Remembering Bert Trautmann On His Birthday 22/10/23

[KS55]

I was in the Platt lane as a kid and I vaguely remember him being sent off. I think he hoofed the ball out of the penalty area and it hit the ref in the back ??

I have a wobbly memory of him objecting vociferously to an unfair penalty and kicking the ball away. I think that was the season we were relegated to Div 2 and the sending off came close to dooming us. He took his shirt off as he left the pitch and threw it on the ground, mad as hell.
PS. I probably generated that in my imagination! Can anyone confirm? Calling @Gary James

 

[eastmanc]

My dad's hero.

Same here but I got to see Bert play in 1974, I was 10, when he came on as a sub, for big Joe, against Stoke, at half time, in Jonny Hart's testimonial match at Maine Road. He must have been 50 then.

 

[BlueRockape]

Had a chat with him a few times in the plough AOM he used to come in Malcom Alison.
An absolute gent

 

[city68]

Yes an absolute gent got his book signed and photo at Mecca.....

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I was in the Platt lane as a kid and I vaguely remember him being sent off. I think he hoofed the ball out of the penalty area and it hit the ref in the back ??

I was at that game and he was almost behind the ref if I recall. He tried to explain that he was just booting it back up field but it followed a West Hame goal that was a mile offside and the ref ignored it so Bert dispensed his own kind of justice. Jeez, how we laughed at that ref rubbing his ample arse.

 

[Gray]

I have a wobbly memory of him objecting vociferously to an unfair penalty and kicking the ball away. I think that was the season we were relegated to Div 2 and the sending off came close to dooming us. He took his shirt off as he left the pitch and threw it on the ground, mad as hell.
PS. I probably generated that in my imagination! Can anyone confirm? Calling @Gary James

 

[BringBackSwales]

View attachment 173038

Chants of “McDowell must go”, we certainly knew how to create good songs in those days!

 

[city tony]

Remember that incident.when the ref asked him for his name he replied Stanley Matthews.allegidley

 

[yerwot?]

I was going to ask why he got sent off,I was in the main stand but did not see the incident, i do know when he came off he was f'kin furious.luneblue, thanks for clearing it up. Bert had big boots to fill, Frank Swift was such an idol for City fans, but he became one himself. The g/k position in those days was no place for wimps, centre-forwards were battering rams, with zero protection for the keeper from the refs. It was a privilege to have him playing for City

 

[Innsbruckblue]

Forgot to post this the other week. They’ve renamed the entrance at his old club TuRa Bremen.

 

[Mr Banks]

Read his book while away this summer , an excellent read but not what I was expecting. Much more about his early war years , very interesting

 

[JRockBlues]

Read his book while away this summer , an excellent read but not what I was expecting. Much more about his early war years , very interesting

That was probably the Catrine Clay one. There's another which doe add more detail from his playing career and life afterwards, Trautmann The Biography by Alan Rowlands. Not sure on current availability though as it was a while ago when I read it.

My review:

Last year I read another biography of Bert Trautmann and ended by wishing there was more detail for his life after the legendary incident where he broke his neck and still continued playing in goal for another 15 minutes during an FA Cup final. Well, with this alternative I've found it. It doesn't detail his early life as comprehensively as Catrine Clay's book and is written in a more personal style rather than the documentary feel that the other one left me with. I did get to learn more details on his rehabilitation from his injury and subsequent return to a playing career but also on his life after retiring. He went on to manage a lower league club in England before returning to Germany to coach a couple of lesser teams there before being recruited by the German Football Association into a role to bring football to developing countries. This took him to Burma (even qualifying for the Olympics in 1972), Tanzania, Liberia, Pakistan and Yemen. Being awarded an OBE for his work with The Bert Trautmann Foundation, a charity which aims to forge Anglo-German friendship through football. This book certainly adds more to what was an already amazing life story.

 

[fanatic1]

I do remember his testimonial in (April 1964?).The teams were a combined City and United side versus an all England X1. Matthews, Finney, Bobby Moore and Banks played for the latter. Bert wasn't first choice then - Harry Dowd was but Trautmann showed all his goal keeping skills. City were getting about 15,000 gates for league games but this was a sell out (approx 47,000 ). The match never finished. At about the 80th minute a scruffy urchin race onto the pitch to touch Bert. In seconds many others followed suit. Several grown men near me were in tears. Amazing night.