An Illustrated History of Old Sutton in St.Helens

Part 20 (of 41) - Sport in Sutton (St.Helens)

Researched & Written by Stephen Wainwright ©MMX Contact Me

Sport, Leisure & Entertainment Photo-Album Sutton Harriers Boxers & Wrestlers

Header image: Photograph of Sutton Harriers Athletics Club taken c.1910

Towards the end of the 19th century as Sutton and St.Helens' large-scale industrialisation developed, so concern was expressed for the social and industrial welfare of workers and their families. Just like today, exercise was seen as a cure or preventative medicine for many of life's ills and organised sporting activities were strongly encouraged. These were often linked to the church and supported by influential citizens such as chief Sutton landowner Michael Hughes (III).

Sutton Cricket Club was founded in 1864 and was originally sited in Norman's Road in Sutton Junction which was renamed Hoghton Road in December 1899. A new pavilion was formally opened on June 2nd, 1888, to the accompaniment of Roughdale Brass Band. They moved to their present New Street ground in 1902, when Colonel Michael Hughes allowed them the use of some of his land for a pepper-corn rent of just a pound per year. Hughes was captain of the team for a spell and blocked proposals to build houses in front of the cricket field. Sometimes he would bring teams of gentlemen players to play Sutton CC and he later sold the club his land in New Street for just £300, a fraction of its true value.

In fact chief Sutton landowner Michael Hughes (III) was a great supporter and benefactor of sport in Sutton and was president or chairman of more than thirty sporting clubs in the region. He also bred racehorses who were often seen in Sherdley Park during the close season.

Incidentally, the sound of leather on willow ceased in Sutton during the First World War. The ground was instead used for growing produce, although the 22 yards of pitch was thankfully spared the spade!

During World War II, members of the armed services who were on leave played at the New Street ground and they sometimes included county players who'd been stationed in the district. Sports other than cricket have been played at the Sutton club and Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins frequently played snooker there during the 1960s.

Sutton Manor also had their own cricket team who are pictured right in the mid-1930s.

Liverpool Mercury report on Sutton Cricket Club, St.Helens
Two reports from the Liverpool Mercury - above left on Sutton's new pavilion dated June 4, 1888
Right a scorecard of a low scoring match between Wavertee vs. Sutton CC dated May 1, 1899

Sutton Harriers were formed in 1899 and is the fourth oldest athletics club in Merseyside (although now known as St Helens-Sutton Athletic Club after a merger in 1990) and from the outset they were remarkably successful. Within seven years of their formation they'd won the National Cross Country Championship, winning 13 sets of medals in their first 14 competitive championships. Inevitably Colonel Michael Hughes was their patron and was said to be extremely proud of their achievements. (See Sutton Harriers page)

Sutton Harriers Athletics Club were founded in 1899 and photographed c.1910

Sutton was, of course, built on coal and the pitmen were a tough breed who worked hard and played hard too. They also fought hard and naked clog-fighting or purring, as it was known, was a popular 'sport'. The colliers wore clogs in the mines and used them above ground to kick each other in the head in organised fights. It was also a popular way to settle disputes and much money could be waged on the outcome.

There were about 6000 men employed in the mines in the greater Sutton area in 1900 and by the start of the new century, purring had been replaced by Lancashire catch wrestling. Although safer than purring, it still had a reputation for being a violent sport.

During the twentieth century, organised boxing increased in popularity with Ernie Proudlove, George 'Bold' Thomas, Mick Gordon, Wilf Douglas, Jack Gutteridge and Ray Shiel all popular pugilists who were based in Sutton and Clock Face. Then there was Ike Beech and his son Billy, who were the wrestling stars from Sutton Manor. (See dedicated Sutton Boxers and Wrestlers page)

Sutton miners also played Knurr and Spell. The Knurr was a hard ball which was propelled vertically into the air by a Spell, a mechanical device that was tripped when a foot or club pressed a lever. Other sporting activities included playing 'piggy', attending Newton races, bowling, whippet racing, rabbit coursing and starling shooting. Pigeon-flying had its enthusiasts and there used to be a Sutton Oak Homing Society. Pitch-and-toss of penny coins was endemic and pounds were staked on every toss. The practice was illegal and the police were regularly on the look out for offenders. (See 'The Raid On The Sutton 'Tossers' article in the Sutton Crime page)

sutton manor colliery football team 1949
The Sutton Manor colliery 16-18s football team with the E.K.Lawrenson memorial rose bowl trophy

death of a sthelens footballer 1892 newspaper report

Sutton has had quite a number of football clubs over the years, playing either association or rugby football. Towards the end of the 19th century and early 20th, teams with the names of Sutton, Sutton Albion, Sutton Athletic, Sutton St.Annes, Sutton Rovers, Sutton White Star and Peasley Cross football clubs had their match reports featured in the local press. Football also became widespread in the pits with each colliery having a number of teams that played competitively.

Sutton FC played rugby, as opposed to association football, and for four years from 1888 had a rising star in Jimmy Rennie (c.1871 - 1892). He lived at 25 Chester Lane and like his father Joseph, was a miner at Lea Green colliery. Earlier in the 1891/2 season, 21-year-old James had been transferred to St.Helens Football Club, which would become the successful Saints Rugby League side. He scored five tries in the short time that he spent with the club before his back was broken in a mining accident.

A large stone detached itself from the roof inside Lea Green's Potato Delph mine on April 7th, 1892 and crushed Rennie. The club paid for an expert surgeon to travel to the Cottage Hospital in Peasley Cross to perform an operation, but he was too severely injured and died a few days later. The St.Helens Newspaper (18/4/1892) said he was "one of the most promising players in the forward rank" and The Liverpool Mercury (20/4/1892) reported that his funeral at St.Nicholas Church, Sutton had "a very large attendance of sympathising friends. The Ravenhead Brass Band headed the cortege, and in the procession were members of all the St.Helens football clubs".

Sutton Commercial Rugby League team with the Warrington Observer Cup - Contributed by Sutton Historic Society
Back row team standing: David Baines, Albert Anslow, Evan Jones, Jack Woods, Frank Gilgrest
Front row: Bill Connolly, Ernie Lawrence, Charlie Lightfoot, J. Lee, Ernie Kitts, Frank Bamber, George Newton, Peter Heyes

Sutton Commercial played rugby league on playing fields at Norman's Lane and they won the Warrington Observer Cup on four occasions in seasons 1919, 1928, 1929 and 1930. The team is photographed above with the cup in Warrington during the late 1920s. During the 1930s, Jim Robinson of Gartons Lane in Clock Face played the 13-a-side code for Wigan Highfield in Pemberton.

Another Sutton star of the oval ball was Mick Lawrence (1928 - 2010) who signed for Saints in 1948 and scored 26 tries in 72 senior and reserve team appearances before transferring to Warrington. Born John Michael Lawrence in Sutton Manor in 1928, he studied at St.Theresa’s junior school and West Park grammar where he played rugby union. Mick worked at Clock Face Colliery as a trainee mining surveyor before qualifying as a consultant engineer. These were the days when players had other jobs and Mick decided to leave Warrington's rugby league side in 1952 to concentrate on his non-sporting career. He probably didn't regret his decision as his work on the tunnel at Liverpool Central Station led to him being presented to the Queen. Mick moved to Thailand in 1963 and died in South Wales in 2010 aged 81.

Also born in Sutton Manor was Frank Kitchen, who played rugby league for Leigh during the 1950s and also made a name for himself in crown green bowing.

The St.Helens Combination associated football league was originally formed in Sutton on August 4th, 1917, when Ernest Worrall called a meeting in the old LMS Club in Penlake Lane (later the British Rail Club). Sutton Rovers were a highly successful exponent of the round ball and in the photograph below, taken at the end of the 1925-26 season, are pictured in Ellen Street. The East Sutton Labour Club, which was then just a wooden building, is in the background. Jed Rattigan of Berrys Lane is seated third from the right on the front row.

Sutton Rovers 1925-26
Sutton Rovers show off their silverware in Ellen Street c.1926 - Contributed by Sutton Historic Society

St.Helens Town Association Football Club was associated with Sutton for many years. It had originally been formed around the turn of the century, but was wound up shortly after WW1. In 1946 the club was revived mainly through the efforts of Jack Friar who lived at 106 Marshalls Cross Road and was manager of the St.Helens Co-operative Wholesale Society. Friar formed a consortium with a number of businessmen and bought from Pilkingtons the land at Hoghton Road that had formerly been the home of Sutton Cricket Club. The adjacent Bold Colliery supplied the materials that were used to construct changing rooms and refreshment huts and St.Helens Town were accepted into the Liverpool Combination.

Jack Friar was club secretary and George Fryer was the ambitious manager of the team. A timber structure from RAF Haydock was converted into a supporters' social club and a stand was built at the ground to seat 200 spectators, as part of a total ground capacity of 10,000.

St.Helens Town football club 1949
St.Helens Town in February 1949 - Bert Trautmann is on the front row, extreme right

St.Helens Town's most famous players were German goalkeeper Bernd 'Bert' Carl Troutmann (1923 - ) , winger John Connelly (1938 - ) and Bill Foulkes (1932 - ) . Troutmann played 43 games for the club, which he joined in 1948 while working as a farm labourer in Milnthorpe, near Kendal. Every Saturday morning, Bert, who'd been a prisoner of war in Ashton-in-Makerfield, took the train to St.Helens Junction from what was then Westmorland in order to play for the club. As an amateur and alien he couldn't be paid but received £1 in expenses. However, the return train fare to St.Helens was £1 eight shillings! In Alan Rowlands' 'Trautmann The Biography', the author quotes Bert's first impressions of the Hoghton Road ground:

The pitch looked like a ploughed field, this was at the beginning of the season remember, and I did not relish the prospect of diving around as the season wore on. There was an old hut to the right of the pitch, which the supporters used, and another containing a huge concrete bath. At one end was a training area, on the far side a row of terraced houses and at the far end the Bold Colliery, where a lot of supporters worked. The club had a great feel to it, I could see how committed everyone was and their great enthusiasm for the game. The people, more than anything, made me sign.

Bert Trautmann pictured in 1954 when playing for Manchester City under Don Revie

Bert Trautmann quickly became a hugely popular figure and attendances at Hoghton Road increased from 300 to several thousand within a passionately loyal rugby league town. In January 1949, Bert, who with other ex-POWs was employed by the War Agricultural Executive, was transferred from Milnthorpe to the bomb disposal unit in Huyton. Here he worked as a labourer, digging shafts around unexploded bombs.

During that month he was also granted leave from the government to return home to Bremen, so he could see his family for the first time in seven years. The German goal-stopper took with him a large, heavy trunk weighing almost five stones which was packed with foodstuffs that the St.Helens Town's supporters club had presented to him in a Sutton cafe. They'd sacrificed their own ration coupons to help Bert's family in Bremen. The fans had also given a tearful Trautmann an envelope containing 150 one-pound notes. A small fortune in those days and it was a gesture that he's never forgotten.

Speaking in 2009, 86-year-old Trautmann, who used to drink in the Junction Inn, commented to the St.Helens Star on the time that he spent in Sutton:

St Helens gave me a new life – the five years in the war and three years as a POW took eight years out of my life. I came out and was welcomed in to a beautiful community in Sutton. It was a mining district – miners are the same the world over and very warm-hearted and they took to me.

Bert, however, had a short fuse and a tendency to argue with officials. He was sent off for the first time in April 1949 when playing against glass side UGB. However, four weeks later St.Helens Town won the Mahon Cup and began the following season in the Lancashire Combination. Although Trautmann, who'd been watched by scouts for some time, only played a few more games at Hoghton Road as he signed for Manchester City on October 6th, 1949.

St.Helens Town vs Manchester City former players programme

The signing took place at 106 Marshalls Cross Road inside the bedroom that a flu-ridden Trautmann was sharing with Jack Friar's nine-year-old daughter, Barbara. He'd temporarily moved into the Friar family home in Peasley Cross while he recovered from his illness. A persistent Jock Thompson, manager of the Maine Road club, was at his bedside for almost four hours and Bert told Barbara that he'd only signed the contract as he was desperate to go to the toilet! City signed the player behind the back of Friar, who was at a meeting in Manchester, and they also beat Burnley to the signature of the German goalie. The Clarets had agreed to Friar's request to make a 'donation' to St.Helens Town in lieu of a transfer fee. Being on amateur forms, no fee was permissible, but there was nothing to prevent a gift to the club. However, St.Helens Town received nothing from Manchester City, apart from a verbal agreement to hold friendly games between the two sides, for which the sky blues contributed under-strength teams.

Although the pressured signing was considered controversial in St.Helens, it was hugely so in Manchester, especially amongst members of the large Jewish community. The invective was so strong that at one point Trautmann was quoted as saying that he wished he'd stayed in St.Helens. The Luftwaffe sergeant, who'd been awarded the Iron Cross, had been used to tolerance, kindness and even hero-worship in Sutton - not hatred. In Catrine Clay's 2010 biography, 'Trautmann's Journey – From Hitler Youth to FA Cup Legend', the author paints him as having been a loyal Third Reich supporter, who was far from being a good, innocent German who'd been accidentally caught up in the war.

So the hostility to his signing was fully understandable. However, Bert continued living at 106 Marshalls Cross Road for a further eighteen months and with the support of the Friar family, club management and other players, soon won over the City fans. He ended up playing 545 games for the Sky Blues and famously broke his neck in the 1956 FA Cup final but continued in goal. That year the former German paratrooper became the first goalkeeper to be awarded the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year. Tragically, having married Margaret Friar, the daughter of Jack, their young son John was killed in a road accident in Stockport. After retiring in 1964, Bert began a managerial career at Stockport County.

Pictured here is Richard 'Dick' Kitts in the back entry of his Edgeworth Street home in 1947. Dick was a keen sportsman who played for a number of clubs in the Sutton district and then became an important member of Town's support staff, along with trainer George 'Bold' Thomas. Son-in-law George Houghton writes that Dick Kitts was:

... a jack of all trades at St.Helens Town and acted as trainer, groundsman and general dogsbody in the Trautman era. My wife remembers Bert coming to her home when there was still some resentment from certain people about him being German and her mother welcomed him saying "Well he is some mother's son". Despite losing a son of her own in the conflict, they became very friendly with Bert and regularly went to see him play at Manchester City.

On Sunday November 15th, 2009, St.Helens Town played a Manchester City Former Players XI for the Bert Trautman Trophy which they won 6-5. The match commemorated the 60th anniversary of Bert's transfer, although Town's Honorary President, now resident in Spain, was unable to attend through ill health. The club had left Hoghton Road in Sutton seven years earlier and will relocate from Knowsley Road to the new Saints stadium in Peasley Cross in 2012.

footballer john connelly
Left: St.Anne's under-11's football team from 1950 with the junior schools trophy. Walter Noonan holds the trophy and headmaster John Duffy stands at the back next to priest Fr. Jeremias with teacher William Bold on the right - contributed by Sutton Historic Society; Right John Connelly who was born in Clock Face:

John Connelly was born on July 18th, 1938 in Clock Face and attended St.Theresa's school in Sutton Manor. Connelly played for St.Helens Town and was spotted by scouts from Burnley when they attended a match in November 1956. They went to the game to observe another player but Connelly so impressed them that he was offered a trial at Turf Moor and the rest is history!

In 265 appearances for Burnley as a winger, he scored a remarkable 105 goals and in 1964 he transferred to Manchester United who paid £56,000 for him. Connelly received 20 international caps and was in England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad but only played in the opening game against Uruguay. He was an unused reserve in the celebrated 4-2 final win over West Germany.

former footballer john connelly with prime minister gordon brown
John Connelly after receiving his belated World Cup medal from Prime Minister Gordon Brown

On June 10th, 2009, John Connelly was finally awarded his World Cup winner's medal, forty-three years after the event! Prior to 1974, world football governing body FIFA only permitted players who'd actually started a cup final to receive a medal. As a result of a campaign, FIFA decided to retrospectively award match honours. So John Connelly was invited to 10 Downing Street to belatedly receive his award from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, accompanied by FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

Other footballers of note from the Sutton district include Harry Parry of Bolton Wanderers, Bill Luckett of Southampton, John Quinn of Sheffield Wednesday, Ken Finney of Stockport County and Clock Face's Gary Owen who played for Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion. John Quinn had a lot in common with John Connelly. They were the same age, both fathers were miners and both attended St.Theresa's school in Sutton Manor. There was also the brilliant Busby Babe Bill Foulkes, who came from Thatto Heath and played for St.Helens Town whilst working at Lea Green Colliery. He played 679 games for Manchester United, mainly at centre back, and survived unscathed from the Munich air disaster of February 6th, 1958.

Finally in this football round-up, mention must be made up of respected referee Jim Finney (1924 - 2008) who came from Sutton Road. Three years after being appointed to the Football League referees list, Finney took charge of the 1962 FA Cup Final between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur and at the end of the game was presented with the match ball by Danny Blanchflower. He also officiated at the 1966 World Cup finals, however, injuries sustained in a road accident five years later prematurely ended his career.

This page has been devoted exclusively to the history of male sports with women's participation largely limited to the walking day athletics contests that were held in Sherdley Park. However, during WW1, when many women took men's jobs in factories, female football teams played competitively and Sutton Glass Works had their own team. At the end of the war with most women giving up their jobs in the munitions and other factories to the returning men, most female football teams disappeared. However, the Sutton Glass Works women's soccer team reformed as St.Helens Ladies AFC. If you can supply details of the history of any women's sports in Sutton, I'll be delighted to include it and improve the gender balance!

August 12th 2010 - St.Helens Ladies AFC Appeal - Margaret Gibbons of St.Helens Historical Society is researching St.Helens Ladies AFC for their 2011 Local History Exhibition in the Friends Meeting House. If you have any photographs or information, please contact Margaret on memojog@googlemail.com. Thank you.

Sutton Manor pitmen who won the coal industry 5 a side
Sutton Manor miners pose with their Coal Industry NW 5-A-Side trophy - Contributed by Mel Moran

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Next: Part 21) The Rapid Rise of Sutton Harriers; | Research Sources

Sutton Beauty & Heritage's History Pages:

01)  Township of Sutton & St.Helens        |      02)  Lords & Masters
03)  Michael Hughes of Sherdley        |      04)  The Sherdley Estate
05)  Sutton's Halls & Houses        |      06)  Dr. Henry Baker Bates
07)  Religion in Sutton        |      08)  Rev. Henry Vallancey
09)  Education in Sutton        |      10)  Mineworking in Sutton
11)  Sutton Manor Colliery #1        |      12)  Sutton Manor Colliery #2
13)  Clock Face Colliery        |      14)  Bold Colliery
15)  Industry in Sutton Township        |      16)  Sutton Transport
17)  Sutton Transport Timeline        |      18)  Health & Sanitary Conditions
19)  Old Sutton Pubs        |      20)  Sport in Sutton
21)  Sutton Boxers & Wrestlers       |      22)  Rapid Rise of Sutton Harriers
23)  Leisure & Entertainment        |      24)  Sutton Celebrations
25)  Sutton Streetnames       |      26)   Pudding Bag
27)  Notorious & Curious Crime      |     28)  Sutton Tragedy #1
29)  Sutton Tragedy #2       |      30)  What's Wrong With Sutton?
31)  How Sutton Has Changed        |      32)  Memories of Sutton Part 1
33)  Memories of Sutton Part 2       |      34)  Memories of Sutton Part 3
35)  Memories of Sutton Part 4       |      36)  Memories of Sutton Part 5
37)  Memories of Sutton Part 6       |      38)  Memories of Sutton Part 7
39)  Sutton Trivia & True Facts       |      40)  Clog Clatters in Old Sutton
41)  Research Sources, References & Bibliography

Plus 13 Heritage Photo-Albums:

   Sutton's Lords & Masters;     Sherdley Estate;     Religion & Education;
   Transport;     Sport, Leisure & Entertainment;     Sutton Streets;
   Sutton Manor Colliery #1; #2; #3; #4;      Clock Face Colliery;
   Bold Colliery;     Sutton Industry;

Sutton Beauty & Heritage Main Home Page

This website has been written and researched and many images photographed by the Sutton Beauty & Heritage site owner, Stephen Wainwright. All rights are reserved but my images and text content can be re-used, although I would prefer a credit. High resolution versions of many photographs can be supplied on request at no charge. Other images are used for heritage and educational purposes and are believed to be in the public domain. This site takes a responsible attitude to copyright and, where appropriate, I endeavour to obtain permission from rights holders. This is not always possible and you are encouraged to contact me via the contact page to resolve any rights issue or if you require accreditation for the use of any photograph on this site.

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