.Eden, J.Whitefoot, Stan Anderson, J.Jackson,
G.Mitchell, C.Birkett, Dennis Violletᶜ, F.Levitt, G.Lydon, T.Chamberlain. Reserves:
R.Matthews, A.Bassham, E.Stevens, Johnny Haynes. |
England took the lead after six minutes, but their run of 17 successive wins
against the Welsh in the Victory Shield, came to an end and Wales took both
points for the first time since 1924. In the Welsh team was Len Allchurch,
younger brother of Ivor. Both were in the 1958 World Cup squad. |
Under-14 Friendly match |
81 |
20 April 1949
- Ireland 3 England 4
[1-2]
Grosvenor Park, Belfast
(8,000) |
Mairs, Clugston, Johnston Tracey
(2), Charlton (2) |
AW |
Stewart missed a penalty for Ireland
after two minutes, but Mairs scored from the rebound |
England: A.Evans, F.Cooper, M.Spencerᶜ, B.Twaites, G.Crickson, Eddie
Clamp, B.Price, M.Charlton, A.Tracey, Johnny Haynes, R.Gibbins. |
The schools' infrastructure in Northern Ireland could not accommodate an
extra year for pupils up to the age of 15, so reluctantly, they were, once
more, excluded from the Victory Shield competition. It was agreed, however,
that the other three nations would continue to meet them annually using only
players who were no more than 14 during that school year i.e. the same age
rules that had applied up until the previous year. Caps were not to be awarded for these
games. Ireland made a substitution in the
first half due to injury and then came from behind to lead 3-2 before they
were sunk by two Michael Charlton goals in the last five minutes. Johnny Haynes, who
was to captain England at the 1962 World Cup, made an impressive debut.
Ireland went on to beat Scotland's under-14s, 3-2 at Kilmarnock, ten days later. |
Friendly match |
82 |
23 April 1949
- England 7 Ireland 0
[3-0]
Boleyn Ground, Upton Park
(12,000) |
Viollet,
Ames (2), Chamberlain (3), Vickers |
HW |
Dwyer
missed a first-half penalty for Ireland
|
England:
R.Matthews, A.Bassham, J.Whitefoot, E.Stevens, J.Jackson, R.Archer,
C.Birkett, P.Vickers, K.Ames, Dennis Violletᶜ, T.Chamberlain. |
After two previous defeats, England finally found a way to beat the boys
selected by the Football Association of Ireland, who did not receive the
same level of coaching as their predecessors leading up to the game. Tosh
Chamberlain scored a ten-minute hat-trick in the second half. |
Victory Shield |
83 |
14 May 1949
- England 4 Scotland 0
[2-0]
St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
(43,700) |
Hume OG,
Chamberlain (2), Viollet |
HW |
England:
R.Matthews, A.Bassham, J.Whitefoot, Stan
Anderson,
J.Jackson, G.Young, C.Birkett, P.Vickers, K.Ames, Dennis Violletᶜ,
T.Chamberlain. |
Scotland and Wales had drawn 1-1 at Easter Road, Edinburgh, seven days
earlier, ending England's chances of a first post-war title, whilst Scotland
had to win at Newcastle to complete a hat-trick of Victory Shields on goal
average from Wales. The attendance record was broken yet again, with
receipts of £3,900, as England handed Wales their first ever Victory Shield.
Scotland's goalkeeper, Hume, who had accidentally carried the ball over his
goalline from Birkett's cross, for the first goal, was replaced at half-time
because of an injury. Birkett was making a record seventh appearance for
England schoolboys, but picked up an ankle injury early on and was limping
throughout the game, including when he created the first goal. Young
replaced Archer, who was injured a few days before the game. On the same
day, the two Irish schools' teams met in Dublin and contested a goalless
draw. |
Friendly match |
84 |
21 May 1949
- England 3 Wales 2
[0-1]
Maine Road, Manchester
(52,500) |
Ames, Vickers, Birkett
Dance, Griffiths |
HW |
England:
R.Matthews, A.Bassham, J.Whitefoot, Stan
Anderson,
J.Jackson, R.Archer, C.Birkett, P.Vickers, K.Ames, Dennis Violletᶜ,
T.Chamberlain. Reserves: Cully, R.Smith, J.Maloney, R.Smillie, Johnny
Haynes. |
Cashing in on the huge crowds now watching schoolboy internationals,
including the previous year's game in Manchester, a second game with the new
Victory Shield champions was arranged for the first time since 1932, and it
was the first schoolboy international to be made all-ticket as the ground
swelled to a new record high attendance for any schools' fixture. They were
rewarded with an exciting game, with Wales leading twice, before Cliff
Birkett, on his record eighth and last appearance, scored the winner, eight
minutes from the end. An incredible 18 players (including from the new
under-14s' team and reserves) found their way into the Football League over
the coming years, with four becoming full internationals. Wales's under-14s
lost 3-0 to Ireland in Belfast, seven days later, a result that would have
given the Victory Shield to England, on goal average from Ireland, but their
games were now only classed as friendlies. |
From the 1949-50 season, two outfield substitutions, due to injury only,
were allowed in schoolboy internationals up to the 38th minute. A substitute
goalkeeper could be introduced at any point during the match because of injury.
Season 1949-50 |
Class of 1950 (born after 31 August 1934 - 15
or under on 31 August 1950):
* Under-14 Class of 1950 (born after 31 August 1935 - 14 or
under on 31 August 1950) Football League debuts:
Reserve, Frank Blunstone debuted for Crewe Alexandra in the
Third Division (North) in 1951, Football League XI and Young
England XI v. England (1955) Ray Parry (Bolton
Wanderers) 1951 (Division 1) - aged 15, Football League XI
(1957), Young England XI v. England (1959) Ron Ward
(Chesterfield) 1952 (Division 3 North) *David Pegg
(Manchester United) 1952 (Division 1) - England B
international (1956) Johnny Haynes (Fulham) 1952 (Division 1) - England B
international and Football League XI (1954), Young England XI
v. England (1955)
*Alec Farrall (Everton) 1953 (Division 2) George
Brown (Chesterfield) 1953 (Division 3 North) *Duncan
Edwards (Manchester United) 1953 (Division 1) - England B international, Young England XI v. England, and
Football League XI (1954) Eddie Clamp
(Wolverhampton Wanderers) 1954 (Division 1) - Football
League XI and Young England XI v. England (1958)
Jimmy Scott (Burnley) 1955 (Division 1) Reserve, Colin
Booth debuted for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the first
division in 1955 Fred Cooper (West Ham United) 1956 (Division 2)
after Southern Floodlight Cup debut
Ronnie Cope (Manchester United) 1956 (Division 1)
Full internationals:
Johnny Haynes (1954) aged 19, Frank Blunstone (1954) aged
20, *Duncan Edwards (1955) aged 18, *David Pegg
(1957), Eddie Clamp (1958) and Ray Parry (1959) Under-23 internationals:
Frank Blunstone (1954) aged 19, *Duncan Edwards (1954)
aged 18, Johnny Haynes
(1955) aged 20, *David
Pegg (1956) aged 20, Colin Booth (1956) aged 21 and Ray Parry (1957) aged 21 Youth internationals:
Frank Blunstone and Malcolm Spencer (1951) both aged 16 in Amateur Youth Championship,
Michael Charlton (1952) in Amateur Youth Championship,
Johnny Haynes (1952) aged 17,
Ray Parry (1952) aged 16 and *Duncan Edwards (1954) |
Victory Shield |
85 |
11 April 1950
- England 6 Wales 1
[3-1]
Hillsborough, Sheffield
(40,500) |
Brown (2),
Parry, Charlton (2), Haynes
C.Jones |
HW |
England:
R.Ward, F.Cooper, M.Spencerᶜ, B.Twaites, R.Cope, Eddie Clamp,
M.Charlton, Johnny Haynes, G.Brown, Ray Parry, J.Scott. (unused:
P.Norman, R.Brown, C.Booth, Frank Blunstone). |
The season began on the day after Easter Monday, and England made up for the
previous year's defeat at Swansea with the players, no doubt, all anxious to
make sure that they didn't miss out on their trip to Wembley, four days
later. Wales' scorer was Cliff Jones, who was a major part of Tottenham
Hotspur's double-winning side of 1960-61. |
Friendly match |
86 |
15 April 1950
- England 8 Scotland 2
[1-1]
Empire Stadium, Wembley
(53,038) |
Clamp, Brown, Haynes
(2 (1 pen)), Scott (3), Parry
McDonald (2 (1 pen)) |
HW |
England: R.Ward, F.Cooper, M.Spencerᶜ,
B.Twaites, R.Cope, Eddie Clamp, M.Charlton, Johnny Haynes, G.Brown, Ray
Parry, J.Scott. (unused: P.Norman, R.Brown, C.Booth, Frank Blunstone). |
Whilst England were ending the World Cup qualifying hopes of Scotland
at Hampden Park, Glasgow, those in the London area who were lucky enough to
own a television set were treated to a ten-goal extravaganza as the
schoolboys appeared live on TV for the first time. The teams were presented
to the Prime Minister, Clement Atlee before the game. As expected, the
attendance was a new schoolboys' record and the whole experience was deemed
a huge success. England were unchanged, whilst Scotland had to make use of the new substitutes ruling as
two were needed for injuries in the first half. One of the replacements was
Dave Mackay, who won the double with Tottenham Hotspur in 1960-61, was voted
joint Footballer of the Year in 1969 and then managed Derby County to the
title in 1975. |
Under-14 Friendly match |
87 |
6 May 1950
- England 5 Ireland 2
[3-1]
Boundary Park, Oldham
(18,000) |
Alexander
OG,
Farrall, Collier, Parry, Edwards
Jenkins, Hill (pen) |
HW |
England:
A.Silver, J.Woodward, J.Middlemas, P.Martin, M.Underwood, W.Oldham,
H.Collier, A.Farrall, Duncan Edwards, Ray Parryᶜ, David Pegg. (unused:
Shackleton, Rankin, G.Jones, Barnes). |
At the age of 13, Duncan Edwards put the seal on his first international
appearance with the last goal. Even at that age, it was obvious that he was
going to be some player. Ireland's season had begun with a 4-3 defeat to
Wales' Under-14s, two months earlier, at Swansea, and they were to lose by a
single goal to Scotland, at Cliftonville, three weeks later. |
Victory Shield |
88 |
20 May 1950
- Scotland 1 England 3
[0-2]
Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
(8,500) |
Gray Charlton, G.Brown, Parry |
AW |
England:
R.Ward, R.Brown, F.Cooper, B.Twaitesᶜ, R.Cope, Eddie Clamp,
M.Charlton, Johnny Haynes, G.Brown, Ray Parry, J.Scott.
(unused: P.Norman, C.Booth, Frank Blunstone). |
With Scotland beating Wales, 2-1 at Ninian Park, Cardiff, two weeks earlier,
they needed to gain swift revenge for their Wembley thrashing, by beating
England, who only needed a draw to win the Victory Shield for the first time
since 1939. It was the visitors who were again in command. Robert Brown had
been a reserve, but became a late replacement for captain, Malcolm Spencer,
who was ill. |
Friendly match |
89 |
29 May 1950
- Ireland 2 England 3
[2-2]
Dalymount Park, Dublin
(7,500) |
McNally, Kelly (pen) Haynes,
Scott, Brown |
AW |
England: P.Norman, F.Cooper, M.Spencerᶜ,
B.Twaites, R.Cope, Eddie Clamp, M.Charlton, Johnny Haynes, G.Brown, Ray
Parry, J.Scott. (unused: R.Ward, R.Brown, C.Booth, Frank Blunstone). |
An extremely successful season for the English Schools' FA ended with
another victory, on Spring Bank Holiday Monday. Six schoolboy players selected by
the ESFA in that season would end up as full internationals. The Irish team
was now selected by the Schoolboys' Football Association of Ireland, rather
than the FAI, and they went on to play their northern neighbours twice over
the next four weeks, beating them 7-1,
at Celtic Park, Belfast, before a 1-1 draw at Dundalk. They would not meet
again, however, for another 16 years. |
Season 1950-51 |
Class of 1951 (born after 31 August 1935 - 15
or under on 31 August 1951):
* Under-14 Class of 1951 (born after 31 August 1936 - 14 or
under on 31 August 1951) Football League debuts:
Ray Parry (Bolton
Wanderers) 1951 (Division 1) - aged 15, Football League XI
(1957), Young England XI v. England (1959) David Pegg
(Manchester United) 1952 (Division 1) - England B
international (1956)
Alec Farrall (Everton) 1953 (Division 2) *Gerry Ward (Arsenal) 1953
(Division 1) - aged 16, England amateur international
(1953) aged 16 Duncan Edwards
(Manchester United) 1953 (Division 1) - England B international, Young England XI v. England, and
Football League XI (1954) *Les Dodds (Sunderland) 1954 (Division
1) Mike Smith (Derby County)
1957 (Division 2) *Jack Keeley (Everton) 1957
(Division 1) Ken Heyes (Preston North End)
1960 (Division 1) Full internationals:
Duncan Edwards (1955) aged 18, David Pegg (1957) and Ray
Parry (1959) Under-23 internationals:
Duncan Edwards (1954) aged 18, David Pegg (1956) aged 20 and Ray Parry (1957) aged 21 Youth internationals:
Ray Parry (1952) aged 16, Ken Heyes (1953) aged 17,
*Gerry Ward (1953) aged 16, *Jack Keeley (1954) aged 17 and Duncan Edwards (1954) |
Victory Shield |
90 |
26 March 1951
- Wales 2 England 2
[2-1]
Somerton Park, Newport
(40,500) |
Burder, P.Williams Perrin, Parry |
AD |
England:
A.Silver, K.Heyes, R.Cowling, M.Conroy, M.Smith, Duncan Edwards, N.Smith,
A.Farrall, J.Perrin, Ray Parryᶜ, David Pegg. (unused: G.Mendham,
P.Barnes). |
The earliest start to England's season since 1922 took place on Easter
Monday. They were two goals down after only seven minutes on a quagmire of a
pitch, but fought their way back into it to secure a point. |
Friendly match |
91 |
7 April 1951
- England 3 Wales 0
[0-0]
Empire Stadium, Wembley
(53,398) |
Parry, Farrall
(pen), Barnes |
HW |
England: A.Silver,
K.Heyes, M.Smith, M.Conroy, R.May, Duncan Edwards, J.Perrin, A.Farrall,
P.Barnes, Ray Parryᶜ, David Pegg. (unused: G.Mendham, J.Rankin,
W.Oldham, D.Edwards). |
Twelve days after their first meeting, Wales were unchanged on their first
visit to Wembley, but England brought in two new players and made two other positional
changes which made the difference. Captain, Ray Parry scored in the stadium
for the second year in succession. The attendance record was broken again,
by 300, with thousands of
schoolchildren in the stands, and several more watching on television, as a Wembley schoolboy fixture became an annual event.
Two weeks later, Wales drew 1-1 with Scotland at Stark's Park, Kirkcaldy and
followed that by rescuing a 3-3 draw against Ireland's Under-14s in Belfast
with two late goals, before a 1-1 draw in Cardiff in their first meeting
with the FA of Ireland's team. |
Victory Shield |
92 |
5 May 1951
- England 2 Scotland 2
[0-1]
Recreation Ground, Chesterfield
(32,490) |
N.Smith, Farrall
Gow, Livingstone |
HD |
Farrall
shot wide from a 23rd-minute penalty |
England:
A.Silver, K.Heyes, M.Smith, M.Conroy, R.May,
Duncan Edwards, N.Smith, A.Farrall, J.Perrin, Ray Parryᶜ, David Pegg.
(unused: G.Mendham, J.Rankin, D.Edwards, P.Barnes). |
A classic encounter played on a muddy pitch with pouring rain throughout,
England twice came from behind to salvage a point which meant that after
three drawn games, they,
Scotland and Wales all shared the Victory Shield for the first time. |
Under-14 Friendly match |
93 |
11 May 1951
- Ireland 1 England 7
[1-4]
Grosvenor Park, Belfast
(10,000) |
Chapman (pen) Bannister (2),
Darbin (2), Keeley, Ward, Morton |
AW |
England:
L.Dodds, A.Davidson, E.Carnell, F.Bolton, K.Storey, Duncan Edwardsᶜ,
A.Morton, J.Keeley, N.Darbin, D.Bannister, G.Ward. (unused:
B.Alexander, Rhodes, G.Ward, Townsend). |
With Ireland playing France as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations
at Windsor Park on the Saturday afternoon, this game was played on the
Friday evening. Scotland beat Ireland, 5-2 at Love Street, Paisley, eight
days later. |
Friendly matches |
94 |
14 May 1951
- England 4 Ireland 8
[3-2]
Anfield, Liverpool
(23,000) |
Parry (2), Farrall, Gregory
Murphy, McFarland (2), Shields, Dunne (4) |
HL |
England: A.Silver, K.Heyes, M.Smith, M.Conroy,
R.May, D.Edwards, N.Smith, A.Farrall, J.Gregory, Ray Parryᶜ, David
Pegg. (unused:
G.Mendham, J.Rankin, P.Barnes, W.Oldham). |
An extraordinary twelve-goal spectacular on Spring Bank Holiday Monday where
the result seems unlikely until you find that four-goal scorer, Jimmy Dunne
was 16 years old, repeating the feat of George Cummins, four years earlier.
Despite its new governing body, it again seems likely that Ireland selected
a number of over-age players, including Billy Whelan, who died in the Munich
air disaster in February 1958, two months before his 23rd birthday. Ray
Parry made a record ninth appearance, including his under-14 cap from the
previous year. In a strange coincidence, Duncan Edwards was replaced in the
team by Derek Edwards. |
Season 1951-52 |
Class of 1952 (born after 31 August 1936 - 15
or under on 31 August 1952):
* Under-14 Class of 1952 (born after 31 August 1937 - 14 or
under on 31 August 1952) Football League debuts:
Gerry Ward (Arsenal) 1953
(Division 1) - aged 16, England amateur international
(1953) aged 16 Duncan Edwards
(Manchester United) 1953 (Division 1) - England B international, Young England XI v. England, and
Football League XI (1954)
Tony Barton (Fulham) 1954 (Division 2) Alan Woods
(Tottenham Hotspur) 1954 (Division 1) Les Dodds (Sunderland) 1954 (Division
1) *Pat Neil (Portsmouth) 1955 (Division 1) -
Under-18 schoolboy international and England amateur international (1955) aged 17 *Wilf
McGuinness (Manchester United) 1955 (Division 1) -
Football League XI (1958), Young England XI v. England (1959)
*Tony Hawksworth (Manchester United) 1956 (Division 1) Norman Sykes (Bristol Rovers) 1956 (Division 2)
Gordon Clayton (Manchester United) 1957 (Division 1)
Tommy Asher and *Cyril Parry (Notts County) 1957 (Division 2) Jack Keeley (Everton) 1957
(Division 1) *Roy Goulden (Arsenal) 1959 (Division 1)
Ken Jones (Sunderland) 1960 (Division 2) Full
internationals: Duncan Edwards (1955) aged 18 and
*Wilf McGuinness (1958) aged 20
Under-23 internationals:
Duncan Edwards (1954) aged 18 and *Wilf McGuinness (1958)
aged 20 Youth internationals:
Norman Sykes and Gerry Ward (1953), both aged 16, Tony
Barton and Jack Keeley (1954), both aged 17, *Wilf McGuinness
(1954) aged 16, Gordon Clayton
and Duncan Edwards (1954), Alan Woods (1954) aged 17 and *Tony
Hawksworth (1955) aged 17 |
95 |
5 April 1952
- England 1 Scotland 0
[1-0]
Empire Stadium, Wembley
(80,312) |
Bolton |
HW |
England:
L.Dodds, K.Storey, K.Jones, F.Bolton, R.Yeatman, Duncan Edwardsᶜ,
A.Morton, N.Sykes, D.Bannister, T.Asher, G.Ward. (unused:
G.Clayton, A.Goss, A.Woods, A.Barton. |
Though the capacity was limited because of the numbers of schoolchildren
arriving from all over the country, the schoolboys' crowd record was smashed out of sight as a sold-out
all-ticket Wembley welcomed
back the Scots for a much closer game than their previous visit. England
were beating Scotland in the full international at Hampden at the same time,
but once again, television viewers were watching the Wembley action,
and now also in Scotland, though it would only be the second
half that was shown live. Receipts were £14,702. |
Victory Shield |
96 |
26 April 1952
- Scotland 1 England 4
[0-1]
Pittodrie Park, Aberdeen
(25,000) |
Brand Bolton (2),
Keeley (2) |
AW |
England: L.Dodds, K.Storey, K.Jones, F.Bolton,
R.Yeatman, Duncan Edwardsᶜ, A.Morton, A.Barton, J.Keeley, D.Bannister, G.Ward.
(unused: G.Clayton, A.Goss, A.Woods, T.Asher). |
A more convincing victory as opposed to the Wembley result could be partly
attributed to Scotland losing a striker, Jimmy Kessock to a broken shinbone
with half an hour remaining. Outfield substitutes were only allowed in the
first half. Thirty years later, Tony Barton became manager of Aston Villa,
and remarkably led them to a European Cup triumph against Bayern Munich
after only three months as a manager. |
97 |
3 May 1952
- England 5 Wales 1
[1-1]
St Andrew's, Birmingham
(12,900) |
Morton, Keeley
(2),
Asher, Woods Tomkins |
HW |
England:
G.Clayton, K.Storey, A.Goss, F.Bolton, R.Yeatman, Duncan Edwardsᶜ,
A.Morton, A.Woods, J.Keeley, T.Asher, G.Ward. (unused: L.Dodds, A.Cleaver,
A.Barton, D.Bannister). |
The power and precision of Duncan Edwards ensured that England comfortably
acquired the Victory Shield. Seven days later, Wales seemed set to take the
runners-up spot with a two-goal lead against Scotland at Vetch Field,
Swansea, after only eight minutes, but they ended up losing 3-2. |
Under-14 Friendly match |
98 |
10 May 1952
- England 5 Ireland 0
[3-0]
Bootham Crescent, York
(16,000) |
Pearce, Parry, Neil, Edwards, Goulden |
HW |
England:
A.Hawksworth, W.Deamer, P.Chape, Wilf McGuinnessᶜ, J.Leyland,
G.Pearce, C.Parry, R.Goulden, M.Saul, R.Edwards, P.Neil. |
Ireland had also lost 5-1 to Wales in Cardiff and 5-2 to Scotland in
Belfast, and conceded another five to England's under-14s. |
Friendly matches |
99 |
31 May 1952
- Ireland 1 England 0
[0-0]
Dalymount Park, Dublin
(tbc) |
Lowe (pen) |
AL |
England: L.Dodds, K.Storey, K.Jones,
F.Bolton, R.Yeatman, Duncan Edwardsᶜ, A.Morton, A.Woods, J.Keeley, T.Asher,
G.Ward. |
The Schoolboys' FA of Ireland's team had drawn 1-1 at Newport on their first trip
to Wales in the previous month, with a completely different team to that
which faced England, fuelling further speculation that it was another
over-age under-16 team that beat them. It was a disappointing end to Duncan
Edwards' unprecedented three-year schoolboy international career, but he
would be making his top-flight debut in the following year and carving out
his place in folklore. His death in 1958 from injuries sustained in the
Munich air crash brought an end to one of the all-time greats at the
tragically young age of just 21. |
Season 1952-53 |
Class of 1953 (born after 31 August 1937 - 15
or under on 31 August 1953):
* Under-14 Class of 1953 (born after 31 August 1938 - 14 or
under on 31 August 1953) Football League debuts:
Brian Birch (Bolton
Wanderers) 1954 (Division 1) aged 16
Pat Neil (Portsmouth) 1955 (Division 1) -
under-18 schoolboy international and England amateur international (1955) aged 17 Geoff
Tate (Derby County) 1955 (Division 3 North) -
under-18 schoolboy international (1955) aged 17 Wilf
McGuinness (Manchester United) 1955 (Division 1) -
Football League XI (1958), Young England XI v. England (1959)
Jimmy Melia (Liverpool) 1955 (Division 2) - Football
League XI (1963) Bobby Charlton (Manchester United)
1956 (Division 1) - Football League XI (1961) Tony Hawksworth (Manchester United) 1956 (Division 1)
Ken Nicholas (Watford) 1959 (Division 4)
Alan Collier (Luton Town) 1959 (Division 1) *Dave Cade
(Bradford) 1960 (Division 4) Reserve,
Walter Joyce debuted for Burnley in the first division in 1960
Full internationals: Bobby Charlton and Wilf McGuinness
(1958), both aged 20, and Jimmy Melia (1963)
Under-23 internationals:
Bobby Charlton and Wilf McGuinness (1958), both
aged 20 Youth internationals:
Bobby Charlton and Wilf McGuinness
(1954), both aged 16, Tony Hawksworth and Ken Nicholas (1955),
both aged 17, Brian Birch (1955) aged 16, and Alan Collier, Geoff Tate, Jimmy Melia
and Ron Saxby (1955),
all aged 17 |
100 |
28 March 1953
- England 3 Wales 3
[1-2]
Empire Stadium, Wembley
(80,500) |
Charlton (2), Pratt Rees (2),
M.Hughes |
HD |
England:
A.Hawksworth, G.Moxham, A.Daly, Wilf McGuinnessᶜ, K.Titcombe,
C.Smales, P.Neil, R.Saxby, G.Tate, Bobby Charlton, M.Pratt. (unused:
A.Collier, P.Chape, Jimmy Melia,
J.Burton). |
Another world-record schoolboys' crowd, paying receipts of £14,730 saw a
classic match, as England failed to win at Wembley for the first time. They
were two goals down after ten minutes, before Bobby Charlton announced his
arrival on the international stage, cracking the opposition goalkeeper's
ribs with the ferocity of his equaliser, and a substitute 'keeper was
brought on. England took the lead with four minutes left, but a last-minute
equaliser salvaged the draw for the Welsh. Pat Neil went on to score five
goals in three consecutive visits to Wembley in 1958-60 for Cambridge
University against Oxford University. |
Victory Shield |
101 |
18 April 1953
- Wales 2 England 4
[1-2]
Ninian Park, Cardiff
(14,000) |
M.Hughes (2) Gregg (2),
Charlton, Pratt |
AW |
Charlton's first-half penalty was saved
by Thomas, but he scored from the rebound |
England: A.Collier, W.Deamer, A.Daly, Wilf
McGuinnessᶜ, K.Nicholas, C.Smales, P.Neil, R.Saxby, R.Gregg, Bobby
Charlton, M.Pratt. |
Another six goals between them, but with Victory Shield points at stake this
time, England emerged victorious. Wales beat the FA of Ireland's team for
the first time, 3-1 in a Dublin friendly, but they were unable to stop
England from retaining the title. |
Friendly match |
102 |
25 April 1953
- England 8 Ireland 0
[1-0]
Fratton Park, Portsmouth
(tbc) |
Charlton (2), Smales
(2), Melia, Pratt (3) |
HW |
England:
A.Hawksworth, P.Chape, A.Daly, Wilf McGuinnessᶜ, K.Nicholas, J.Burton,
P.Neil, Jimmy Melia, C.Smales, Bobby Charlton, M.Pratt. (unused:
A.Collier, B.Birch, G.Bowling, R.Saxby). |
The Schoolboys' FA of Ireland's team presumably excluded players of 16 years from this
match, and were overwhelmed by their taller and heavier opponents. Bobby
Charlton scored two more goals on the day that elder brother, Jack made his
Football League debut for Leeds United. Gregg was originally named as a
reserve, but was replaced by Saxby. |
Victory Shield |
103 |
9 May 1953
- England 0 Scotland 0
[0-0]
Filbert Street, Leicester
(26,000) |
|
HD |
England:
A.Hawksworth, P.Chape, A.Daly, Wilf McGuinnessᶜ, K.Nicholas, J.Burton,
B.Birch, R.Saxby, C.Smales, Bobby Charlton, M.Pratt. (unused: A.Collier,
G.Bowling, W.Joyce, G.Tate). |
Bobby Charlton failed to appear on the scoresheet on his last schoolboy
international appearance, but he went on to achieve a level of greatness
rarely seen on the football field, breaking records for club and country for
appearances and goals scored, and winning every honour that it was possible
to win, including a knighthood in 1994. Following on from Duncan Edwards, a
year earlier, the English Schools' FA were providing very rich talent indeed
for the English game.
Scotland were left needing to beat Wales at Fir Park, Motherwell, three
weeks later, to stop England from retaining the Victory Shield on goal
average, but they were held to a 1-1 draw. |
Under-14 Friendly match |
104 |
28 May 1953
- Ireland 0 England 7
[0-3]
Grosvenor Park, Belfast
(tbc) |
Oliver (5),
Cade, Howe |
AW |
Oliver also missed a tenth-minute
penalty |
England: B.Waller, G.Fowkes, J.Hallett, F.Horne, H.Collisonᶜ, G.Cox,
J.Metcalfe, P.Howe, G.Oliver, T.Beckett, D.Cade. |
Ireland had drawn 2-2 with Wales in Belfast, in the previous month, and lost
4-0 to Scotland, at Celtic Park, Glasgow, five days earlier, but their
heaviest defeat of the season came when they couldn't stop the free-scoring
Graham Oliver. |
Season 1953-54 |
Class of 1954 (born after 31 August 1938 - 15
or under on 31 August 1954):
* Under-14 Class of 1954 (born after 31 August 1939 - 14 or
under on 31 August 1954) Football League debuts: Alick
Jeffrey (Doncaster Rovers) 1954 (Division 2) aged 15 -
England amateur international and Great Britain Olympic
qualifier (1955) aged 16 Joe Dean (Bolton Wanderers)
1956 (Division 1) aged 16 Barry Staton (Doncaster Rovers)
1956 (Division 2) Derek Temple (Everton) 1957 (Division 1)
- Football League XI (1965) *Mike Harrison
(Chelsea) 1957 (Division 1) aged 16 Alex Dawson (Manchester United) 1957 (Division
1) - born in Scotland George Fenn played for West Ham
United in the Southern Floodlight Cup in 1958 Alan Rodgerson (Middlesbrough) 1958
(Division 2) *Ian Hall (Derby County) 1959 (Division 2)
*Reserve, Bobby Cram debuted for West Bromwich Albion in
the first division in 1959 Alan Spears (Millwall) 1960 (Division 4)
*Colin Withers (Birmingham City) 1960 (Division 1) David Bennett (Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic) 1961 (Division
4) *Harold Bratt (Doncaster Rovers) 1961 (Division 4)
Full internationals:
Derek Temple (1965)
Under-23 internationals: Alick Jeffrey (1956) aged 17 and
*Mike Harrison (1961) aged 20 Youth
internationals: Alick Jeffrey (1955) aged 16 in Amateur Youth
Championship, *Rodney Feist (1956) aged 15 or 16, Joe Dean (1956) aged 16, Barry Staton (1956)
aged 17, *David Wright (1956) aged 16 or 17, Derek Temple
(1957) and *Ian Hall (1958) |
Victory Shield |
105 |
20 March 1954
- England 2 Wales 1
[0-0]
Vicarage Road, Watford
(tbc) |
Jeffrey, Spears Magor |
HW |
England:
J.Dean, E.Speight, J.Hallettᶜ, F.Horne, B.Staton, G.Cox, J.Metcalfe,
A.Spears, G.Oliver, A.Jeffrey, A.Rodgerson. (unused: K.Sadler, H.Collison,
A.Dawson). |
In their earliest start to the season
since 1914, England began with a rather fortunate victory over Wales, who
did not take their chances. Wales had started even earlier, drawing 1-1 with
Scotland at Ninian Park, Cardiff, in early February. T.Beckett and A.Cooper
had been named in the programme as substitutes, but Dawson came in as a
replacement. |
English
Schools' Football Association Golden Jubilee
International |
106 |
3 April 1954
- England 1 Scotland 0
[0-0]
Empire Stadium, Wembley
(90,000) |
Bennett |
HW |
England:
J.Dean, A.Cooper, J.Hallett, F.Horne, B.Statonᶜ,
G.Cox, B.Sluman, A.Spears, G.Oliver, A.Jeffrey, D.Bennett. (unused:
K.Sadler, H.Collison, T.Beckett). |
On the day of another England victory at Hampden Park in Glasgow, the
youngsters also tasted victory, and again in front of a television audience,
on top of the capacity crowd which gave Wembley its fifth successive world
record for schoolboy internationals. Receipts were £16,250. Cooper was a
late change for Speight, who had twisted an ankle. The only goal
was scored six minutes from the end of a tight contest. |
Under-14 Friendly match |
107 |
17 April 1954
- England 6 Ireland 0
[2-0]
Baseball Ground, Derby
(15,000) |
Eades (2), Dawson, Hall, Clarkson
(2) |
HW |
England:
C.Withers, R.Feist, D.Wright, M.Durhamᶜ, K.Smy, H.Bratt, A.Dawson,
I.Hall, N.Clarkson, N.Eades, M.Harrison. (unused: R.Moore, A.Jones,
R.Cram). |
A familiar story as England, once again, found it relatively easy to break
down the Ulster-based defence. Nine days later, Ireland lost 4-1 to Scotland
at Cliftonville, before a creditable 3-3 draw with Wales at Aberdare, eight
days after that. |
Friendly match |
108 |
21 April 1954
- Ireland 3 England 3
[0-1]
Mardyke, Cork
(tbc) |
Clarke, Thorpe, O'Brien
Fenn (2),
Beckett |
AD |
England: J.Dean, E.Speight, J.Hallett, F.Horne, B.Statonᶜ, G.Cox,
G.Fenn, A.Spears, G.Oliver, T.Beckett, D.Bennett. (unused: K.Sadler,
H.Collison, A.Cooper, B.Sluman, A.Jeffrey). |
The FA of Ireland's team almost pulled off another famous victory and were
leading 3-1 with five minutes left, until a tactical switch put Fenn at
centre-forward and he grabbed a dramatic equaliser with two minutes
remaining, on England's first trip to Cork. The FA Yearbook credited
Ireland's first goal to Thorpe. Ireland drew 1-1 with Wales, in
Dublin, in the following month. |
Victory Shield |
109 |
8 May 1954
- Scotland 0 England 4
[0-2]
Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh
(25,000) |
Fenn, Jeffrey (2),
Spears |
AW |
England:
K.Sadler, E.Speight, J.Hallettᶜ, F.Horne, B.Staton, G.Cox, A.Dawson,
A.Spears, G.Fenn, A.Jeffrey, D.Bennett. (unused: A.Cooper, Derek Temple). |
England secured a hat-trick of Victory Shields, their fifth title in a row,
including the three-way tie of 1951, with a commanding performance. One of
Scotland's reserves, Chris Crowe, went on to win a full cap for England in
1962. |
English Schools' Football Association Golden Jubilee
International |
110 |
15 May 1954
- England 0 Wales 0
[0-0]
Maine Road,
Manchester
(25,000) |
|
HD |
England:
J.Dean, E.Speight, J.Hallettᶜ, F.Horne, B.Staton, G.Cox, G.Fenn,
A.Spears, Derek Temple, A.Jeffrey, D.Bennett. |
An additional fixture with Wales was appropriately played to end the English
Schools' Football Association's fiftieth anniversary celebrations, though
the game was not the most entertaining. Wales made a half-time substitution,
due to injury, technically against the rules, but this was allowed. |
Season 1954-55 |
Class of 1955 (born after 31 August 1939 - 15
or under on 31 August 1955):
* Under-14 Class of 1955 (born after 31 August 1940 - 14 or
under on 31 August 1955) Football League debuts:
Reserve, Kevin McHale
debuted for Huddersfield Town in the second division in 1956
Johnny Morrissey (Liverpool) 1957 (Division 2) -
Football League XI (1969)
Alex Dawson (Manchester United) 1957 (Division
1) - born in Scotland Reserve, Jackie Bell debuted for
Newcastle United in the first division in 1957
*Dave Gaskell (Manchester United) 1957 (Division 1)
after FA
Charity Shield debut (1956) aged 16 *John Mitten (Mansfield
Town) 1958 (Division 3 North) aged 16 David Cliss (Chelsea) 1958 (Division 1) Mark Pearson
(Manchester United) 1958 (Division 1) after FA Cup debut
*David Rowland (Luton Town) 1958 (Division 1)
Reserve, Mel Scott debuted for Chelsea in the first
division in 1958 *John Talbut (Burnley) 1958 (Division
1) - Young England XI captain v. England (1964)
*Barry Bridges (Chelsea) 1959 (Division 1) - Football
League XI (1965) Ian Hall (Derby County) 1959 (Division 2)
Reg Holland (Wrexham) 1960 (Division 3) *Alan Bentham
(Southport) 1960 (Division 4)
Terry Bradbury (Chelsea) 1960 (Division 1)
Full internationals:
*Barry Bridges (1965) Under-23 internationals: *John Talbut
(1963) - captain Youth
internationals: Rodney Feist (1956) aged 15 or 16, Kevin
McHale and Mel Scott (1956), both aged 17, David Cliss
and *Dave Gaskell
(1956), both aged 16, David Wright (1956) aged 16 or 17,
*Barry Bridges (1957) aged 15, Reg Holland and Mark
Pearson (1957), both aged 17, *John Mitten (1957) aged 16 and Ian Hall (1958) |
Victory Shield |
111 |
2 April 1955
- Wales 2 England 6
[2-5]
Ninian Park, Cardiff
(8,600) |
Thomas, O'Brien Pearson (3),
Cliss, Wynn (2) |
AW |
England:
R.Moore, R.Feist, D.Wright, P.Bunch, E.Holland, T.Bradburyᶜ, A.Dawson,
I.Hall, S.Wynn, D.Cliss, M.Pearson. (unused: G.Johnson, J.Bell, M.Scott,
J.McHale, J.Morrissey). |
Wales hit England early with two goals in the first seven minutes, but in a
seven-minute spell from the 29th minute, they were suddenly overwhelmed by
five England goals that completely changed the course of the match. |
Friendly matches |
112 |
23 April 1955
- England 6 Wales 0
[0-0]
Empire Stadium, Wembley
(90,000) |
Bunch, Dawson (2), Wynn (2), Hall |
HW |
England:
R.Moore, R.Feist, D.Wright, P.Bunch, E.Holland,
T.Bradburyᶜ, A.Dawson, I.Hall, S.Wynn, D.Cliss, M.Pearson. (unused:
G.Johnson, J.Bell, M.Scott, J.McHale, J.Morrissey). |
An unchanged England again hit Wales for six, but they again took a while to
break down their opponents, this time scoring four goals in an eight-minute
spell. Six days later, a younger Welsh team won 4-0 at Grosvenor Park,
Belfast as Ireland were accepted back in to the Victory Shield, though their
games were still all at under-14 level. |
113 |
30 April 1955
- England 9 Republic of Ireland 1
[5-1]
Kenilworth Road, Luton
(12,000) |
Bunch, Morrissey, Bradbury, Dawson (2), Pearson
(2), Wynn, Cliss
O'Donovan |
HW |
England: R.Moore, R.Feist, D.Wright, P.Bunchᶜ,
E.Holland, T.Bradbury, A.Dawson, D.Cliss, S.Wynn, M.Pearson,
J.Morrissey. |
Another four-goal blast in a six-minute spell took England to their
biggest-ever victory, but the record was to last for just four weeks. A FIFA
ruling of the previous year had instructed the Football Association of
Ireland to call its teams the Republic of Ireland to avoid any confusion
with Northern Ireland's teams, though the British press continued to call
them Eire. Two weeks later, they lost for the first time in Wales, by 3-1 at
Merthyr Tydfil. They had yet to face Scotland for the first time. |
Victory Shield |
114 |
14 May 1955
- England 2 Scotland 2
[1-2]
Goodison Park, Liverpool
(37,499) |
Dawson, Bunch Baker
(2) |
HD |
England: R.Moore, R.Feist, D.Wright, P.Bunchᶜ,
E.Holland, T.Bradbury, A.Dawson, D.Cliss, S.Wynn, M.Pearson, J.Morrissey.
(unused: G.Johnson, J.Bell, I.Hall, J.McHale). |
Seven days earlier, Scotland had beaten Wales, 5-2 at Somerset Park, Ayr,
and this was the last under-15 match of the season. England had used only
twelve players, making just one change (Morrissey for Hall). Joe Baker, who,
five years later, aged 19, became the first professional to win a full cap
for England whilst playing outside of the country, threatened to give
Scotland a great chance of winning the Victory Shield, but Bunch's equaliser
meant that the title would be decided by the under-14s in their respective
fixtures against Northern Ireland. David Wright played for the under-18 schoolboys, a year
later, he then captained the England youth team for almost a full
year, and he played twice for the England amateur team, but he decided not to become
a professional footballer, choosing instead to go to university and then to
become a teacher. |
115 |
28 May 1955
- Northern Ireland 0 England 11
[0-6]
Mourneview Park,
Lurgan
(tbc) |
Rowland (4), Bridges (3), Clarke
(3), M.Walker |
AW |
England:
J.Gaskell, G.Sprason, A.Bentham, B.Heritage, J.Talbutᶜ, J.Walker,
M.Walker, W.Clarke, Barry Bridges, D.Rowland, J.Mitten. |
Scotland appeared to have clinched their first
outright Victory Shield since 1948,
when they registered a record win by beating Northern Ireland, 9-0 at Broomfield Park, Airdrie, seven
days earlier, leaving England needing to register their biggest ever win, by
matching Scotland's result, in an away match. Incredibly, it always looked
likely, given the gulf in height and weight, due to the relative under-14
player pools available to each country. Conceding twenty goals in eight days
was a sobering experience for the Irish Schools' FA in their first Victory
Shield appearances since 1948. They were still calling themselves 'Ireland',
despite the FIFA ruling of the previous year instructing them to play under
the name of Northern Ireland. Following the lead of the Irish Football
Association, where FIFA had no jurisdiction over the Home International
(British) Championship fixtures, they would not change their name until
the 1970s, but as the schools' body had never represented the whole of Ireland,
we have used the FIFA guidance for clarity and ease of reference. England
clinched a fourth successive outright title on goal average from Scotland. |
Season 1955-56 |
Class of 1956 (born after 31 August 1940 - 15
or under on 31 August 1956):
* Under-14 Class of 1956 (born after 31 August 1941 - 14 or
under on 31 August 1956) Football League debuts: Dave Gaskell (Manchester United) 1957 (Division 1) - FA
Charity Shield debut (1956) aged 16 David Rowland (Luton Town) 1958 (Division 1)
Reserve, John Talbut
debuted for Burnley in the first division in 1958 and
captained a Young England XI versus England in 1964
*Keith Brown (Notts County) 1959 (Division 3)
Barry Bridges (Chelsea) 1959 (Division 1) - Football
League XI (1965) *Bobby Tambling (Chelsea) 1959
(Division 1) - Young England XI v. England (1962)
Roger Collinson (Bristol City) 1959 (Division 2) Willie Carlin (Liverpool) 1959 (Division 2) Leon Vaessen
(Millwall) 1959 (Division 4) *Brian Sullivan (Fulham) 1960 (Division 1)
John Sanchez (Watford) 1960 (Division 4) Alan Bentham
(Southport) 1960 (Division 4) Warwick Rimmer (Bolton
Wanderers) 1960 (Division 1) John Osborne (Chesterfield)
1960 (Division 3) *Tommy Spratt (Bradford) 1961
(Division 4) Peter Simpson (Burnley) 1962 (Division 1) *Roy Moss (Gillingham) 1962 (Division 4)
Full internationals:
*Bobby Tambling (1962) aged 21 and
Barry Bridges (1965) Under-23 internationals: *Bobby
Tambling (1962) aged 21 Youth internationals: Dave Gaskell
(1956) aged 16, Barry Bridges (1957) aged 15, John Sanchez
and Roger Collinson (1957), both aged 16, Willie Carlin (1958) aged 17, *Tommy Spratt
and *Brian Sullivan (1959), both aged 17 |
116 |
3 April 1956
- England 1 Northern Ireland 1
[0-0]
Carrow Road, Norwich
(8,600) |
Moss Best |
HD |
England:
B.Smart, J.Read, T.Wood, D.Adamsᶜ, C.Grant, G.Jones, K.Brown,
B.Sullivan, R.Moss, T.Spratt, Bobby Tambling. |
After the eleven-goal debacle of the previous year's fixture, the new crop
of under-14s were closely matched on the day after Easter Monday, as England
failed to beat them for the first time in nine meetings. The Irish equalised
with four minutes left. Northern Ireland's team included Terry Neill, who
became player-manager of his country in 1971 and managed Arsenal to their
1979 FA Cup win. This was the last meeting between the teams at
under-14 level, but for the first time, the Irish players would be
eligible to play again in the following season. |
Friendly matches |
117 |
21 April 1956
- England 1 Scotland 2
[1-1]
Empire Stadium, Wembley
(95,000) |
Bridges McGurk, Malcolm |
HL |
England:
J.Gaskell, K.France, A.Benthamᶜ,
P.Simpson, B.Smith, L.Vaessen, A.Bates, D.Hobbs, Barry Bridges, D.Rowland,
W.Carlin. (unused:
M.Munden, M.Quinn, J.Talbut, J.Sanchez, B.Shirtcliffe). |
Scotland had begun their Victory Shield campaign by defeating Wales, 6-2 at
Ynys Field, Aberdare, two weeks earlier, and now inflicted on England their
first Wembley defeat, in front of a new world record attendance for a
schoolboy match, despite Bridges' goal after just thirty seconds. Leon
Vaessen appears in the ESFA records as Vaissen. |
118 |
23 April 1956
- England 5 West Germany 1
[4-0]
Fratton Park, Portsmouth
(17,042) |
Bentham (pen), Bridges
(2), Shirtcliffe, Hobbs
Lipka |
HW |
England: J.Gaskell, K.France, A.Benthamᶜ, W.Rimmer, B.Smith,
J.Sanchez, A.Bates, B.Shirtcliffe, Barry Bridges, W.Carlin, D.Hobbs.
(unused: M.Munden, M.Quinn, P.Simpson, J.Talbut, L.Vaessen, D.Rowland). |
Two days after losing at Wembley, England made five changes for their first
meeting with continental opposition and were three goals up in 26 minutes.
The Germans did not have schools' teams, but they were playing in their first ever international match,
with players selected from junior sections of their top clubs. They made
two second-half substitutions, including in goal. |
Victory Shield |
119 |
12 May 1956
- England 3 Wales 2
[1-1]
Ashton Gate,
Bristol
(17,000) |
Little, Bridges, Carlin
Pugh, Greaney |
HW |
England:
J.Gaskell, K.France, A.Benthamᶜ, W.Rimmer, B.Smith, J.Sanchez,
M.Walker, F.Street, Barry Bridges, W.Carlin, A.Little. (unused:
M.Munden, J.Osborne, J.Talbut, D.Hobbs). |
Wales' under-14s had lost 2-1 to Northern Ireland, two weeks earlier, at
Ebbw Vale, but Scotland had then put pressure on England by defeating the
Irish victors, 2-1 at Solitude, Belfast, six days later. England should have
won more easily, but still set themselves up nicely for the following week's
showdown at Dundee. |
120 |
19 May 1956
- Scotland 3 England 1
[1-0]
Dens Park, Dundee
(23,500) |
McGurk, McCulloch (2) Bridges |
AL |
England:
J.Gaskell, K.France, R.Collinson, W.Rimmer, B.Smithᶜ, J.Sanchez (J.Osborne),
D.Hobbs, F.Street, Barry Bridges, W.Carlin, A.Little. |
England needed to win, but it was Scotland who prevented them from lifting
the Shield for a seventh successive year with a convincing victory, proving
that their Wembley success, with the same team, was no fluke. John Osborne was spelt as
'Osbourne' in the ESFA records, but he became England's first substitute
after 25 minutes, as
a wing-half. Four years later, he made his league debut as a goalkeeper, and
won the 1968 FA Cup with West Bromwich Albion. |
Friendly matches |
121 |
25 May 1956
- Republic of Ireland 0 England 1
[0-0]
Tolka Park,
Dublin
(tbc) |
Bridges |
AW |
England:
M.Munden, K.France, A.Bentham, W.Rimmer, B.Smithᶜ, J.Osborne, D.Hobbs,
D.Rowland, Barry Bridges, W.Carlin, A.Little. |
A Friday night fixture ended the season with a victory despite England being
a player short when France had to come off with a cut eye early in the
second half. Ireland also had a player off the field receiving treatment
when the goal was scored just after an hour's play, though he returned as a
virtual passenger for the rest of the game. The Irish team had been due to
face Wales in Cork, three days later, but it was called off at the beginning
of the month, due to the death of the secretary of the Welsh Schools' FA,
and they did not meet again until 1960. |
Season 1956-57 |
Class of 1957 (born after 31 August 1941 - 15
or under on 31 August 1957): Football League debuts:
Peter Bullock (Stoke City) 1958 (Division 2) aged 16 Cliff
Jackson (Swindon Town) 1958 (Division 3) Bobby Tambling (Chelsea) 1959
(Division 1) - Young England XI v. England (1962)
Colin Brookes (Barnsley) 1959 (Division 3) Derek Woodley
(West Ham United) 1959 (Division 1) Bob Charles
(Southampton) 1959 (Division 3) Brian Sullivan (Fulham) 1960 (Division 1)
Bill McCarthy (Southport) 1960 (Division 4) Nobby Stiles
(Manchester United) 1960 (Division 1) - Football League XI
(1965) Bob Wilson (Arsenal) 1963 (Division 1) -
under-18 schoolboy international (1958) aged 16, Scotland international (1971)
Full internationals:
Bobby Tambling (1962) aged 21 and Nobby Stiles (1965) aged 22 Under-23 internationals: Bobby
Tambling (1962) aged 21 and Nobby Stiles (1965) aged 22 Youth internationals:
Peter Bullock (1958) aged 16, Ken McCabe (1959) aged 16 or 17,
Nobby Stiles and Derek Woodley (1959), both aged 16, Bob
Charles and Brian Sullivan (1959), both aged 17 |
122 |
23 March 1957
- England 9 Republic of Ireland 1
[4-0]
Home Park,
Plymouth
(tbc) |
Sullivan (2), Brooks, Tambling (2),
Woodley (3), Brookes
Mulvey |
HW |
England: B.Smart, A.Wileman, W.McCarthy, Nobby Stiles, T.Woodᶜ,
G.Jones, D.Woodley, B.Sullivan, Bobby Tambling, M.Brooks, C.Brookes.
(unused: R.Wilson, K.McCabe, P.Roe, P.Bullock). |
The website soccerscene.ie gives one of Sullivan's goals to Woodley and
credits Ireland's goal to Saunders, whilst the FA Yearbook gives it to
McCarthy. By this time, Welshman, Bill
Roberts had taken over team-manager duties from George Crandon. |
123 |
30 March 1957
- England 2 Wales 0
[1-0]
Empire Stadium, Wembley
(90,000) |
Woodley, Brookes |
HW |
Sullivan fired over the bar from a
last-minute penalty |
England:
B.Smart, A.Wileman, W.McCarthy, Nobby Stiles,
T.Woodᶜ, G.Jones, D.Woodley, B.Sullivan, Bobby Tambling, M.Brooks, C.Brookes.
(unused:
R.Charles, K.McCabe, P.Roe, P.Bullock). |
Derek Woodley gave England the lead after only 13 seconds, before a Welsh
player had touched the ball. |
Victory Shield |
124 |
5 April 1957
- Northern Ireland 0 England 3
[0-1]
Grosvenor Park, Belfast
(6,000) |
Tambling, Bullock, Woodley |
AW |
England:
R.Wilson, A.Wileman, W.McCarthy, Nobby Stiles, T.Woodᶜ, G.Jones,
D.Woodley, B.Sullivan, Bobby Tambling (P.Bullock), M.Brooks, C.Brookes.
(unused: B.Smart, P.Roe, K.McCabe). |
Kicking off at 8pm on a Friday night, this was England's first match to be played under floodlights,
and Northern Ireland's first under-15 international since 1948, after the
school leaving age was finally raised to 15 to match those in Great Britain.
After a season of disappointment in the Victory Shield, England were ahead
in the first minute again, through Tambling after thirty seconds, but he
then went off injured after 15 minutes, and Peter Bullock, his replacement became their first
goalscoring substitute. |
125 |
23 April 1957
- England 2 Scotland 0
[1-0]
Hillsborough, Sheffield
(30,177) |
Woodley, Buchanan
OG |
HW |
England:
R.Wilson, A.Wileman, W.McCarthy, Nobby Stiles,
T.Woodᶜ, G.Jones, D.Woodley, B.Sullivan, Bobby Tambling, C.Jackson,
C.Brookes. (unused:
B.Smart, P.Roe, K.McCabe, M.Brooks, P.Bullock). |
An important win for England on the day after Easter Monday. Yet again, they
took an early lead, this time after only three minutes, but it was not a
great performance. |
126 |
27 April 1957
- Wales 0 England 3
[0-0]
Vetch Field, Swansea
(tbc) |
Brookes, Bullock
(2) |
AW |
England:
R.Charles, A.Wileman, W.McCarthy, K.McCabe, T.Woodᶜ, G.Jones,
D.Woodley (P.Roe), M.Woods, P.Bullock, C.Brookes, Bobby Tambling. |
Bullock scored twice in the last five minutes as England wrapped up the
Victory Shield by completing the 'triple crown', without conceding a goal.
Stiles was in the original line-up, but picked up an injury against Scotland
and was replaced by Woods. Six days later, Wales lost 2-1 to Northern
Ireland, at Solitude, Belfast after being a goal up at half-time. Scotland
then secured the runners-up spot by beating Wales, 3-1 at Tynecastle Park,
Edinburgh, and Northern Ireland, by 7-2 at Fir Park, Motherwell. |
Friendly matches |
127 |
22 May 1957
- West Germany 1 England 3
[0-1]
Neckarstadion, Stuttgart
(76,000) |
Nagel
Eisele OG, Tambling (2) |
AW |
England:
R.Wilson, A.Wileman, W.McCarthy, Nobby Stiles, T.Woodᶜ, G.Jones,
P.Roe, M.Brooks (K.McCabe), P.Bullock, Bobby Tambling, C.Brookes. (unused: R.Charles, C.Jackson, D.Woodley). |
The Victory Shield champions, wearing red change shirts for the first time,
made their first trip abroad and topped the season off with a sixth
consecutive win. They were followed in the stadium by a full international,
as Scotland beat West Germany, 3-1. Nobby Stiles, who had only just turned
15, was a key part of England's most famous victory against the Germans,
nine years later, when he picked up his World Cup winners' medal. Bob
Wilson, in goal, won the league and FA Cup double with Arsenal in 1971, and
went on to represent Scotland, before becoming a television presenter with
both BBC and ITV. |
Season 1957-58 |
Class of 1958 (born after 31 August 1942 - 15
or under on 31 August 1958): Football League debuts:
Jantzen Derrick (Bristol City) 1959 (Division 2)
Terry Venables (Chelsea) 1960 (Division 1)
- England amateur international (1960) aged 17, Young
England XI v. England, and Football League XI (1964)
Peter Thompson (Preston North End) 1960 (Division 1) -
Young England XI v. England (1962) Ronnie Boyce (West
Ham United) 1960 (Division 1) after Southern Floodlight Cup
debut in 1959, aged 16, substitute for
England v. Young England (1967)
Adrian Williams (Bristol City)
1960 (Division 3) Allan Harris (Chelsea) 1960 (Division 1) Dave Wilson (Preston North End)
1960 (Division 1) Bert Murray
(Chelsea) 1961 (Division 1)
- Young England XI v. England
(1965) Phil Chisnall
(Manchester United) 1961 (Division 1)
Robin Chandler (Luton Town) 1961 (Division 2)
Morris Emmerson (Middlesbrough) 1962 (Division 2)
Full internationals: Peter Thompson and Terry Venables
(1964), both aged 21
Under-23 internationals: Terry Venables (1962) aged 19, Phil
Chisnall (1963) aged 21, Dave Wilson and Peter Thompson
(1963), both aged 20 and Bert Murray (1964) aged 22 Youth internationals: Terry Venables,
captain (1960) aged 17, Adrian Williams (1960) aged 16, and Ronnie Boyce
and Allan Harris (1960), both aged 17 and Bert Murray (1960) |
128 |
7 April 1958
- England 2 West Germany 2
[1-2]
Recreation Ground, Chesterfield
(tbc) |
Chisnall, Wilson
Herbst, Germann |
HD |
England:
R.Hempsall, T.More, D.Mountain, Terry Venables, J.Greenwoodᶜ,
S.Gibbens, J.Sacre, J.Chisnall, R.Chandler, D.Wilson, Peter Thompson. |
England's first match of the season was on Easter Monday, and they found the
Germans a much tougher nut to crack than in their two previous encounters.
Chisnall was a late replacement for Ronnie Boyce, who was suffering from
bronchitis. |
Victory Shield |
129 |
19 April 1958
- England 3 Northern Ireland 0
[2-0]
Vicarage Road, Watford
(11,587) |
Derrick (2), Chandler |
HW |
Derrick also hit the post from a
penalty after 25 minutes |
England:
R.Hempsall, T.More, D.Mountain, Terry Venables, J.Greenwoodᶜ,
S.Gibbens, J.Chisnall, R.Boyce, R.Chandler, A.Williams, J.Derrick.
(unused: M.Emmerson, A.Harris, Peter Thompson, A.Murray). |
A comfortable win for England, as they targeted another Victory Shield
success. Northern Ireland had earlier drawn 2-2 with Scotland at Windsor
Park, Belfast, but lost 2-1 to Wales at Penydarren Park, Merthyr Tydfil,
seven days before the England game. |
Friendly match |
130 |
26 April 1958
- England 3 Scotland 1
[3-0]
Empire Stadium, Wembley
(90,000) |
Murray (2),
Chisnall Gibson |
HW |
Hempsall saved a 53rd-minute penalty
from Henderson |
England:
R.Hempsall, T.More, D.Mountain, Terry Venables, J.Greenwoodᶜ,
S.Gibbens, J.Chisnall, R.Boyce, A.Murray, Peter Thompson, J.Derrick. |
England made amends for their Wembley defeat, two years previous, with a
commanding performance. Hempsall, at six feet, one inch tall, proved an
intimidating barrier to Scotland's forwards. |
Victory Shield |
131 |
10 May 1958
- England 3 Wales 1
[2-1]
Filbert Street, Leicester
(16,047) |
Murray (2),
Boyce Pickerell |
HW |
England:
R.Hempsall, T.More, D.Mountain, Terry Venables, J.Greenwoodᶜ, A.Harris,
J.Chisnall, R.Boyce, A.Murray, Peter Thompson, J.Derrick. (unused:
M.Emmerson, S.Gibbens, R.Chandler, A.Williams). |
The Welsh Schools' FA had faced the wrath of local church leaders after
staging their opening match with Scotland at Somerton Park, Newport on Good
Friday, but a last-minute equaliser had given them a 2-2 draw. The victory
against the Irish now gave them a chance of winning the Shield, but another
first-half brace from Bert Murray, in the first 15 minutes, soon ended their
ambitions. |
132 |
17 May 1958
- Scotland 2 England 2
[1-0]
Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
(22,000) |
Henderson, Penman Boyce,
Williams |
AD |
England:
R.Hempsall, T.More, D.Mountain, Terry Venables,
J.Greenwoodᶜ, A.Harris, J.Chisnall, R.Boyce, A.Murray, A.Williams,
J.Derrick. (unused: M.Emmerson, S.Gibbens, R.Chandler, Peter Thompson). |
Scotland needed a three-goal victory to regain the shield on goal average,
and they were ahead in the first minute, but England's second equaliser came
with five minutes left and secured their second successive title, with a
third successive 2-2 draw for the Scots in the competition. Particularly
impressive in the Scotland team was Billy Bremner, who led Leeds United to
multiple triumphs in a decade of success, and captained his country on 39
occasions, including in the 1974 World Cup. |
Friendly match |
133 |
24 May 1958
- Republic of Ireland 2 England 2
[1-0]
Dalymount Park, Dublin
(tbc) |
Kelly (pen), McEntee
Williams, O'Mahoney
OG |
AD |
England:
M.Emmerson, T.More, D.Mountain, Terry Venables,
J.Greenwoodᶜ, A.Harris, J.Chisnall, R.Chandler, A.Murray, A.Williams,
J.Derrick. (unused: R.Hempsall, S.Gibbens, R.Boyce, Peter Thompson). |
England were two goals down after 48 minutes, but drew level, only three
minutes from the end, to maintain their two-year unbeaten record. Terry
Venables became the only player to win schoolboy, youth, amateur, under-23
and full England caps, before becoming head coach in 1994 and almost leading
his country to the final of Euro '96. |
Season 1958-59 |
Class of 1959 (born after 31 August 1943 - 15
or under on 31 August 1959): Football League debuts:
Norman Ashe (Aston Villa) 1960 (Division 2) - aged 16
George Sharples (Everton) 1960 (Division 1) John
Sleeuwenhoek (Aston Villa) 1961 (Division 1) - Football
League XI (1962) Alan Baker (Aston Villa) 1961
(Division 1) Martin Peters (West Ham United) 1962
(Division 1) - Young England XI v. England (1965),
Football League XI (1967) Brian Dear (West Ham United)
1962 (Division 1) Mike Dixon (Reading) 1962 (Division 3)
Rod Smithson (Arsenal) 1962 (Division 1) Chris Lawler
(Liverpool) 1963 (Division 1) -
PFA Division 4 Team of the Year (1978, Stockport County)
Injured, Ernie Ackerley was born in Scotland and debuted for Barrow
in the fourth division in 1963 Micky Ash
(Sheffield United) 1963 (Division 1) Roy Low
(Tottenham Hotspur) 1964 (Division 1)
Bobby Smith (Scunthorpe United) 1965 (Division 3)
Full internationals:
Martin Peters (1966) aged 22 and Chris Lawler (1971)
Under-23 internationals: Martin Peters (1962) aged 19, John
Sleeuwenhoek (1962) aged 18 and Chris Lawler (1965) aged 22
Youth internationals:
Norman Ashe (1960) aged 16, Alan Baker (1960) aged 15, Martin Peters
and John Sleeuwenhoek
(1960), both aged 16, Chris Lawler, captain and George
Sharples (1960), both aged 17, Bobby Smith (1961) aged 16,
Micky Ash (1961) aged 17 and Rod Smithson (1962) |
Victory Shield |
134 |
4 April 1959
- England 2 Scotland 3
[1-1]
Baseball Ground, Derby
(tbc) |
Dear (2)
Hope, Carruthers, Cairns |
HL |
Rowley saved a 38th-minute penalty from
Winchester |
England:
K.Rowley, A.Clay, Martin Peters, R.Smith, Chris Lawlerᶜ, G.Sharples,
M.Ash, J.Sleeuwenhoek, G.Steel, B.Caple, B.Dear. (unused: M.Dixon,
M.Niblett, R.Smithson, A.Low). |
Wales grabbed a last-minute equaliser in the opening Victory Shield match on
the previous evening to register a 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland at
Grosvenor Park, Belfast, but it was Scotland who went top after a deserved
victory against a poor England team that included future World Cup Final
scorer, Martin Peters, at left-back, though Ash went off injured before
Scotland's winning goal. Steel was a late replacement for Ernie
Ackerley, who failed a fitness test on the day before the international,
following injury, and did not get another chance. |
135 |
11 April 1959
- Wales 1 England 1
[1-0]
Ninian Park, Cardiff
(tbc) |
Bailey Dear |
AD |
England:
K.Rowley, A.Clay, R.Smithson, R.Smith, Chris Lawlerᶜ, Martin Peters,
N.Ashe, A.Baker, G.Sharples, B.Caple, B.Dear. (unused: M.Dixon,
M.Niblett, R.Fortt, J.Sleeuwenhoek). |
After the previous week's showing, the selectors made changes and England
dominated their opponents, but their hopes of a
hat-trick of Victory Shields were ended by a heroic defensive
performance. There were even claims that England's long-awaited equaliser
did not cross the line. In the Welsh defence was Peter Rodrigues, who
captained Southampton to their sensational FA Cup win in 1976 against
Manchester United. On the previous evening, at Easter Road, Edinburgh,
Scotland had come from behind to beat Northern Ireland, 5-1, and had only to
avoid a two-goal home defeat to Wales to win the shield. |
136 |
17 April 1959
-
Northern Ireland 0 England 3
[0-1]
Grosvenor Park, Belfast
(tbc) |
Ashe (2), Baker |
AW |
England:
M.Dixon, J.Sleeuwenhoek, M.Niblett, R.Smith, Chris Lawlerᶜ, Martin
Peters, N.Ashe, A.Baker, G.Sharples, B.Caple, B.Dear.
(unused: K.Rowley, A.Clay, R.Smithson, R.Fortt). |
England finally found a way to win again, though it was only enough to
secure the runners-up spot in the Victory Shield, confirmed when Scotland
destroyed Wales with a 9-1 hammering at Dens Park, Dundee, three weeks
later, to win the title. It was the Welsh boys' heaviest ever defeat. |
Friendly matches |
137 |
25 April 1959
- England 2 West Germany 0
[0-0]
Empire Stadium, Wembley
(95,000) |
Ashe, Baker (pen) |
HW |
England:
M.Dixon, A.Clay, M.Niblett, R.Smith, Chris Lawlerᶜ, Martin Peters,
N.Ashe, A.Baker, G.Sharples, B.Caple, R.Fortt. (unused: K.Rowley,
R.Smithson, J.Sleeuwenhoek). |
Record receipts of £18,950 were achieved as England entertained foreign
visitors at Wembley for the first time. It took them an hour to break down
their opponents, but their stamina was key in the end. |
138 |
9 May 1959
- England 5 Republic of Ireland 0
[2-0]
Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough
(11,000) |
Fortt, Caple (3), Fletcher |
HW |
England:
K.Rowley, A.Clay, Martin Peters, R.Smith, Chris
Lawlerᶜ, G.Sharples, A.Low, A.Baker, R.Fortt, K.Fletcher, B.Caple. |
Superior height and weight played a big part in England's resounding
victory, played as Scotland were wrapping up the Victory Shield in Dundee.
Low was a late replacement for Ashe, who was injured. |
139 |
22 May 1959
- West Germany 4 England 0
[1-0]
Stadion an der Hafenstraβe, Essen
(30,000) |
Arnold (2), Weiss, Overath |
AL |
England:
K.Rowley, A.Clay, Martin Peters, R.Smith, Chris
Lawlerᶜ, G.Sharples, N.Ashe, A.Baker, R.Fortt, K.Fletcher, B.Caple.
(unused:
M.Dixon, M.Niblett, R.Smithson, A.Low). |
England lost to foreign opposition for the first time, as the Germans
overwhelmed them in their first match managed by the new Kommission Schulfuβball. Wolfgang Overath, who scored their fourth goal, would come
up against Martin Peters at Wembley, seven years later, in the World Cup
Final. |
|