50 Years Ago Today: Barrow Ruled the Third

[pjdaly]

It was 50 years ago today, Friday 1st November 1968, that Barrow went top of the old 3rd Division for the one and only time in their history. They did so, courtesy of a 1-4 away win at Hartlepools (yes, they were Pools plural back in those days). Given recent events, namely the departure of Paul Casson, whose original avowed aspiration was to get us back to those glory days, this anniversary now carries more poignancy as we have to wonder how such heights could ever be reached again.

It was a Friday night match. I can't remember what the reason was for playing on the Friday night rather than the Saturday but it meant that, with other teams not playing till the next day, Barrow had a window of opportunity to hit the top – even if it was for less than a day! And that is exactly what happened. By about 9.35 pm on November 1st 1968 Barrow ruled the 3rd but by about 5.45 pm the next day other rivals had won their Saturday afternoon matches and Barrow were back down to 4th in the table – and never hit the top of the 3rd Division again in their history (well, at least up to this point in time). It might be argued that we did hit joint top again the following week but technically we only reached second spot as Bournemouth led with a vastly superior goal average.

There is an irony in that the records show that in Barrow's previous match, a 2-0 home win against Crewe at Holker Street on Saturday 26th October 1968, their star striker Jimmy Mulholland had played and scored his customary goal. By the following Friday, as Barrow travelled to Hartlepools for their date with destiny, Jimmy Mulholland was no longer a Barrow player, having been sold to Stockport for £6,000 during the midweek. I say "irony" because it could be argued that Jimmy represented Barrow's rise to success more than any other figure, having been the man scoring the goals that took us up from the 4th Division in 1967 and continuing to net his share after that time. Yet, as Barrow took to the field at Hartlepools the player who had fired us to these heights would never feature for Barrow again as we approached the summit of the 3rd Division.

Although the great Mulholland was gone by the time the club hit the highest peak in its history, a slight widening of the perspective enabled us to see that his departure actually coincided with the club's free-fall into the abyss, for despite going top in the first match after his departure we were soon dropping down and down and down, ending up just above the relegation places in this same 1968-69 season and then taking the drop in 1969-70. And the plummeting continued, finishing rock bottom of the 4th in 1970-71 and finally finishing third from bottom in 1971-72 and failing to get re-elected. So November 1st 1968 represented both the summit and the beginning of the massive drop.

It must seem like a suicidal move to have let Mulholland go; according to Evening Mail reports of the time, Jimmy had been dropping hints about wanting to leave . . . for "domestic" reasons, whatever that meant. Maybe Appleton and the club felt they had little choice? Barrow had invested in a new state-of-the-art bus for travelling to the away games. Reports state this investment had been in the pipeline since the summer and that the Mulholland sale was not connected with needing the money to finance this purchase. Who knows? Apparently our new striker from the summer of '68, George McLean, made a quip after enjoying one journey on the new team bus: "I must thank Jimmy Mulholland when I see him, if this is what the club has bought with the money – and I wonder who will be sold next to provide the money for a portable television?" I don't know if George ever got the TV for the bus but "Mulholland out, McLean in" symbolised the great decline that the club was about to undertake.

Another irony is that the man who had been taking over the goal-scoring mantle from the great Mulholland was another striker by the name of "Jimmy Mul" . . . Jimmy Mulvaney. But whereas Mulholland had been slight of build and sublimely skilled, Mulvaney was a powerhouse, short in height but built in Maradona-esque fashion like a miniature tank. To be fair, Mulvaney was hugely impressive when he put his mind to it, but not enough to stop the rot.

[pjdaly]

The following is the match report penned by Bob Herbert in the Evening Mail of Saturday 2nd November 1968:

A REAL "TOPPING" DISPLAY by Bob Herbert

As a schoolboy, I can recall the elation after seeing a match at Holker Street on Christmas Day, 1947, and then discovering that other results put Barrow AFC at the top of the Third Division (North), even though it was only for 24 hours.

They achieved that No. 1 status again, early in the 1966-7 campaign with a win at Barnsley that saw them lead Division IV for as long as three days – but neither of these feats were anything to compare with their achievement at Hartlepools last night.

With a resounding victory they leap-frogged over their rivals and, while the players were quite willing to accept that they might well head the Third Division for less than 20 hours on this occasion, they showed a form which suggested that they were not flatteringly placed this morning.

This was them back at their best with a superb all-round team display, showing everyone willing to help his colleagues and give his all.

Only for eight minutes did they give any cause for concern and that was when Pools hit back from being 0-3 down to reduce the deficit by one goal and give their morale such a boost it seemed as if they might cut the leeway even further.

WEATHERED STORM
But Barrow never became bewildered, weathered the storm until the interval, and then I knew they were home – but far from dry, with the rain that had persisted for the previous 36 hours still pouring down.

There could be a temptation to say that it was only natural that Barrow should win, for the opposition is not having too happy a time and struggling near the foot of the table.

But it should be remembered that they had been on the up and up recently, with five points from their three previous games, and they were defending a record which showed they hadn't lost a home League match since September 16th last year.

They were disappointed at seeing the end of a run of 26 home games without a defeat but there was no fluke about this great Barrow success.

In fact they could well have been more than three up before the North-Easterners started their fight back for, in addition to the goals, Roy McCarthy had the ball in the net when a well-flighted Peter Bebbington free-kick reached the wingman off a defender and the shot which went in off the goalkeeper's legs was ruled out for offside.

It didn't take Jimmy Mulvaney long to get back on the goal trail after his absence through a shoulder injury, for when John Gill was caught wrong-footed he snapped on to a George McLean pass and smashed Barrow into a fourth minute lead.

ABOVE EVERYONE
The second came 19 minutes later when a Howard Riley corner was headed back put to him by a defender. He lobbed the ball straight back and the big McLean was there, head and shoulders above everyone else in the goal-mouth to place in a second.

The 28th minute brought the third, with a cross-field Bebbington free-kick dropping right at the feet of McCarthy who stopped the ball and swept it home before there was even a hint of a challenge.

Then when Peter Blowman fastened onto a Terry Bell pass and got the Pools goal after 37 minutes it was the turn of Fred Else to do his bit. And having made one superb save from Ron Young in the early moments he made a handful more before the break.

The stage seemed set for a fighting recovery by the home side but the Barrow men resumed so well on top of their job the points were never in danger.

In fact the panicky events were at the other end and Tony Bircumshaw had to clear a header from the confidence-restored McLean off the line.

But he wasn't there when the lanky leader chipped over a 63rd minute cross and McCarthy's header slipped through the goalkeeper's fingers to complete the scoring.

Riley, who found so much space for himself to operate in, nearly boosted the tally even further but the team effort was such it made it impossible to lavish praise on any particular individual as Barrow's star man.

Even before a knock left Colin Appleton struggling, Roy Ellison had emerged as the midfield dynamo, while the strength of Bebbington proved invaluable to a defence that was in a very confident mood.

The wet and heavy conditions seemed bound to bring errors but Barrow committed few and this very sound performance certainly put the side where they deserve to be – at the very top.

HARTLEPOOLS 1 BARROW 4

Hartlepools: Smith, Bircumshaw, Drysdale, Sheridan, Gill, Goad, Blowman, Bell, Cummings, Solan, Young. Sub: McLeod

Barrow: Else, Mallon, Bebbington,Harrison, Arrowsmith, Appleton, McCarthy, Ellison, McLean, Mulvaney, Riley. Sub: McDonald

Referee: Mr L. A. Casson (York)

Attendance: 3086

[pjdaly]

Here are the Tables for 1st and 2nd November 1968:

[pjdaly]

Here's some artwork from 50 years ago. Did anyone ever know the identity of the artist? The second picture was a re-hash on the same wall from as recently as 2010. Whereas the first and original version lasted for decades, the 2010 one was scrubbed by someone working for the Council within days. Hmm . . . still, I suppose it wasn't actually true in 2010 . . .

[pjdaly]

Here's the team from 68-69, minus one or two of the best players, notably player-manager Colin Appleton. The Evening Mail listed a player called Ted Purden in the line-up when they printed this but I believe he was a player from the late 1950's and before my time. So, I've scrubbed that name . . . it's definitely George McLean there at the back.

[Steelworks End]

Thanks for the posts, pjdaly. They certainly bring back memories of those heady days when Barrow were set to conquer the world - or at least the Third Division!

A small number of clubs from the lower divisions preferred to play their games on a Friday night, to avoid clashes with bigger clubs in their local area. It wasn't something that the Football League were keen on, believing that all weekend games should kick off at 3.00pm on a Saturday afternoon.

Oh, how times have changed!

[mulligan]

Magic memories PJ Daly.Mick Hartland was a truely gifted player,a real fans favourite.But i expect a complete nightmare to manage,especially when Mr Ron Mcgarry hit town.How we could now do with Brian Arrowsmith and hard as nails Eric Harrison in our team today.A truely special team and very special memories.

[Lancaster Branch]

Great stuff, thanks PJ

[Nigel Bamford]

Love it, @pjdaly . Wonderful days indeed.

[xerxes]

It might be argued that we did hit joint top again the following week but technically we only reached second spot as Bournemouth led with a vastly superior goal average.

Interesting term 'goal average' which might be unfamiliar to many younger supporters. In those days if teams were tied on points, you divided their 'goals for' by 'goals against' to obtain the goal average. On that basis, the Friday night League table that you have shown is incorrect, as Watford's goal average of 2.25 is higher than that of the other clubs tied on 20 points.

[The Tomahawk Kid]

Magic memories PJ Daly.Mick Hartland was a truely gifted player,a real fans favourite.But i expect a complete nightmare to manage,especially when Mr Ron Mcgarry hit town.How we could now do with Brian Arrowsmith and hard as nails Eric Harrison in our team today.A truely special team and very special memories.

Agree. Mick Hartland was a gifted footballer who usually 'ran' the midfield against most opponents.
And who can forget those shorts!

Watford are mentioned in this thread.
Can anyone remember our home game against them?
I'm quite sure it was the season we finished 8th from top of Div 3.
They had a winger named Stuart Scullion who played for England U21s.

They beat us 4-1 on a rain soaked pitch. And to rub salt into the wound their support 'took' The Holker End with ease.
I was only a boy at the time and remember wondering what had happened to the Barrow Boot Boys?

That game has always stuck in my mind - it seemed, to me - that after that defeat the team went on a downward spiral which eventually led to the departure of Colin Appleton and the appointment of the infamous Norman Bodell

[xerxes]

Watford are mentioned in this thread.
Can anyone remember our home game against them?
I'm quite sure it was the season we finished 8th from top of Div 3.
They had a winger named Stuart Scullion who played for England U21s.

They beat us 4-1 on a rain soaked pitch. And to rub salt into the wound their support 'took' The Holker End with ease.
I was only a boy at the time and remember wondering what had happened to the Barrow Boot Boys?

That game has always stuck in my mind - it seemed, to me - that after that defeat the team went on a downward spiral which eventually led to the departure of Colin Appleton and the appointment of the infamous Norman Bodell

Yes, I remember that game well, but it was the same season as the aforementioned Hartlepool game, 68-69. (The previous season we finished 8th, with the game against Watford a 0-0 draw). Scullion was brilliant, he just seemed to skim across the quagmire of a pitch as though it was a perfect surface, leaving players in his wake. I think our former player Keith Eddy was also in the Watford team.

They did bring a lot of supporters but there weren't any nasty incidents as I recall. I think that if they 'took' the Holker End it was only because the Barrow supporters had switched ends at half-time! The 'Boot Boy' thing only started the following season, when Barnsley came armed with knives.

[Jim]

My memories of the game:

Arguably the zenith of Barrow's football league career was in 1968 when for 24 hours they headed Division 3. The game against Hartlepool was on a Friday evening and, as I was working in Preston, it necessitated a "flyer" from work. It poured with rain all day, and some doubted my sanity in driving over the Pennines with a couple of friends for a match which would probably be cancelled (no Soccerline or Radio Cumbria in those days). Arriving at the ground, we were relieved to find the match on, although the waterlogged pitch and continuing rain did not promise much in the way of football.

Hartlepool had not lost a home league match for 14 months, but after half an hour they were 3-0 down, to goals from Mulvaney (4 minutes), McLean (19) and McCarthy (28). Even that score did nothing to emphasise the sheer brilliance of Barrow's display in such awful conditions: the quality of the football could only be called sublime. Even though 'Pool pulled one back before half time, McCarthy scored a fourth on 63 minutes to complete the rout. Barrow could have had several more, and we amused ourselves taunting a bedraggled and very unhappy George Smith in the home goal.

The next morning's paper showed Barrow lording it at the top of the Third Division over the likes of Swindon Town, Watford and Luton. Alas, 24 hours later Swindon won their game in hand and Barrow's decline had begun. The following week they were to win rather unconvincingly at Holker Street, when a McLean shot, going wide, flew off referee Ivan Robinson and into the net. A week after that, by a quirk of fate, the same referee was in charge of Barrow's first round FA Cup tie at Goole, to be welcomed by chants of "Give us a goal, Ivan Robinson...". He didn't oblige, but Barrow won 3-1. From then until mid-February, with Colin Appleton absent through injury, Barrow were to go 14 games without a win, narrowly avoiding relegation. Appleton resigned owing to ill health, one Norman Bodell took over, all the familiar faces left, and the slide towards Division 4 and relative obscurity began.
Barrow team: Else, Mallon, Bebbington, Harrison, Arrowsmith, Appleton, McCarthy, Ellison, McLean, Mulvaney, Riley (Sub: McDonald)

[The Tomahawk Kid]

Watford are mentioned in this thread.
Can anyone remember our home game against them?
I'm quite sure it was the season we finished 8th from top of Div 3.
They had a winger named Stuart Scullion who played for England U21s.

They beat us 4-1 on a rain soaked pitch. And to rub salt into the wound their support 'took' The Holker End with ease.
I was only a boy at the time and remember wondering what had happened to the Barrow Boot Boys?

That game has always stuck in my mind - it seemed, to me - that after that defeat the team went on a downward spiral which eventually led to the departure of Colin Appleton and the appointment of the infamous Norman Bodell

Yes, I remember that game well, but it was the same season as the aforementioned Hartlepool game, 68-69. (The previous season we finished 8th, with the game against Watford a 0-0 draw). Scullion was brilliant, he just seemed to skim across the quagmire of a pitch as though it was a perfect surface, leaving players in his wake. I think our former player Keith Eddy was also in the Watford team.

They did bring a lot of supporters but there weren't any nasty incidents as I recall. I think that if they 'took' the Holker End it was only because the Barrow supporters had switched ends at half-time! The 'Boot Boy' thing only started the following season, when Barnsley came armed with knives.

Thanks for refreshing my memory regarding which particular season.

There were no incidents. But the Barrow Boot Boys were around in those days - I know because my Uncle was friends with a few of them. If he was unable to take me to a evening game he would ask a couple of them to baby-mind me on the Holker Street End...

[Steelworks End]

One of the many "What if?"s from Barrow's history. Player Manager Colin Appleton had built on Don McEvoy's promotion winning side and, despite the aforementioned departure of Jimmy Mulholland, had produced what is arguably the best ever team to grace a Barrow shirt.

What if he hadn't been taken ill and forced to step down - What could that team have achieved? Something we'll never know.