A Special Breed
Goalkeepers, said Irish football legend Harry Gregg, 'aren't crazy. They are a special breed who deserve respect.' Gregg played at a time when they received scant protection from referees and had to endure the violent attentions of aggressive forwards. He played at a time when Bert Trautmann, a former German prisoner of War and Manchester City keeper finished an FA cup final with a broken neck after what was called a 'robust' challenge. Trautmann dislocated 5 vertebrae in his neck one of which had wedged a broken one in place. Had this not occurred doctors were sure he would have died. Yey Trautmann played at a time the rules had changed to protect keepers more. There was a time when they were fair game for the most brutal treatment.
The Scottish cup final of 1937 saw Celtic play Aberdeen in
front of an astonishing crowd of 147,365 at Hampden Park. Goals from Johnny Crum and Willie Buchan gave
Celtic a famous win and hope for the following season that they could once more
topple Bill Struth’s Rangers and win the title. That same season saw Sunderland
win the FA Cup by defeating the excellent Preston NE team of the period 3-1. It
is a measure of how effective Scottish players were at that time that 12 of the
22 players who began the English FA cup final were Scots. Sunderland had won
the league in 1936 and confirmed a golden period in their history by winning
that FA cup final in 1937.
Football in the 1920s and 30s was far more physical than it is today and
goalkeepers came in for particularly rough treatment. It was legal for forwards
to literally kick the goalkeeper if he held possession of the ball in order to
make him release it. Thus today we look at grainy footage from that era we see
goalkeepers catching the ball and immediately launching it upfield before the
forwards could challenge them. In Scotland there had already been two
goalkeepers killed after onfield accidents.
In
1921, 24-year-old Joshua Wilkinson was playing in goal for Dumbarton against
Rangers. As a result of a very physical challenge he received early in the
game, he suffered a ruptured intestine which he unwittingly made worse by
playing for the rest of the game. After the match, he complained of
feeling unwell. Tragically, peritonitis had set in. Despite undergoing emergency medical surgery in Glasgow, he died on
the Monday following the game. An investigation by the Scottish Football
Association absolved any of the Rangers players of blame. Wilkinson’s father
had a different view and claimed that his son had met his death as a result of
“a blow received during the match”,
but neither the football nor legal authorities were prepared to listen. Rangers
to their credit did what they could for Wilkinson’s family and even paid for
his headstone.
Celtic
supporters will of course need no reminding that ten years after the death of
Joshua Wilkinson tragedy would strike their own side. John Thomson was killed
following an accidental collision with Rangers forward Sam English at Ibrox in
1931. Thomson, supremely brave, had already broken his jaw and fractured ribs
in the rough world of Scottish football before that fateful clash with Sam English
in September 1931. For both Dumbarton and Celtic the trauma of losing a player
in such circumstances hit the club hard. Despite these two tragedies the
footballing authorities did nothing to protect goalkeepers from some savage
treatment.
On
1st February 1936 Sunderland lined up to play Chelsea and even by
the standards of the time it was a rough game. It wasn’t by any means a grudge
match but is remembered for trouble in the stands, violence on the pitch and
one particular moment of viciousness which would lead to tragedy. Sunderland’s
talented young goalkeeper Jimmy Thorpe dived on a loose ball in his penalty box
and as he held the ball to his body three Chelsea forwards arrived and
immediately began savagely kicking him on the head, neck and upper body to try and force
him to release the ball. This prolonged assault continued until a posse of
Sunderland defenders arrived and pushed their opponents away. The referee did
nothing as by the laws of the game the Chelsea players were within their
rights. The crowd were incensed though as despite the rules few opponents
endangered a goalkeeper in the manner the Chelsea players did that day.
Jimmy
Thorpe played on in an obviously disoriented manner and lost two soft goals in
a 3-3 draw. A Policeman nearby saw him lean on the post several times with a ‘ghastly white look on his face.’ The
game finished with Chelsea being booed from the field and a still groggy Thorpe
being jeered by some of his own fans for two late goalkeeping errors which earned Chelsea an undeserved draw. Few watching the players troop off the field realised those errors had been caused by his
injuries. He went home to his wife and child and mentioned he had been kicked
in the body and head. He took unwell at home and spent all the next day in bed.
By Monday he was admitted to hospital and was diagnosed with broken ribs and
head trauma. He lost consciousness and never woke up, dying on 5th
February. His injuries had led to a diabetic coma and this in turn caused heart
failure. Like John Thomson, he was just 22 when he died. He remains the only
English footballer to receive a league winners’ medal posthumously. The English
League changed the rules after an uproar from fans over Thorpe’s death. Kicking
the ball out of goalkeepers hands became illegal.
In
October 1937 Celtic travelled south to play Sunderland in a match between the
respective Cup holders. Both team captains paraded the trophies before the game
and in those days before European football top clubs always enjoyed testing
themselves against teams from other leagues. Celtic played well at Roker Park
and goals from McGrory and Buchan sealed a comfortable win. One contemporary
report stated that ‘Both sides played
skilful attractive football but Celtic’s speed and splendid positioning made
them the more dangerous in attack.’ The teams would meet again in the
Empire Exhibition cup less than a year later and again Celtic came out on top
winning 3-1 on their route to claiming the trophy.
Supporters
of both clubs still remember the young goalkeepers who lost their lives playing
the game they loved. Football has evolved to a huge extent since the rough days
of the 1930’s and goalkeepers receive a huge degree of protection these days.
It may annoy fans when referees whistle for even the slightest contact on goalkeepers
in the modern era and perhaps they are over-protected but there can never be a
return to the days when goalkeepers were routinely kicked, barged and
shouldered into the net.
In
2011 Chelsea played Sunderland and marked the 75th anniversary of the
death of Jimmy Thorpe. Both goalkeepers (Craig Gordon & Peter Cech) wore
black armbands as a mark of respect to the young goalkeeper so tragically lost.
Goalkeeping was a dangerous profession in the early days of football and
injuries were common. Some alas paid the ultimate price for guarding their goal
and we rightly remember and honour them.
Joshua
Wilkinson - Dumbarton FC (1921)
John
Thomson - Celtic FC (1931)
Jimmy
Thorpe - Sunderland FC (1936)
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