Newspaper Clippings - Dick Butler - page 3
Image details
| OCR |
16 Shields Gazette , Thursday , June 13 , 1974 New Shields Mariners to play in Northern Alliance next season by Dick Kirkup WEDNESDAY , JUNE 12 , 1974 , will be re called in years to come as the day senior football was reborn in South Shields . and the unlikely cradle was the Black Swan Hotel , Morpeth . For last night the new South Shields Mariners Football Club was unanimously elected to the Northern Alliance , just 24 hours after being re jected by the Wearside League . of its And as long as football is played in this town , the gen erosity of the Northern Al liance will never be forgot ten . Yesterday's sequence events was dazzling in speed , and it only through the outstanding helpfulness of Alliance se cretary Mr Jim McKay that the new club was able to attend last night's meeting of the Alliance Management Committee at the Black Swan and submit its application for membership . was ciency and friendship . Yesterday morning my telephone was red hot with call after call going out in search of Alliance officials , and finally I contacted se cretary Mr McKay , who mar ried a South Shields girl and who lived in the town before moving to Morpeth several years ago . He listened to my plea , made several calls of his own and came back saying that the Management Committee was meeting in Morpeth last night and that South Shields Mariners ' application for membership was to be added to the agenda . Mr McKay proved himself to be a good friend of South Shields by his swift moves yesterday af ternoon . Tuesday's rejection by the Wearside League was , at the time , a blow that cut deeply into the new club's ambi tions , but on reflection it was something of a blessing in that it was to lead to mem bership of the 84 - year - old Mariners chairman Mr Northern Alliance , a compe Martin Ford , committee tition renowned for its effi- member Mr Billy Carr and I Preference Shares 7-50 % equal to 11-19 % to basic rate taxpayers Nelson Don't turn a blind eye to these interesting figures AND NELSON AND PREMIER BUILDING BUILDING SOCIETY OP ASSETS EXCEED £ 2,996,000 RESERVES EXCEED £ 159,000 12 21 UL 11 This is the all - conquering Redwell Secondary School Under - 14 team . They won every game during the season , collecting the League title and the Alex Murray Knock - Out Cup , scoring 118 goals with only eight against . Back row ( left to right ) : G. Crutwell , G. Charlton , P. Huartt , D. Baxter , P. Hobson , J. Harvey , 1. Brand and Mr P. Scott , coach , Front ( left to right ) : K. Henson , G. Brand , D. Minns , A. Weir ( capt . ) , K. Longstaff , T. Watson and M. Frazer , ex motored to Morpeth last evening before , last night's night wondering what the meeting was a revelation . A outcome ould be , and when homely , friendly and we arrived atmos at the Black tremely hospitable Swan , that overlooks Mor- phere confirmed all we had peth Cricket Club , and met heard about the Alliance , members of the Management and after the meeting had Committee we knew at least been in progress for approxi we would get a fair hearing . mately half an hour , Mr Ford , Mr Carr and I were in . vited in to state our case and answer questions , After the bad temper that was displayed at the Wear side League meeting the Subscription Shares 8 % equal to 11-94 % to basic rate taxpayers Premier SOCIETY Member of the Building Societies Association : Authorised for Investment by Trustees For further information or advice please write , call or telephone Head Office : 3 WESTOE VILLAGE , SOUTH SHIELDS . Branch Office : QUEEN STREET , SOUTH SHIELDS . TEL : 3176 TEL : 4803 Joint Secretaries : I.C. STOREY , FC.A. & FT . THOMPSON FR.I.C.S. HOMELY TOUCH Alliance chairman Mr Stan Seymour Jnr . , whose father is the Alliance president , ar rived later and the meeting was chaired by vice - chairman dear old Hylton Laing , former chairman of Gates head Football Club . When we took our seats in the meeting Mr Laing imme diately put us at ease with a homeley remark if ever there was one , saying : " Well , we've talked about your applica tion , and now we're going to have a bit crack about it with you . " Searching questions were asked and honest answers given , and eventually we were asked to leave while our application was con sidered . ' When we were called back we were told that the Management Committee had unanimously decided to accept South Shields Mari ners FC into the Northern Alliance for next season which kicks off on Saturday , August 17 . South Shields has old ties with the Northern Alliance . South Shields Reserves were members in the 1930's , and in 1937-38 they won the Al liance Challenge Cup beating Amble in the final . The fol lowing season Shields Re serves were again in the final , but this time they lost to Morpeth Town . SHIELDSMAN Mr Ralph Craik , secretary of Morpeth Town , came across to me and said : " I'm delighted Shields are in . My father was a South Shields man and a great follower of the Shields team of years ago . I think the first two words I ever said as a tod dler were Ernie Hoffman " . Then Mr Arthur Miller , se cretary of Throckley Wel fare , added : " I used to play against South Shields in the old North Eastern League for Throckley Celtic . They were great days , and I'm very happy to see a South Shields club in the Alliance . " Chairman Mr Stan Sey mour has long been an advo cate of 16 teams in the Al liance and Shields ' mem ALLIANCE LINE - UP The 17 members of the Northern Alliance are : Alnwick Town , Alston , Bede College , Bedlington CW , Belford , Marine Park , Morpeth Town , Newcastle Uni versity , Percy Main Amateurs , Seaham FC , South Shields Mariners , Stockton , Sunderland Greenwells , Throckley Welfare , Wallington , Wallsend Athletic , Workington Reserves . bership takes it up to 17 , yet he was still happy to " go over the top " for Shields . He rightly argued that 16 teams gives a comfortable league programme of 30 matches and , with all the various cup competitions that member teams enter , the overall total is still a man ageable figure that does not lead to undue fixture con gestion . Even if bad weather takes its toll of matches , he said , the programme is not so crammed that it cannot cope . Martin Ford commented : " Well , how can we thank the Alliance enough . On Tuesday night some people thought the sun had set on senior football in Shields with the rejection by the Wearside League . But now we have a new dawn , and on behalf of all the people of Shields I offer them my humble thanks . And what a great set officials , aren't they ? " We will be very happy in the Alliance , " " They are a league of gen tlemen , " said Bil Carr , who added " Now we have the impetus . Now we know where we are going . Now we are off the floor . Our weekly ticket scheme , which is the Life blood of the club and upon which the whole future of senior football in the town depends , will be extended into every corner of the town and I know we will get the support now that we are in a league and a good one , " The work is really start ing now . A lot has been done , more than we dared hope , really , but if the town speople lend their support then this new era will be a great one . " Manager Bobby Elwell was delighted at the news . " The Northern Alliance is a very , very good competition indeed and I am proud to be man aging a team in it . I know one or two people in the Alliance and they really are a fine set of men , " he said . Hear . Hear ! HOUSEWIVES and BUSINESSMEN ! SAUNA AND SUN - RAY FACILITIES Special Off Peak Rates for Men and Women between 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily COURSES CAN AVERAGE LESS THAN Session 10p HEALTH SALON 6-12 GRANGEWAY , PRESTON GRANGE NORTH SHIELDS . Telephone 78002 ELECTROSLIM HEALTH Per CLOSING DOWN SALE Due to Redevelopment 20 % OFF ALL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Electronic Organs , Accordions , Amplification , Drums , Guitars , etc. DON'T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY OF A BARGAIN ! Sale commences 9.30 a.m. MONDAY , JUNE 3 must END JUNE 28 ELECTRONIC ACCORDIONS LIMITED 125 NEWGATE STREET , BISHOP AUCKLAND , CO . DURHAM TELEPHONE 4374 SAP |
|---|