60 Years ago today

B B

Big Swifty

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No one seems to have mentioned today is the 60th anniversary of City winning the FA Cup (and of course Bert's injury).
 
Unforgettable even after 60 years. I have never seen anything in sport to compare with Bert's heroism in playing for the last 15 minutes with his neck broken - not a hamstring tear but a fractured neck! He became my hero that day and the hero of every little boy I knew, whoever they supported. For the only time ever we argued about who was going to have the honour of being in goal when we played football! "Bags I being Bert."
 
Watched it in monochrome on a 12 inch tele ( which was standard in those days ). Not many tellys knocking about in 1956 and I remember it was standing room only in our house. We did not know that Bert had broken his neck but could only admire his courage, even diving at the feet of a Brum player a few minutes after his injury. The match was repeated on the Sunday in an hour long programme, the same crowd flocked into our place. It was not wall to wall repeats in those far off times.
A couple of days later the women in our street managed a street party for the kids, one of these days if I ever manage to embrace the technology I will put up the picture taken by the News or the Chron. It is sad to look at the photo now of the 10-11-and 12 year old kids and think that quite a few of them are no longer with us.
 
old blue said:
Watched it in monochrome on a 12 inch tele ( which was standard in those days ). Not many tellys knocking about in 1956 and I remember it was standing room only in our house. We did not know that Bert had broken his neck but could only admire his courage, even diving at the feet of a Brum player a few minutes after his injury. The match was repeated on the Sunday in an hour long programme, the same crowd flocked into our place. It was not wall to wall repeats in those far off times.
A couple of days later the women in our street managed a street party for the kids, one of these days if I ever manage to embrace the technology I will put up the picture taken by the News or the Chron. It is sad to look at the photo now of the 10-11-and 12 year old kids and think that quite a few of them are no longer with us.
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Did you go to Berts testimonial v Moscow Dynamo, dad told me that Yashin played for them, and City won the friendly. That's what I was told anyway.
 
Peggy's a blue said:
Did you go to Berts testimonial v Moscow Dynamo, dad told me that Yashin played for them, and City won the friendly. That's what I was told anyway.
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The only Bert Trautmann testimonial I remember was when he captained a combined City & United XI against an international XI in 1964. The international XI were all British players. Manchester won 5-4. It was the only time I ever saw Stanley Matthews play. Whenever he got the ball he just seemed to confuse himself by going round in circles while the full back (Cantwell I think) just backed off and let him get on with it. When was the testimonial against Moscow Dynamo?
 
This list of programmes for friendlies suggests that we played Dinamo Moscow on 6 December 1965: http://manchestercityprogs.weebly.com/home-friendlys.html

The site itself actually says it was on 16 December but if you look at the picture of the programme cover, it states 6 December and a Russian source I've found also lists it for that earlier date. The programme also bills it as a "Grand Challenge Match". As noted above, Bert's official testimonial was the Manchester XI v International XI the year before.

The Dinamo game seems to have been part of an end-of-season tour they made of England because they played Newcastle, Stoke, Arsenal, us and finally Walsall between 21 November 1965 and 8 December 1965 (in those days, the USSR season ran from the start of March to mid-November). We won 2-0 but the Russian link I've promising match facts no longer seems to be functioning (Arse beat them 3-0, while they won the other tour games). Yashin was certainly the Dinamo and USSR 'keeper at the time and presumably he'd have played as, in political terms, the Soviets regarded winning these games as important for reasons of prestige.

I don't think I've ever heard of Bert guesting for us in this game. However, he did return to play 45 minutes in Johnny Hart's testimonial in 1974. Corrigan sat behind the goal watching him: http://monumentcity2010.blogspot.ru/2016/03/master-and-pupil-bert-trautmann-by.html?view=timeslide
 
Yashin was generally accepted to be the greatest keeper of his era but was quite fulsome in his praise of Bert. He referred to him as the other great keeper at Manchester City.
 
petrusha said:
This list of programmes for friendlies suggests that we played Dinamo Moscow on 6 December 1965: http://manchestercityprogs.weebly.com/home-friendlys.html

The site itself actually says it was on 16 December but if you look at the picture of the programme cover, it states 6 December and a Russian source I've found also lists it for that earlier date. The programme also bills it as a "Grand Challenge Match". As noted above, Bert's official testimonial was the Manchester XI v International XI the year before.

The Dinamo game seems to have been part of an end-of-season tour they made of England because they played Newcastle, Stoke, Arsenal, us and finally Walsall between 21 November 1965 and 8 December 1965 (in those days, the USSR season ran from the start of March to mid-November). We won 2-0 but the Russian link I've promising match facts no longer seems to be functioning (Arse beat them 3-0, while they won the other tour games). Yashin was certainly the Dinamo and USSR 'keeper at the time and presumably he'd have played as, in political terms, the Soviets regarded winning these games as important for reasons of prestige.

I don't think I've ever heard of Bert guesting for us in this game. However, he did return to play 45 minutes in Johnny Hart's testimonial in 1974. Corrigan sat behind the goal watching him: http://monumentcity2010.blogspot.ru/2016/03/master-and-pupil-bert-trautmann-by.html?view=timeslide
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Does your database of friendlies have any reference to us playing against Hibs and Hearts in the mid fifties or a little earlier. Somewhere at the back of my mind I remember my Ma taking me as a young'un or is it my imagination?
 
old blue said:
Does your database of friendlies have any reference to us playing against Hibs and Hearts in the mid fifties or a little earlier. Somewhere at the back of my mind I remember my Ma taking me as a young'un or is it my imagination?
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I live and work in Russia, and the database I was referring to was of matches involving Russian teams. However, City did play Hearts at Maine Road in October 1953 in our first game under floodlights: http://www.mcfc.co.uk/news/club-news/2014/july/gary-james-blog-3/1405498409 - we played Celtic as well, a couple of weeks later, IIRC.

Cant' find a reference to us playing Hibs around that time, but we may have done. My complete record is in storage in the UK, I'm afraid, and that's the best source I have for this kind of stuff.
 
My Dad took me to both the v Moscow Dynamo and Bert's-testimonial games.

If memory serves my right someone at the old scoreboard end blew a whistle near the end of Berts testimonial game before time and fans flooded on the pitch. Perhaps someone could confirm that as I was only a nipper at the time.
 
petrusha said:
I live and work in Russia, and the database I was referring to was of matches involving Russian teams. However, City did play Hearts at Maine Road in October 1953 in our first game under floodlights: http://www.mcfc.co.uk/news/club-news/2014/july/gary-james-blog-3/1405498409 - we played Celtic as well, a couple of weeks later, IIRC.

Cant' find a reference to us playing Hibs around that time, but we may have done. My complete record is in storage in the UK, I'm afraid, and that's the best source I have for this kind of stuff.
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Many thanks for that. I knew that I had been taken to the Hearts match but could not get it confirmed. I suppose I was taken because it was the first floodlit game ( we do not have history, do we? ). I was only six at the time and now suddenly feel very old. Thanks again.
 
I spoke to Bert a few years back about this game. He said he was in excruciating pain, dazed and obviously didn't know the extent of the injury. He said he was grateful to the defence because they were great in those last 15 mnutes to protect him. He also said it was a myth that he went and joined his team mates to celebrate after the game, he went to hospital and stayed there for a few days.
 
Re City v Hibs: City played Hibs on March 8 1952, at Maine Road. Hibs won 4-1, all four goals being scored by James Souness (no relation).

I have no record of City's line-up.
 
BigBluey said:
My Dad took me to both the v Moscow Dynamo and Bert's-testimonial games.

If memory serves my right someone at the old scoreboard end blew a whistle near the end of Berts testimonial game before time and fans flooded on the pitch. Perhaps someone could confirm that as I was only a nipper at the time.
Click to expand...

I was behind the goal at the scoreboard end for Bert's testimonial as a 13 year old and I really can't remember if a whistle was blew or not but me and my pal Pete were one of the first over the wall and on to the pitch to hug our hero Bert.
I have forgot so much over the years but this was one of them occasions you remember forever.
Sweet memories.
My hero Bert.
 
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