It was 60 years ago today that I saw my first Burnley match and it was in the 4th round of the FA Cup which is why I was so delighted that we beat Sunderland in the replay so that I can celebrate my anniversary on Saturday. I can still remember a few details of that day. Standing at Milton Street bus stop in Padiham and seeing lots of Wallasey Corporation buses pass, carrying the away fans to the match, whilst waiting for our own BCN bus to turn up. Sitting on my Dad's shoulders at the back between the Bee Hole End and the Long Side because there were over 40,000 on to see a Non League side! Don't remember any of the 9 goals but can still see Doug Winton having his penalty kick saved. Did he ever score for Burnley?
The team that day, in the usual 2-3-5 formation was - Adam Blacklaw; Dave Smith, Doug Winton; Bobby Seith, Jimmy Adamson, Brian Miller; Doug Newlands, Jimmy McIlroy, Ian Lawson, Albert Cheesebrough, Brian Pilkington. Colin McDonald and Tommy Cummings were both out injured, it wasn't that manager Alan Brown played a weakened team - unheard of in those days! Goalscorers were McIlroy 3, Lawson 3, Newlands 1, Cheesebrough 1, Pilkington 1. My first ever match and Burnley scored nine!!
Opponents New Brighton were a League team until around 1950 and they were no mugs having knocked out Torquay, Stockport and Derby in previous rounds - not bad for a team from the Lancashire Combination.
The cost for the day I think was 8d and 4d for me on the bus each way and 1/6 and 9d for me on the Turf plus a programme for 3d - a grand total of 4/6 or 23p in new money!! But don't forget that the players were on no more than £10 a week.
A couple of weeks later, it must have been half term, I was down Padiham with my Mum and I saw 17 year old Adam Blacklaw. He was an apprentice bricklayer and was building the Padiham Building Society headquarters - now the Santander Bank.
It was a different world back then.
Up the Clarets!

Great post. Hope your anniversary match on Saturday goes nearly as well.

My own first match was only nine years later, and a 4-0 win, but clearly yours was truly special!

Some great memories there mate!

To answer your question, Jock Winton scored just the once for Burnley in nearly 200 appearances. It was at Deepdale in the season prior to your 'debut'.

As you have such a memory of the New Brighton cup-tie, can you remember the strip that we wore on the Turf that day?......As a clue we only ever wore it once again, in a Cup replay against Villa in the same season.

Did Jock Winton go on to play for Rochdale? I have hazy memories of seeing him at Spotland.

He left Burnley for Aston Villa in Jan'59, after that I don't know.

Great memories

Great post - just three from that team that I never saw play first team football for us - Winton, Seith and Newlands.

Over 40,000 too - amazing.

Royboyclaret wrote:Some great memories there mate!

To answer your question, Jock Winton scored just the once for Burnley in nearly 200 appearances. It was at Deepdale in the season prior to your 'debut'.

As you have such a memory of the New Brighton cup-tie, can you remember the strip that we wore on the Turf that day?......As a clue we only ever wore it once again, in a Cup replay against Villa in the same season.

The strip was a very dark navy blue. The next round Lawson scored 4 against Chesterfield and in the fifth round another one away at Huddersfield. After that he mainly starred in a great central league side.

Yes I thought it was navy blue. Lawson scored 4 in the 3rd round v Chesterfield. I remember poor Doug Winton getting the run around by Peter McParland in the Villa replay. Was that the only time Villa have won on the Turf since the war? Villa went on to win the cup in 1957 beating Manchester United at Wembley. Peter McParland appeared to deliberately crash into goalkeeper Roy Woods who had to be replaced in goal by Jackie Blanchflower (Danny's brother) - no subs then! McParland scored both goals in the 2-0 win. United didn't have much luck with goalkeepers because the following year Nat Lofthouse bundled Harry Gregg into the net as Bolton won the cup only weeks after the Munich air crash.