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It is with South Shields AFC that he is best locally remembered , which he managed in three appointments over a period of some 15 years , between 1947 and 1974 , 1947 - 1951 , 1954 - 1963 and 1970 - 1974 , the latter as assistant manager , then manager and lastly as general manager . The late 1950's and early 1960's in particular was a halcyon period in the club's fortunes , when it was nationally recognised as being one of the strongest in non - league competition . Testimony to that were no less than 6 league championship and runners - up honours . Debateably the most memorable game in the club's postwar history was the magnificent 5 - FA Cup replay victory against Fourth Division Crewe Alexandra on Wednesday afternoon of November 19th 1958 , in front of a crowd of 12,000 . The club was later to achieve a record ground attendance of 20,500 , and a supporters association membership of 13,000 ! Another huge gate was the 19,000 present for the FA Cup visit of York City , managed by South Shields born Sam Bartram . These were indeed great days , and due in great measure to the expertise and managerial skills of Charlie Thomas . Such memories for those present time does not dim . Shields ' Gazette ' sports reporters Dick Kirkup and Bill Bawden certainly had much to write about during those eventful times . During his working life , his football activities were of a part time nature , as from 1945 he was employed at the Tyne Dock Engineering Co. Ltd ship repair yard in South Shields as industrial relations manager . He was personally responsible for the acquisition of a complete floodlighting system from Sunderland AFC for Simonside Hall , and many hundreds of railway sleepers with which to form ground terracing , from the British Railways scrapyard on Newcastle Road , also tens of thousands of bricks - all to materially advantage the ground amenities . His own ultimate ambition for South Shields AFC was football league status , and Simonside Hall eventually developed to accommodate 40,000 crowds , neither were realised , and are faded memories these years later . To his great and lasting credit , his service with the ' Mariners ' will be long remembered with both gratitude and affection . He also scouted for Newcastle United , Aston Villa , Barnsley , Lincoln City and Queen of the South , as well as Birmingham City , and his judgement was always well respected by many clubs for his player recommendations . Numerous were the South Shields players who also later enjoyed league careers , one such was centre forward Chris Marron , scorer of an all - time 10 goals record when with the club in an FA Cup preliminary round , later recognised and included in the ' Guiness Book of Records ' . He was himself the recipient of several offers of a league club managerial appointment , which were always declined , preferring to remain in part - time club management in non - league football , and as he put it ' avoid ulcers ' . It is most instructive to innumerate the multiplicity of the posts , positions and appointments he held , indeed the sheer volume of which is quite amazing , and is due testimony to a quité remarkable man . |
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