A Letter from Tony Kay of Sheffield Wednesday, Everton and England

Can any other oldies recall this?

Cheers to Tony!

Gives some credence to Tony Kay’s assertion that the man was ill-liked as he would pass you by without a cursory glance. Much later with my young son I met some of the Everton players at a Goodison invitational day. Nicest guy I ever met? Derek Mountfield... legend.

It is especially nice to hear that Tony Kay is still fit and well. I think it would be nice if the club invited him back for one of our home games this season, and let the crowd show their appreciation to him on the pitch at half-time.

I know it was a different era then, but it was a really draconian punishment. I don’t think he was allowed to play any form of football ever again. A great player!

As people pass on, sometimes history judges them too softly or harshly, but sometimes there are behind the scenes stories and recollections and usually they can’t all be wrong as to the general demeanour of one person or another.

I’ve been watching since before ’The Taxi’ and you were one of the finest of many fine players to grace an Everton shirt.

I remember that tackle Bob @3 mentioned. I also seem to remember that you played in the Roger Hunt testimonial, possible under the old standby of A N Other. I think You, Jerry Byrne and Keegan were the only ones taking it at 100%. If you read this and could confirm, I would be much obliged, if only to prove to myself that I haven’t lost it altogether yet.

If it’s any consolation, I think you were a victim of the times rather than the dastardly villain they chose to paint you as and thanks again for putting the record straight.

Any more ’Scoops’ for TW? (hint, hint)

Tony felt, however - and I'm inclined to agree - that without it, a lot of the context of his rebuttal of Dunlop's accusation is lost.

@phillyt1878 @ToffeeWeb We were happy to publish but without the Dunlop par. Concerns it may upset his surviving family. (Dunlop died 1990)

— David Prentice (@prenno) November 18, 2015

I was 11 years old at the time but still remember him vividly.

Although he was only with us for a short time due to the ludicrous ban, he was one of my favourite players.

I remember one of his party pieces which I copied when playing myself was to fake a pass back to the goalie, go over the ball and then with the outside of his foot turn and go forwards.

I would also like to take the Echo to task for not publishing the reply. I understand the point about Dunlop’s family but what about the families of the players who were falsely accused? Don’t they deserve to have the record put straight?

Shame on you and the Echo, Dave.

I do remember that tackle you refer to. It may even have been his first game at Goodison when Catterick used Kay as a sweeper. If it was his first at GP, I think we lost 1-0 but Kay was superb.

He was soon moved to a more orthodox midfield role and flourished. Apart from being a great footballer, he was a superb athlete and if not for his ban may even have lifted the World Cup in place of Bobby Moore. He was that good.

Everton were playing Blackburn Rovers we were then in the old First Division at Goodison Park. He tackled one of their players, who went down, and came away with the ball.

Blackburn had a centre half, Matt Woods. He was as big as the Liver Buildings and meaner than Roy Keane. Woods strode towards him with the intent of kicking him out of the ground.

There was a collective intake of breath from 40,000 at Goodison!!! We could all see what was going to happen. It was like something out of The Rover or The Wizard.
In a flash, still in stride he took aim and Tony hit a ferocious shot straight into the stomach of Woods who collapsed on the ground like a burst bag of potatoes!! There was a gasp from the crowd. Without breaking stride he just strode on with the ball.

Inter Milan played at Goodison I think it might have been 1963. They had a great Spanish inside forward Luis Suarez. He was no softy. Tony tackled him. However, in the course of the tackle as he was coming away with the ball, he unfortunately stood on Suarez’s fingers. He just looked up, never said a word but probably thought "Who was that masked man?"

Bob (#3). It was just like an ice skater.

The Rover and The Wizard? Ask your grandad.

I seem to remember the quote at the time, when we won the league and the Benzedrine story broke. I think it was in the Sunday press. Better "purple hearts than broken hearts".

Tony Kay is a great guy and worth following on twitter. There are a lot of memorable pics on there. Well done, Tony Kay!

A self-professed long-term blue, Prentice has an interesting Everton history:

A self-proclaimed match-going Blue in the early '70s, Dixie’s relative by marriage, EFC correspondent for the Echo, and so on....

Well, when he lived in our Roby Street during said '70s, did any of the lads – all match-going teens – ever know he was Blue? Er... no! We all walked up to Goodison on a Saturday... Alan Morris, Joey Bartley, Kevin Costello, Kev Bartley, Mick Clarke, Me.... Preno? No, never. He stayed behind with his brother Stephen, playing with my two brothers. My brothers didn’t even know he was a supposed Everton fan.

Why even raise this now Preno? A true blue would put EFC before their journalistic career, surely.... or should we take all past and future comments from you as just that, the words of an ambitious journalist – not the words of a real True Blue.

If you are going to publish one then you are going to have to publish another surely, and moreover if you are going use one person’s family as an excuse not to then surely that first article should not have been posted.

Shocking double standards where there clearly appears to be some other agenda to this.

Is there any evidence of this foul play other than Dunlop’s word?

I’m the same age as Bob (#3) and remember that tackle well as I had a bird’s eye view from the Bullens Road stand. Tony Kay and Alex Parker were the ultimate artists of the perfect slide tackle.

As tough as Tony was on the pitch, I seem to remember he never made a meal when someone gave it back to him. Mostly he just took it and got on with his game – usually to the detriment of whoever got stuck into him!

Although Tony was a defensive midfielder in today’s parlance, he also had a great eye for a pass that would open up the opposition.

I don’t if there is any truth in this, but a guy in our section who was shareholder told us that Ramsey called Catterick after Tony was banned. He asked Catterick who he would recommend to take his place in the England team – Catterick told him that his choice would be Nobby Stiles!

I wish Tony all the best and thank him for the great memories he left me at Goodison!

The next season, when I read in "The Echo" we had signed Tony, I was very disappointed because he would inevitably take the place of Brian Harris who was such a good player.

It was not long after his arrival that any doubters like myself, could see what a complete world class player this man was. It is one of football’s greatest tragedies to see such a talented player be lost to the game for such a silly error of judgement.

I totally concur with the comments on here about those times. Kay was a magnificent midfielder and worthy of selection ahead of anyone else in the country at that time. And it was good to read Alex Parker getting credit for his sliding tackles. The best right back I ever saw – Alex Parker. The best left back – Ray Wilson.

The only thing wrong with the photo above of the players in the old Goodison Road stand is that Albert Dunlop is a part of them. He does not look very happy. Is that Gordon West in front of him in the suit? Perhaps with a bottle of beer in his hand?

I had considered buying the Echo again after their so called rethink of their coverage. Never again will I buy that rag! To me, that was a cheap jibe and a cheap piece of writing by a supposed Evertonian and it blackened the reputation of men who were great Champions of England and not to give Tony the right of reply was bloody typical of that rag.

What was the headline "How Everton won the League on performance enhancing drugs. I don’t care what the article said, the headline was splashed across NewsNow Everton and did needless damage to players who did not deserve it.

I can remember being in the Park End the day we whupped Fulham 4-1. What a great finish to a great season. I was 14 and I Idolised (as we all did) those lads in Blue. Wonderful memories they gave us, wonderful football and, as Tony has written, backed by blood sweat and tears.

I hope Tony, that the club give you what you fully deserve, a public acknowledgement that you were indeed, a legend and to see you come on that pitch would be brilliant.

At one point, Suarez was looking dangerous as he attacked the blue penalty area. Tony Kay dispossessed him, twisted around and dribbled past him. As Tony passed the ball, Suarez slipped to the ground and Tony just calmly walked over one of his hands. Nothing phased him, reputations meant little to him because he was so good himself.

Aged 12, I had a season ticket with my Dad for the 1962-63 season and maybe because it was my first trophy, it has the fondest memories. Tony wasn't with us for very long, but he was a colossus while he was.

To read this about the dedication of that team nearly brought a tear to my eyes:

Every single man in the Championship-winning team of 62-63 was a truly dedicated, talented professional who worked hard every single day. The matches were just the icing on the cake; behind those fantastic performances were endless hours of hard training: tactics, skipping, sprinting, cross country runs up and down the sand dunes and in the sea at Ainsdale come hell or high water, set pieces, discipline, blood, sweat and tears. We all missed our kids growing up – Christmas, parties, family holidays, births deaths and marriages – because we were hungry for success and nothing would stand in our way.

We all have our favourites but my three favourite players are Ball, Vernon & Kay.

I was broken-hearted when Ball went to Arsenal but I was desolate when Tony Kay was banned. For me, he is the best player I have ever seen in the Royal Blue.

This comment says it all for me about Tony Kay the man:-

"I find it deeply offensive to my colleagues that these accusations have been raked up again when they’re not here to defend themselves."

They may have taken the love of his life off him for a foolish mistake, but they haven’t taken the fight out of him. Long may it be so.

The big gamble that so nearly paid off

Grobbelaar's trial for match-rigging

I can still visualize The People newspaper's hoarding outside the ground that day – it broadcast the coming revelations involving an Everton player – I still remember the sick feeling I got then.

The subsequent events still sadden me and I remain impressed with how Tony Kay has dealt with such a devastating blow to his life.

Reputations meant nothing to Tony; he played every game the same, hard but fair and in the game against Stoke City when the legendary Stanley Matthews played at the age of 50, Tony put him on his arse with a great tackle and strode away with the ball. This was the day after John F Kennedy was assassinated.

One of my all-time favourite Everton players who was denied a great football career and also denied becoming a legend of Everton fans from seeing him; I’m sure we would have won many more trophies with Tony in the side.

Best of health to you now, Tony, and good luck in the future.

John Keating, you describe his fall from grace to be a witch hunt but by his own admission he placed a £50 bet on his own team to lose. Just think about that for a minute and ask how you would react today if an Everton player bet against his own team in a game he was playing.

He recounts after his conviction going to speak to The Krays about taped evidence at their expense. The Krays!

He was later convicted of selling a fake diamond ring caught after being on the run in Spain.

As I said, he may have been a great player but let’s not put on rose-tinted spectacles and pretend he was whiter than white.

Yes he was stupid in placing a bet for Sheffield Wednesday to lose their match. Yet even the Sunday People who exposed the story, their man reporting the game gave Kay 9 out of 10. Kay thought it was easy money and he had no intention of throwing the game, he was stupid but what a price the man had to pay. Banned for life.

I remember some dipstick shouting during the minute's silence for JFK...The crowd around him would have lynched him if he hadn't been dragged out by the bobbies.

And is keen "not to upset the surviving family" of the man who made the unsubstantiated allegations - The Echo having dragged all this up in the first place!

Get real, Echo — don’t be The Sun. Shit journalism.

Collins was the best inside forward I have ever seen in an Everton shirt and that includes Ball, but Bally could play on the wide right and his crosses were ’Beckham@ like in accuracy. Vernon was the real striker of the side and he had pace and venom in his game. He was usually described as waspish. Ian Rush was Liverpool's equivalent IMO. Young was very much like Tostao the great Brazilian as he had great control and was the perfect foil for Vernon. Tony Kay IMO was better than both Kendall and Harvey potentially but his Everton career was snuffed out due to his ban.

I met Kay at the ’Class of ’63 meet up in Liverpool and he was as gregarious, friendly and open as any player I have met.

I actually never rated Dunlop as a first division goal keeper and West was far better all around.

Gross double standards by Prentice and the Echo.

If you read the links I posted earlier, you’ll see that double standards are evident in football, journalism and even the Law.

Good post, Brent.

I was standing in the Paddock and vividly remember an incident when Everton kept the ball from Man Utd for about 20 passes at the Gwladys Street end. Eventually they got possession and Denis Law sat down on the ball and beckoned our lads to come and get it off him... does anyone else remember that incident??

There was 54,000 fans there that day... Gabriel, Stevens, Derek Temple and the great Roy Vernon were the goal scorers... great days!!!

Question to the Echo.....

Why cannot Tony Kay seek to defend the players, many of whom are now dead and cannot defend themselves, because it may upset the family of Albert Dunlop? The Echo was quite happy to publish Dunlop's allegations and was therefore likely to offend the families of those players whom he (Dunlop) accuses of being cheats? Are the families of Labone and Scottie (for instance) not as worthy of concern as Dunlop's?

Advice from me.....

Don't read the fucking rag.

I don’t think anybody is suggesting Tony Kay was whiter than white... who is? As for him visiting the Krays, what the fuck has that got to do with it? In any case if he did he was in ’good company’ wasn’t he? Lord Boothby, Barbara Windsor, Frank Sinatra and many more... look it up.

The lad made a mistake, albeit a serious one, but it didn’t deserve a lifetime ban. There are players playing now who have committed far worse offences than that, served time and then started playing again on their release... including one who killed people as a result of drunk driving.

Tony was a human being and human beings are always likely to make mistakes and all deserve a chance to redeem themselves. He wasn’t given that chance.

I suppose you have never done anything wrong in your life.

There aren't that many saints in the world but get back to the real issue man.

The Echo is a disgrace for their stance over this. I hope you are reading this Prenno and feel ashamed as a supposed Blue.

We don’t need you to tell us what he did after his football career went for a burton. We are saying that he was a great football player and a great Everton player.

Yep, he had a bet. In that match though, he was Man of the Match, hardly a way to behave if you were aiming to throw the match.

I for one would love to see him be given the accolade of an Everton legend, because that is what he is.

He mightn’t get to heaven because he was a bit of a naughty boy, but he was one hell of a player; and he’s written a great riposte to that pathetic article in the Echo. What a rag!

That’s right, Dave... probably was pissed Kopite!

I have no doubt he was a great player, my old man never tires of telling me.

I also agree that the Echo regurgitating old unproven accusations serves little purpose and I’m glad TW has given him the platform to defend himself and his teammates on that matter.

But to me, in relation to proven and self-admitted gambling against your own side it goes beyond the pale, and if that is self-righteous in your eyes so be it. There is actually a difference between off-the-field misdemeanours and abusing the integrity of the sport.

Let’s not forget he wagered £50 in the early 60s on his own team to lose. That at the time was equivalent to two and a half years wages. Are you seriously expecting anyone to believe he and his accomplices did not want the opposition to win?

Sure people make mistakes, I’ve made a career out of it but cheating for significant financial game is way out of order, I’m of the same opinion of drugs cheats in all sports. You take the risks; you only have yourself to blame.

Four of us didn't have tickets for the game. We went into the players entrance, told a Swindon official we were Everton reserves, all he said to us was "Where are your badges?" We told the official no blazers just top coats.

He and his colleague ushered us into the ground and got us a wooden bench. We couldn't believe it, those lovely innocent West Country gentlemen.

The pitch was like a farmer's field after all the snow. It was Tony Kay's debut, he went to tackle Mike Sumerbee (a future Man City winger) slipped on the mud. Me and a mate got off our bench and picked Tony up, he said to us "I'll get that bastard," and he went on to have a fine game.

Getting to sit on a bench on the side of the pitch, sounds far fetched but I suppose it was more naivety 52 years ago.

I spoke to Tony Kay at the Central Hall in Renshaw Street 2 years ago to celebrate 50 years since our championship victory. We chatted about that Swindon win. He said the supporters deserved a medal travelling there especially it being a night match.

Grobbelaar was found not guilty, I think surprisingly to anyone reading the news coverage but Kay admitted the gambling and was found guillty.

And of course you are right I meant two and a half weeks wages!!

I don’t know if you’ve seen the hidden camera video used in Grobbelaar’s trial or even read the case in any detail but "surprisingly" found not guilty is something of an understatement.

I think that the "twelve good men and true" who comprised the jury must have been the rest of his team mates, plus a sub or two. Absolutely staggering in the face of the evidence presented to them.

Vernon 2
Gabriel
Bingham
Morrisey

I'm not going to defend Grobbelaar, I'm sure he was a bent bastard and didn't get what he deserved.

Well he was so good that all these years later I can guarantee that older fans would think of him when naming the best players to play for the Blues in their lifetime. He was a very skilful and inspirational player, who was all-action, hard-tackling and able to release his colleagues with perceptive and deadly passing.

And above all else if you had to choose a team to play for your life he would be there with Ball and Collins... which is ironic when you think about it. I still regard myself as very lucky to see him play.

Yep, I think he was one of the all time greats that I’ve seen playing for Everton. Not as great as Alex though!

I can’t understand why this article has been brought up again after all these years, and I would just like to add that I was never aware of any drug activities, all we were interested in was playing as well as we could and winning for our wonderful fans!

Let’s hope that Everton can win it again in the near future because our fans deserve to be as happy as they were in 62-63.

For my old man to say that, he must have been some player!

I know we went on to become one of the (if not, THE) top teams in the 60s but losing TK, apparently, was a major loss.

You will will always be remembered by thousands of Everton fans. Thanks for all the good times; you, like Tony, gave one hundred percent every game, mostly in midfield but quite a few at centre-forward.

Good health to you always.

What a superstar he was, pure magic.

For his allegation to be true, upstanding individuals like Jimmy Gabriel, Roy Vernon, Alex Young and Brian Labone would have to have been involved and I very much doubt any of them would have countenanced it.

I got Tony’s autograph many times as a 14-year-old and then had the pleasure of playing with him for two seasons 25 years later (1988). He was still a good player then at 51.

Great player and great man – legend. Spoke to him recently and he still works out 3 times a week – now 78.

You fellers though, were something else, Alex Parker behind you, Chico Scott ahead, Alex and Royston scoring goals for fun (think they got about 50 goals between them) Tony Kay and Derek Temple on the left with Dennis Stevens buzzing about as well

Thank you for so many great memories. (Including your party piece at Wembley in 1966... excellent!) A great time to be a Blue!

We were playing Blackburn at home, probably 1963-64. Bryan Douglas was running around kicking everyone in sight and the ref was doing nothing about it. Eventually, in the middle of the ground, and in full view of the ref, Tony ran up behind Douglas and punched him in the back of the head. Tony was sent off.

We lost the game 4-2, and Fred Pickering scored 2 of their 4. Signed by us shortly afterwards.

Sad, dark, depressing November for a young Catholic Evertonian. I remember that idiot - "Long live Kruschev!" and the scuffle that immediately followed; let’s hope he fell down a few times while being ejected

What might have been... Kay behind a midfield "trio" of Kendall, Harvey, Ball and Morrissey!

Only Everton, eh?

It’s Friday night here in Australia and I am thinking of the many hours I spent with my lovely dad watching this great football team home and away. As Jimmy said:

"Let’s hope that Everton can win it again in the near future because our fans deserve to be as happy as they were in 62-63."

We will be great again!

What a team. Great memories.
COYB

Let us not think what could have been. Let us concentrate on Tony Kay's reply to what would seem to be a made-up story by Albert Dunlop for his personal gain. For Tony Kay to reply shows courage and love and respect for the truth. Thank you Tony for your view on the story.

The suggestion by one of the Blues' fans to have a half-time walk out by Tony, what a good idea... especially if Tony held a Churchill-type cigar aloft!

In my opinion, Tony Kay was probably one of the top ten footballers Britain has ever produced. That is probably why he held the record for having the highest price tag of a player in 1962.

Spot on John. Tony Kay didn’t write in about himself, he wrote in to the Echo to defend the rest of those lads who gave us a fantastic Championship winning team.

Tony’s reply was extremely dignified and in total contrast to the execrable headline in the Liverpool Echo. I’d love to see him come out on the pitch but can you imagine some of the scumbag press coverage he would receive.

Tony and Jimmy Gabriel and the rest of that fine team who are still with us, could come onto the pitch, for us to show them that we know what they achieved and how they achieved it. Great players, dignified men.

Blackburn were worthy winners 4-2 if I’m not mistaken, with a converted full-back scoring a couple from the centre-forward position. We signed him later that season and he scored a hat-trick on his debut for us against Nottm Forest... Fred Pickering no less.

I remember one piece in the article about a game that took place at Molyneux on a very foggy day, a game I was at incidentally. He said he never heard the ref blow the final whistle, and while he was in the goalmouth he saw a figure approach him, and he dived at his feet as he thought it was the Wolves centre forward. Turned out it was a St John's Ambulance man walking across the pitch!

Dunlop was always a shady character and served time in prison for fraud after he retired from football; that says it all about this wretched man.

Of course under John Carey it seemed like we were signing new star players every week. It all eventually paid off in the 62-63 season. As quoted above, "what a team" – an exquisite footballing XI.

The young Gabriel was a magnificent sight, like a galleon with full sails billowing as he strode down the middle of the pitch, his blond hair flowing in the wind. And he did do a reasonable job as a No 9 when, as all too often it seemed, the magical Golden Vision was unable to play. Jimmy had a reasonable goal record when playing up front, including, I believe, one against the RS in the days when we used to beat them regularly.

Stay well, Jimmy, and thanks for the memories. You and Tony Kay were quite a pair of wing halves.

I too, at 13, went to Goodison for autographs, and it sounds like we might have been there at the same time, just after he signed for us, because I got Jimmy Gabriel’s autograph as well as two other Jimmys – Jimmy O’Neil and Jimmy Harris (who was quite impatient as I struggled to find my pen!).

Overall, I think it’s a little unfair to criticise his appearance record, which would compare very favourably to most of the Everton regulars from that period.

Perhaps my memory of Young’s absences is somewhat tainted by my disappointment whenever he was not on the team sheet. Of course he was in and out of favour in the seasons following the league trophy win, corresponding with Pickering’s signing.

Two Aussie cricketers backed England to beat Australia a few years ago and that was soon forgotten. Think of how Piggott cheated punters over the years when he backed horses he was racing against. He was actually only done over tax evasion.

Sport is filled with cheats across the board but Kay and Swan were really punished, others get away with it.

Dunlop opened a sports shop at one point and when customers asked how much an item was he said "How much do Jack Sharps charge?’. Whatever the answer he sold it for less. The shop soon shut and I have a feeling Dunlop was made bankrupt. For his size though, he was a decent keeper.

"I remember we played Liverpool at Anfield shortly after the article was published in the People. There were a load of banners on the Kop referring to purple hearts and other derogatory stuff."

I took some stick from my dad at the time, him being an unreconstructed RS. Anyway, what did somebody like Fowler have to sniff at?

When Johnny Morrissey scored the fourth goal in the Kop end, the Kop quickly lost thousands of their supporters who went home early (very early), taking their banners with them.

This begs the question - has a casting director ever put less effort into his/her work?

"The Story of World War Two? Ok.. erm.. Churchill, Lenny Henry. Hitler, Helen Shapiro. Stalin, Warwick Davis..." etc.

Sacrilege.

The Chuckle Brothers could have a decent stab at Ronaldo and Messi and perhaps Margaret Rutherford could stand in for Jack Butland in goal.

However, it also begs the question as to why the Echo would want to diminish this great achievement on the part of one of the city’s two football clubs. It also makes me think the Club would do well to review their relationship with this organisation.

Tbh, I’d like to think the Club’s legal representatives would have been in touch with the Echo after such a scurrilous piece of so-called journalism – but I suppose that wouldn’t be considered the "Everton way".

After a period of fair coverage which came from a deluge of Evertonians contacting "Ali", they have now gone back to their policy of LFC coverage Back page and inside back pages then Everton, and if you happen to be a Tranmere fan, you’re lucky if you get a mention.

As soon as an Everton fan boos inside Goodison, there is an article pointing out how fickle our fans are and how grateful we should be. When the Rednoses ("The world's most passionate supporters", c/o a Dave Prentice love-in and most puke inducing article ever), walk out 10 minutes from the end during the Palace game, and even their manager gives a veiled criticism, not a dicky bird.

We should start another campaign to boycott The Red Echo.

A few months later, I was all set to go to the Nottm Forest game with dad where I would have witnessed Pickering’s debut. However, on the Friday night, I beautifully volleyed a ball through our back living-room window about 8pm so was banned from going to the game the next day as dad had to put new glass in!!!

"How Everton won the championship with performance-enhancing drugs"

What a bloody rag.

This fixture was the third time I went to Upton Park within 8 months. First in February in the FA Cup, lost 1-0 to a penalty. Won in April 2-1 (more or less clinched the title). Tony Kay was booed in the cup game. A few weeks later, the Hammers fans applauded him off in the league game, he had a stormer.

The match in October "63 we were beaten 4-2. A young Barry Rees made his debut and scored a goal but tragically he was taken away from us later with heart problems. Tony Kay scored a cracker.

Talking of the Hammers, a 19-year-old Jimmy Gabriel made his debut in 1960 at Upton Park, 2-2. He fouled one of their players, the Ref had his book out and said "Number 4... what's your name?"

A shy Dundee lad replied, "James Gabriel, sir".

Well, James Gabriel, don't let it happen again," said the Ref. Imagine RS Clattenburgh, it would have been a sending off.

Laurie (#73), I love to read about our happiest days with fellow ToffeeWebers about those early '60s.

Great result today. COYB

About Alex Young, I too think that was unfair criticism of Alex. I remember seeing... no, hearing an interview with Alex on Radio Merseyside. He talked about a continuing problem he had with blisters on his feet after a match.

He didn’t go on about it, just mentioned that they got a bit sore. But another member of the team told how his feet were a bloody mess after some games. (I suppose on the hard pitches... I don’t know but he had a real bad time with them.)

I was at Anfield, in the Anfield Road End, when we beat them Reds. Yeah, the Kop emptied and it was "our reserves" as well.

Tommy’s career had just been ended by injury but Mick was an accomplished left-back adding to a defence of Alex Parker, Brian Labone and Brian Harris.

For this lowlife Dunlop to suggest that these decent men both on and off the pitch were cheats is anathema and anunwarranted slur on their reputations.

We saw what a lovely man Mick Meagan was in his dealings with his neighbours. Mick only left the club when he was "swapped" for the legendary Ray Wilson.

The late Brian Harris has become folklore in Newport for his football and charity exploits. Team-mate, Derek Temple, said: "Alex was a great colleague and a genuine gentleman." Brian Labone, a Merseyside Icon, the last of the true corinthians! Need we say more.......

So, the Echo and a Sunday toilet roll expect me to believe the worst about these four great men.... and of course the Golden Vision, Gordon West, Dennis Stevens et al... Dunlop deserves all the brickbats and odium for his pathetic allegations. And as for the Echo, just shows what a no-mark bunch of journalists they are!

A few years ago, I went on a course in Cardiff about dealing with the provincial press and the underlying message was that local journalists are lazy bastards, who investigate next to nothing and rely on press handouts and second-hand material! QED Echo journalists

Also, Ray (#97), although it is true that Barry Rees did suffer some heart problems (an enIarged heart?) I believe he was killed in a car crash shortly after being transferred to Brighton. His last game for us was in the infamous Battle of Goodison against Leeds in 1964.

I realised that after I posted it earlier today but I knew that it would get picked up on, I honestly never realised before seeing that video that Kay had captained the side, particularly when Labone was playing. My excuse is I was only a toddler at the time and some would argue I haven’t progressed since.

Silly me! It might tarnish the reputation of the lovable rascals from across the park, mightn’t it?

Crap paper. Crap article.

It may be distressing for his relatives to read but then no more so than it will have been for the relatives of the former players & staff who have been falsely accused without any evidence. It seems to me that the Echo is less fit for purpose than Andrex, although it’s clearly not fit for any other purpose!

Yes, you are right about Barry Rees.

He died in a car crash; he'd been transferred to Brighton.

Interesting for me were the crowd shots at the end. The old lady is Mrs Eanig. She and her husband, one of the elderly gentlemen shown, stood near to my Dad and me on the old Goodison Road side, near to where the players emerged onto the field.

It's nice to know that others remember the tackle. I'm really happy also to see comments from Jimmy Gabriel. Hi, Mr Gabriel Sir! Thanks for so many great footballing memories!

COYB

You will not be surprised to hear I was at Upton Park the night we got knocked out of the cup 1-0. I forget who "fouled" I think it was Johnny Byrne but thought at the time it was a very soft penalty – I was behind the goal on the terraces about 6 yards away from the incident. It was a long trip home that night.

Terry (#100), I was at the battle of Goodison when Sandy Brown tried to cave John Giles's rib cage in (retribution for a terrible two-footed challenge). I was on the Goodison Rd terraces near the Park End – I knew he was going off. Pity... we could have done with him in the light of what followed. I also seem to remember a wag close to me shouting to the very one footed Norman Hunter – "Where’s your effing parrot Hunter?" Blimey there were some tough footballers knocking about in those days.

Jim (#98), I was at Anfield when we gave it to them 4-0. Oh happy days indeed. Andy Rankin had a blinder – there was a great picture of him flying through the air to make a spectacular save on the front page of "that paper" that night.

It seem strange now here in Australia 12,000 miles away and 50-odd years later that we could have been standing right next to each other in those football stadiums all those years ago.

I do hope our younger fans get to experience the joy and euphoria that we did as youngsters. Strange as it may seem I do believe they will – something is brewing. Perhaps all it would take is for them to put the blue stripe back on the white shorts. ;)

UP THE BLUES!!!

"That was never a penalty."

Budgie said: "Yes, you’re right it wasn’t a penalty."

My mate said "Well what did you fuckin’ score it for?"

Budgie just smiled; there was no answer to that.

Another young Welsh player went to Brighton from Everton named Keith Webber who finished his career at Chester; he ran a pub in the city and he died of a heart attack just after finishing at the pub.

I came through Dublin airport on Friday and in front of me at security was John(ny) Giles with his good lady.

I didn't see him at first as he was just an anonymous looking, little, white-haired old feller.

But I noticed one of the security fellers ask him for a pic and thought 'Jesus, that's Johnny Giles!' ('that's' being Johnny Giles, not the security feller)

To look at him now and remember how him and his team cynically dished it out in the 60s/70s felt kind of strange - specially as now he looks like he'd have trouble kicking his slippers off.

Incidentally, I saw Roy Keane in the car park before the game, generously posing for selfies with some Blues. As a player he was hard and dirty, but not a coward.

Back to 62-63. In addition to the players mentioned above, we must not forget the unfortunate George Thomson, Brian Harris, Billy Bingham, Ray Veall, and Johnny Morrissey, all of whom played significant roles during the course of the season.

I remember well, I think, the run-in that year and the mounting excitement. The Easter games home and away against Birmingham, 2-2 at home and then a priceless 1-0 win there the next day (I went on the bus to that game). The wonderful 1-0 win over Spurs with Alex Young's graceful header over Bill Brown into the Gwladys Street net. Some results that we ground out indcluding a win at West Ham and then a tough 1-0 home win over Bolton with a late Roy Vernon winner (did Dunlop save a penalty in that game?). Then the trouncing of WBA midweek (never mind the pills, that was the game where we were accused of paying them off to lose!). And finally the wonderful conclusion against Fulham

When I look back, we played 6 league games (none of which were lost) over a two week period - imagine asking the current footballer to do that - and the side basically stayed unchanged through those games.

As I say...nostalgia... I can only hope we are on the verge of something special that we, or more likely our own children, can relate to our great granchildren....

If I’m right, Derek Temple didn’t play many that season, in the outside left position anyway, maybe Patrick Murphy could enlighten us if he gets a chance.

Apps Etc 62-63

Morrissey was always one of my favourite players, who’d have thought he’d end up fronting the Smiths...

I remember going to Burnley where Ray Veall played against Angus and Elder who were both Internationals for their Countries. Veall tore them inside out and, if memory is correct, hit the bar from outside the box. Everybody thought he was going to be a top player, but sadly it didn’t materialize that way.

I was at that game at Turf Moor too, first of the championship season and a great 3-1 win, Bingham, Vernon and Young being our scorers. They had a good team, John Connelly, Jimmy McIlroy, Ray Pointer being up front for them and I think they had won the league within the past season or two.

Veall (signed from Doncaster Rovers, I think) was a tricky player, a fine crosser of the ball, but rather lightweight and probably not a Catterick type of player. Hence the signing of Morrissey while Derek Temple was injured for much of the season, only returning for the final few games.

I believe Ray Veall is still alive and I did see an interview with him not too long ago (perhaps through the Players’ Foundation) as he received a belated medal for the league-winning season. The left wing position was a problem for us once the marvellous Tommy Ring was injured. Veall followed in the footsteps of Jimmy Fell (who could score a goal or two), Mickey Lill, who played either wing and also could find the back of the net, and some awful players we had in the late 50s prior to Ring such as Bobby Laverick and Peter Kavanagh (signed from a non-league club). Although, if I recall correctly, Laverick had a very good goals to games ratio.

Names to remember... or forget...

Yes, I am pretty sure we got Ray from Doncaster. That Burnley side was a very good one; I liked watching Ray Pointer play for them. I thought that Andy Gray reminded me a lot of Ray Pointer.

Funny I can remember games from over 50 years ago, yet struggle to remember games that took place only 12 months ago. I often bore my 2 sons who go the match with me by going on about players and games from the past.

To think for night games we used to get over 70,000 and all paid cash at the turnstile and got change, and the games kicked off at 7:30 then.

Snap; I also have Grandchildren 7, 3 and one on the way.

Another one of the late 50s player, Alan Shackleton.

Everton were on the brink of selling our cannonball kid, Davie Hickson. A supporter went on the pitch with a banner reading "If Dave goes we all go."

Shackleton was very amused, knowing he was going to take his centre-forward place.

The Villa game was an afternoon game, Gerry Hitchins scored an hat-trick in a 4-1 loss to us.

Jimmy Glassard scored four against us for Huddersfield Town, then signed for us when he was past his best.

Interestingly Jimmy scored the winning goal for Huddersfield against Preston NE and then went in goal and saved a penalty from the great Tom Finney in an FA Cup game.

The measure of a good player is when you got the cushions thrown at you from the main stand as Tony did the week before he signed for us. There is no telling what would have been but Harry Catterick often said his plans had been for two redheads after he had signed Alan Ball.

His plans never came to pass... imagine these two in the same team???

Anyway, names from the past, let me throw in Peter Harburn for good measure. Glazzard, Shackleton, Harburn, no wonder we were not much good in those days.

I went to Charlton (The Valley) with my Uncle and 3 of his mates. We got a 2-2 draw, I think we were two-nil down, remembering being thrown up in the air when we equalized. Their goalie Willie Duff got sent off for striking Dave Hickson.

The replay was a very foggy night, about 72,000 fans. I was in the Boys Pen but could not see beyond the half-way line.

I believe we won the replay 4-1 after extra time but the fog prevents me from being too sure about that. I think that was one of our games with an attendance of over 70,000, all pay at the gate.

Prior to Tony’s transfer, Brian Harris, a local lad who had come through the ranks, played at Number 6 or left-half as it then was called. Brian had been playing really well and there were even rumours in the local papers that he might be called up for England. Then Harry Catterick spent a fortune and brought in Tony Kay from Sheffield Wednesday. My immediate reaction was why had Catterick made this move; could he not appreciate how well Brian Harris was playing?

I went to the next home game expecting to be proved right and that Tony Kay was no better than Brian Harris. But how wrong I was; within 20 minutes, I realised what an exceptional player we had signed in Tony Kay. He totally dominated the game and the ball appeared to be a magnet attached to his feet. Game after game, Tony was the best player on the field and soon he was called into the England team, then tragedy struck.

A national newspaper discovered Tony had placed a bet when playing for his previous club, Sheffield Wednesday, that they would lose away at Ipswich Town. Two other Wednesday players, Bronco Layne and Peter Swann, were also involved.

Tony was sent to prison and banned for life from playing professional football. He had been a certainty to be in Alf Ramsey’s World Cup winning team and I am sure that he, rather than Nobby Stiles, would have played in the World Cup Final.

Tony’s career was over and Everton lost a player who would have become an all-time great. Subsequently, Everton have had many great midfield players: Alan Ball, Colin Harvey, Howard Kendall, Martin Dobson, Peter Reid and Paul Bracewell to name but a few... but, as good as they were, none in my opinion, were quite as good as Tony Kay.

Many years later, I was at Goodison Park and it was announced that Tony Kay would be presented to the crowd. Apparently it was his first visit since he was banned from the game. As he appeared through the tunnel, the applause was thunderous and continued all the way as Tony made his way around the ground.

I think everyone there realised what a dreadful price Tony had paid for his mistake.

And Brian Harris? Well he was moved to left back and spent a few more seasons at Everton before moving on but was never again spoken of as a potential England player.

Harris, much underrated in my view, continued where he’d left off before Kay signed at left half. Left Half. That ages us, Peter. I’ve got a couple of great memories of Harris, but the one where he dons the policeman’s helmet after Eddie Cavanagh had run onto the Wembley pitch in 1966 is a cracker.

Fred Pickering was another player who doesn’t get the credit he deserves but I suppose the injury that resulted in his absence from the 66 Cup Team meant he never fulfilled his potential. Great shame.

Looking back, he was as good as you say and wouldn’t have been out of place on any football field no matter who else was on the pitch.

Derek (#131), did Tommy Jackson have red hair?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS-lLLjUIbg