The Bert Trautmann Testimonial

[Aguerooooooo93:20]

Just thought I’d share a few distant memories of this game before they get forgotten forever.

The game was between a Manchester City and United combined 11, versus an England 11 at Maine Road (in 1964 I think).

Quite a novelty combining the two teams even then but a nice idea at the time all the same. I suppose the intention was to get some United fans to attend to swell the numbers.

Obviously Bert played in goal for Manchester and the only England player I can recall was Ron Springett, who I think played for Sheffield Wednesday at the time. I can remember Ron making a really good save and thinking I wish it was Bert who had done the save,

I think the score ended at 5 – 4 to England but I stand to be corrected on this.

If any of our other older fans can recall any further details of this game I’d be interested to read them.

Bump.

Just to share a story about Bert and this game.My grandad was also a goalkeeper (decent standard
back in the day) Bert was his hero.He'd tell my dad (and me apparently) how good he was day in day out :-)

He also attended this game and a few months afterwards he won a replica shirt of Bert's in a raffle at work.

Fast forward 30 odd years (May 1994) or so my grandad was diagnosed with cancer and given six to eight months to live.So my dad sent a letter to City to see if they could sort out send a letter or something to cheer my grandad up.

So about a week later the club contacted my dad to say Bert was coming over mid July for some media work or other and he wanted to meet my grandad and family for a brew and a chat at maine road.

My dad decided to keep this a secret from his old man.Well the day arrived and dad just said they'd be going out for lunch.I was well peeved I couldn't make it as I was in Hong Kong working ;-(

My Gran had to sneak out Bert's shirt.So he could put his moniker on it.It still brings a tear to both mine and my late dads eyes when he tells me how my grandads eyes lit up when Bert walked in on them.

They''d talk shop for like 2 hours or so.They formed a real bond.Bert would ring my Grandad every week to see how he was and chat away for a while

Sadly in late Sept 94 my grandads health took a turn for the worse and was admitted into hospital for end of life care and was given a week to live.My Gran rang Bert to let him know on the sunday he got admitted.

Bert only then went and turned up at his bedside on the tuesday afternoon.Paid for his own airfare

My grandad was buried in his Bert Trautmann shirt.So hopefully they're still mates up in Heaven

God I fookin love this Club and Bert

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

Bump.

Just to share a story about Bert and this game.My grandad was also a goalkeeper (decent standard
back in the day) Bert was his hero.He'd tell my dad (and me apparently) how good he was day in day out :-)

He also attended this game and a few months afterwards he won a replica shirt of Bert's in a raffle at work.

Fast forward 30 odd years (May 1994) or so my grandad was diagnosed with cancer and given six to eight months to live.So my dad sent a letter to City to see if they could sort out send a letter or something to cheer my grandad up.

So about a week later the club contacted my dad to say Bert was coming over mid July for some media work or other and he wanted to meet my grandad and family for a brew and a chat at maine road.

My dad decided to keep this a secret from his old man.Well the day arrived and dad just said they'd be going out for lunch.I was well peeved I couldn't make it as I was in Hong Kong working ;-(

My Gran had to sneak out Bert's shirt.So he could put his moniker on it.It still brings a tear to both mine and my late dads eyes when he tells me how my grandads eyes lit up when Bert walked in on them.

They''d talk shop for like 2 hours or so.They formed a real bond.Bert would ring my Grandad every week to see how he was and chat away for a while

Sadly in late Sept 95 my grandads health took a turn for the worse and was admitted into hospital for end of life care and was given a week to live.My Gran rang Bert to let him know on the sunday he got admitted.

Bert only then went and turned up at his bedside on the tuesday afternoon.Paid for his own airfare

My grandad was buried in his Bert Trautmann shirt.So hopefully they're still mates up in Heaven

God I fookin love this Club and Bert

Wow just wow

 

[KS55]

Bump.

Just to share a story about Bert and this game.My grandad was also a goalkeeper (decent standard
back in the day) Bert was his hero.He'd tell my dad (and me apparently) how good he was day in day out :-)

He also attended this game and a few months afterwards he won a replica shirt of Bert's in a raffle at work.

Fast forward 30 odd years (May 1994) or so my grandad was diagnosed with cancer and given six to eight months to live.So my dad sent a letter to City to see if they could sort out send a letter or something to cheer my grandad up.

So about a week later the club contacted my dad to say Bert was coming over mid July for some media work or other and he wanted to meet my grandad and family for a brew and a chat at maine road.

My dad decided to keep this a secret from his old man.Well the day arrived and dad just said they'd be going out for lunch.I was well peeved I couldn't make it as I was in Hong Kong working ;-(

My Gran had to sneak out Bert's shirt.So he could put his moniker on it.It still brings a tear to both mine and my late dads eyes when he tells me how my grandads eyes lit up when Bert walked in on them.

They''d talk shop for like 2 hours or so.They formed a real bond.Bert would ring my Grandad every week to see how he was and chat away for a while

Sadly in late Sept 95 my grandads health took a turn for the worse and was admitted into hospital for end of life care and was given a week to live.My Gran rang Bert to let him know on the sunday he got admitted.

Bert only then went and turned up at his bedside on the tuesday afternoon.Paid for his own airfare

My grandad was buried in his Bert Trautmann shirt.So hopefully they're still mates up in Heaven

God I fookin love this Club and Bert

Brilliant story. When you can link personally to one of our heroes it is special.

 

[Bluesince1979]

Heres my Bert story..

Bert moved to Bramhall in the 50s and became very good friends with a bloke called Stan Wilson, who was a Bramhall local amateur football legend.
stan was married to a woman called Audrey who was a kind of an adopted (unofficially) sister of my Nanna (on my dads side), who were a massive family of Blues.
my dad , born in 1949 and lived in woodhouse park, used to often visit stan and audrey in bramhall with my nanna and also spend time with bert too.

As a boy i kinda thought it was a bit of a ‘story’ until Stans 80th birthday in the mid 90s at the Deanwater Hotel in Woodford and the man himself , Bert, made the trip over from spain to surprise stan.
I was in my 20s then and gobsmacked isnt the word as all the family were there and Bert recalled my dad as a boy

sorry if that made no sense but thought id stick my Bert story in

Im going to add a bit to this…

Bert gave my dad a lift home once to woodhouse park after being at stans.
As he drove down the road all the local kids ran along side his car, dad got out beaming and told everyone bert was his uncle

 

[Gray]

Just thought I’d share a few distant memories of this game before they get forgotten forever.

The game was between a Manchester City and United combined 11, versus an England 11 at Maine Road (in 1964 I think).

Quite a novelty combining the two teams even then but a nice idea at the time all the same. I suppose the intention was to get some United fans to attend to swell the numbers.

Obviously Bert played in goal for Manchester and the only England player I can recall was Ron Springett, who I think played for Sheffield Wednesday at the time. I can remember Ron making a really good save and thinking I wish it was Bert who had done the save,

I think the score ended at 5 – 4 to England but I stand to be corrected on this.

If any of our other older fans can recall any further details of this game I’d be interested to read them.

I was there still got the programme, I will dig it out and see if I wrote anything on it at the time.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

My tiny Bert story. When we played away at Villareal in the champions league (2011 I think) we came out at the end of the game and there was Bert. Lots of fans were coming up to him and shaking his hand etc. we were pissed up and started singing (To the tune of “who put the ball in United’s net?”) “Who won the cup with a broken neck? Super Bert Trautmann”, loads joined in and serenaded him and he was beaming.

 

[the blue panther]

Was there with a school pal after The Old Man took us to the Scoreboard turnstile but then called in at the Parkside to meet up with my uncles for a pre-match livener..

A great night, of so many memories and definitely far more than 45000 in Maine Road ('Uncle Albert up to his tax usual tricks' as The Old Man said on Lloyd Street as we walked back to Hulme)

'Waggy' (David Wagstaffe), who was my first real City idol, had a great game for us on the left-wing that night, having coming back from Wolves to play at Trautmann's request, scoring two for the 'Manchester Xi'. Jimmy Armfield, a boyhood Blue before going to Blackpool, captained the 'England XI'.

But my abiding memory of that night is seeing Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney play for the 'England XI'. Seeing Finney after he'd been retired a few years is a particularly precious memory for me. The Old Man always used to take me to games and talk about some great opposition player or other we were about to see, encouraging me to learn from them as a player (John 'The Ghost' White of Spurs and Alex 'The Golden Vision' Young of Everton were particular favourites.. and I did learn a lot from observing those two in particular!)

The Old Man always used to say to me 'Son.. there are great footballers.. and then there's Tom Finney..' Of course, he was past his prime when he played in that testimonial but I can still see in my mind's eye one amazing moment when Finney was on the touchline in front of the Main stand, killing a fast pass in an instant, taking the two defenders back with him before feinting and spinning to send a caressed 20 yard pass true down the line to the now unmarked Matthews to go full tilt behind the defence to cross into the box. Every time in recent years I have seen David Silva execute that kind of pass/move it always takes me back to that night.. Finney, like David Silva, was one of the most elegant, graceful players I've ever seen.

Oh and one other thing.. I remember Trautmann coming back to play in the Johnny Hart testimonial many years later (1974), making a couple of typical Bert saves, flying through the air to catch shots (the sort that nowadays most 'keepers punch away!) with the crowd responding by chanting 'Sign him up!'

'Eeee, 'appy days!

Thanks for that - and I'm so glad you mentioned that Johnny Hart 1974 game as I've been puzzling since seeing the film, The Keeper, when it was that I saw Bert play. I just couldn't remember - I thought I was imagining it, as I was only 6 in 1964, and now I realise it was the 1974 Johnny Hart game.
Cheers.

 

[Gone for a Burton]

My tiny Bert story. When we played away at Villareal in the champions league (2011 I think) we came out at the end of the game and there was Bert. Lots of fans were coming up to him and shaking his hand etc. we were pissed up and started singing (To the tune of “who put the ball in United’s net?”) “Who won the cup with a broken neck? Super Bert Trautmann”, loads joined in and serenaded him and he was beaming.

I was there that night.

It was wonderful to see the great man greeted by our young generation of fans.

Bert, clearly enjoyed what was a very boisterous few minutes with Mancunians.

Legend !!

 

[eastmanc]

Was there with a school pal after The Old Man took us to the Scoreboard turnstile but then called in at the Parkside to meet up with my uncles for a pre-match livener..

A great night, of so many memories and definitely far more than 45000 in Maine Road ('Uncle Albert up to his tax usual tricks' as The Old Man said on Lloyd Street as we walked back to Hulme)

'Waggy' (David Wagstaffe), who was my first real City idol, had a great game for us on the left-wing that night, having coming back from Wolves to play at Trautmann's request, scoring two for the 'Manchester Xi'. Jimmy Armfield, a boyhood Blue before going to Blackpool, captained the 'England XI'.

But my abiding memory of that night is seeing Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney play for the 'England XI'. Seeing Finney after he'd been retired a few years is a particularly precious memory for me. The Old Man always used to take me to games and talk about some great opposition player or other we were about to see, encouraging me to learn from them as a player (John 'The Ghost' White of Spurs and Alex 'The Golden Vision' Young of Everton were particular favourites.. and I did learn a lot from observing those two in particular!)

The Old Man always used to say to me 'Son.. there are great footballers.. and then there's Tom Finney..' Of course, he was past his prime when he played in that testimonial but I can still see in my mind's eye one amazing moment when Finney was on the touchline in front of the Main stand, killing a fast pass in an instant, taking the two defenders back with him before feinting and spinning to send a caressed 20 yard pass true down the line to the now unmarked Matthews to go full tilt behind the defence to cross into the box. Every time in recent years I have seen David Silva execute that kind of pass/move it always takes me back to that night.. Finney, like David Silva, was one of the most elegant, graceful players I've ever seen.

Oh and one other thing.. I remember Trautmann coming back to play in the Johnny Hart testimonial many years later (1974), making a couple of typical Bert saves, flying through the air to catch shots (the sort that nowadays most 'keepers punch away!) with the crowd responding by chanting 'Sign him up!'

'Eeee, 'appy days!

I was there for Johnny Hart's testimonial match, sat in the Platt Lane with my Dad, I was ten I think. I remember Bert coming on at half time for Joe Corrigan and my Dad telling me to remember this as Bert was his all time favorite City player at that time. Bert must have been 5o then, or am I wrong on that.

 

[petrusha]

I was there for Johnny Hart's testimonial match, sat in the Platt Lane with my Dad, I was ten I think. I remember Bert coming on at half time for Joe Corrigan and my Dad telling me to remember this as Bert was his all time favorite City player at that time. Bert must have been 5o then, or am I wrong on that.

There's an account of the Johnny Hart testimonial here on the very worthy site citytilidie.com. Only four days after the famous derby following which United went down.

Peter Gardner is very enthusiastic about the whole evening. Anyone who remembers his reporting will know he certainly wasn't afraid to say a match or City display was shit if that's what he thought.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

And the Maurice Setters back pass? Top fuckin' corner, and then he said he'd always wanted to score against Bert but had to settle for an 'oggy'!

'Twas the one and only time I've invaded the pitch - the game was over, mind!

 

[Gray]

I wasn't born but here's the programme cover

View attachment 11321

I got mine signed by the great man himself, just 2 days before my birthday.