100 Years Ago - Orient in 1919

[Still's Carenae]

SATURDAY OCTOBER 18th 1919

LEAGUE DIVISION TWO

CLAPTON ORIENT 0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 4

Maybe the runaway leaders were below par last week, but no mistakes in the return leg as Spurs take a 2-0 lead in 10 minutes and never look back.

There is a huge crowd at Homerton, quite possibly breaking all gate records, and it is estimated that as many as 20,000 of those were already waiting outside the ground an hour before the gates opened. After the torrents at Hull, the weather is kinder as no more than a slight haze hangs over the ground.

Take bus 22 and alight at the Homerton Terminus, says the travel advice in the paper, or any of bus numbers 35, 35A, 38, 38A, 38B, 42 or 106 and get off at Median Road, but be there early to grab your spot.

Sam Tonner is back after missing the Hull game injured and takes the field for the first time with brother Jack. Jack Forrest hasn’t recovered from his injury sustained at Hull and Bob Spottiswood makes his O’s debut in his place. Spottiswood is 35 years old and experienced at Southern League level with Crystal Palace. Townrow is back at centre-half and the front row is reshuffled as Layton drops out through illness, Harry Smith moves to centre forward, Jack Tonner to inside left and Tommy Bowyer comes back in at inside right.

Goalkeeper; Jimmy Hugall
Full backs; Sam Tonner and Jimmy Nicholls
Half backs; Bob Spottiswood, John Townrow, Alf Worboys
Forwards; Fred Parker, Tommy Bowyer, Harry Smith, Jack Tonner, Ben Ives

A bright start for O’s as Parker shoots straight into the arms of Jacques in the Spurs goal, and the Tottenham goalkeeper clears straight to Harry Smith whose shot grazes the post. But on 5 minutes Tottenham go ahead when Bert BLISS coverts a cross from Walden, and then five minutes later from an identical move involving the same two players, Spurs score again.

Billy MINTER adds a third for the visitors just before half time with a header from a corner kick and it’s effectively game over.

Both teams lose their right back early in the second half, Sam Tonner for the O’s with a twisted knee and Tommy Clay for Spurs. BLISS adds a fourth for Spurs from 25 yards to complete his hattrick and that’s four goals in two games now for the striker against Orient. The Daily Herald report makes you wonder how many it could have been; it says the Orient defence played well and Hugall was at his best.

The return international takes place against Wales at Stoke. England put out a completely different eleven from the one beaten last week and win 2-0 with goals by Whittingham of Chelsea and Smith of Bolton.

And a strange outcome to the game at Molyneux between Wolves and Bury. Bury take the lead eight minutes from time and then win a penalty, but a segment of the Wolves crowd disagrees and chases the referee off the pitch. Unwilling to leave the dressing room, the referee calls time and a 1-0 win to Bury is recorded.

Os fans probably don’t want to dwell on the football reports in this Monday’s papers, but if you take The Globe it is unlikely you are going to get past page one anyway. Scandalous stories of lax morals in the Women’s RAF during the war, girls given free passes and taken to London by fast car for improper behaviour with male officers. One witness says they heard about it from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Houses of Parliament are getting a fresh coat of paint and varnish to freshen them up after the war. Perhaps they will look at their best on Wednesday for the Prime Minister’s statement on the economy, when Mr Lloyd-George is expected to set out plans to reduce expenditure by government departments to an absolute minimum.



Foresight:

The crowd for the match was later officially announced to be 32,644 which was the largest crowd ever recorded at Millfields.

Bob Spottiswood never played for Orient again. His future was in coaching and he became the only former Orient player ever to become manager of Inter Milan, whom he managed between 1922 and 1924.

Rambling Man. First chance to read.

This is excellent. Keep up the good work.

Just a suggestion, but maybe the club might be interested in this either being a book that is published at the end of the season(with added photos) or/and in the programme. This could be rolling each year.

I always find the chronology of a season fascinating. Together with an overview of other events.

[Rambling Man]

SATURDAY OCTOBER 25th 1919

LEAGUE DIVISION TWO

LINCOLN CITY 2 CLAPTON ORIENT 1


Coming off of four straight defeats, the last one a 0-4 home reverse against Tottenham, Orient have the opportunity to end the run away to Lincoln City, two points behind them and without a win in Division 2.

Goalkeeper; Jimmy Hugall
Full backs; Billy Hind and Jimmy Nicholls
Half backs; Jack Forrest, John Townrow, Alf Worboys
Forwards; Fred Parker, Bob Dalrymple, Arthur Layton, Jack Tonner, Ben Ives

Changes for the O’s off the back of last week’s drubbing are Billy Hind in again at Same Tonner who is injured, Jack Forrest back from injury at right half and Tommy Bowyer and young Harry Smith drop out of the forward line to be replaced with Dalrymple and Layton. Smith has played eleven games without scoring, most of them as centre forward but is finally dropped the week after his 18th birthday.

Lincoln have two signings from Leeds City available; Ashurst and Linfoot, having snapped up three players in last week’s fire sale from the defunct club.

The home side have a strong wind in their favour in the first half but the opening twenty minutes are close. Blakely in the Lincoln goal makes a good double save from Dalrymple and Dowling for Lincoln gets the ball in the net but it is disallowed for offside. Parker is injured which delays the game for a minute but is able to carry on, before Hind clears off the line from a header by Ormiston from a corner.

On 19 minutes, Lincoln take the lead. New man Linfoot plays an accurate cross to DOWLING who nets from close range. Thirty-six minutes have gone when another centre, this time by Bird, is again met by DOWLING with a fierce shot which is in the net before Hugall can react. A minute later Lincoln hit the bar.

O’s fight back before half time and Layton is given offside before a centre by Parker eludes everybody and passes just wide of the post.

The second half starts better for Orient and a penalty is awarded on 49 minutes when Ward handles and NICHOLLS pops the spot kick into the top corner. Shortly afterwards, Dalrymple shoots over the bar from a corner. From here on in the game is an even contest. Orient’s wingers look dangerous but bad finishing is again letting the away side down. Blakely turns a sharp shot by Darlymple over the bar but despite trying shots from all angles, Orient cannot score again and most of the 8,000 crowd go home happy.

So O’s are now in 20th place on 5 points with Lincoln level on points and a place below with a game in hand. The teams meet again at Homerton next week.

O’s forward line troubles are doubtless one of the reasons why two forwards are given a trial for the reserves in the Football Combination game against Brighton. For the record the full team is;

Goalkeeper; Gray
Full backs; Osmond and Wills
Half backs; Spottiswood, Ing, Nicholson
Forwards; Williams, Bowyer, Raw (trialiist), Robertson (triallist), Casey

Elsewhere, West Brom top Division 1 after beating Notts County 8-0. Newcastle are a point behind after a 3-2 win at Preston. Wednesday and Aston Villa fill the relegation places but things are looking up for the Villans who win 4-1 at 3rd place Middlesbrough.

QPR go top of the Southern League after beating Watford 3-0 in front of 12,000. For London fans confused about where the much travelled West London side are playing these days, for the last couple of seasons they have been at Loftus Road, Shepherd’s Bush FC’s old ground. Reading drop to 2nd after drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace.

The international match this week is a full international game, with caps awarded, the first since the War. In the match against Ireland at Windsor Park, Belfast, England take the lead through Jack Cock (who scored for Huddersfield against the O’s on the first day of the season) on his England debut. Cock kicked off the game, the ball immediately found its way to Bob Turnbull of Bradford (Park Avenue) who crossed it back to Cock for goal timed at 30 seconds. Jimmy Ferris of Belfast Celtic equalises for the Irish in the second half with a header.

O’s fans, drown your sorrows this evening with a trip down the pub with the old girl and a sing song. Maybe the new hits, such as Marie Lloyd’s new one, 'My Old Man Said Follow the Van' or the big hit from America, 'I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles'. Or curl up with a good book: the latest Edgar Wallace perhaps or Mr P.G.Wodehouse’s new book of comic short stories, 'My Man Jeeves'. For the high brow – and we know there are some Orient supporters who are like that – there’s Siegfried Sassoon’s volume of War Poetry or even J.M Keynes’ 'The Economic Consequences of the Peace'.

[Rambling Man]

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1st 1919

LEAGUE DIVISION TWO

CLAPTON ORIENT 1 LINCOLN CITY 0

On the way to the match don’t forget to pop into the polling station and vote in the municipal elections- the first elections to the London Boroughs since 1912. Labour is expected to make gains but it’s unlikely you will have to queue to vote. Polling is reported to be slow.

In the paper, fans will read about the coal strike underway in the United States, with 500,000 men believed to be out today and talk of the leaders being arrested. In the United Kingdom, the young Shah of Persia, just twenty-one years old and Britain’s ally in the war against the Bolsheviks in Russia, was entertained last night at a banquet in the London Guildhall. While that was going on, armed men attacked two police barracks in County Meath, resulting in the death of a constable and the serious wounding of a sergeant.

It’s a dry but overcast day for the return match against Lincoln City as the O’s try and end a run of five straight defeats that have dragged them back into relegation contention. This is a crucial game against the team immediately below them and level on points: lose this and Orient are in the bottom two.

Nicholson returns to the half-back line after injury and Worboys moves up front taking over from Jack Tonner.

Goalkeeper; Jimmy Hugall
Full backs; Billy Hind and Jimmy Nicholls
Half backs; Jack Forrest, John Townrow, Joe Nicholsons
Forwards; Fred Parker, Bob Dalrymple, Arthur Layton, Alf Worboys, Ben Ives

Orient are out of the blocks quickly and do most of the attacking, with some quick and thrustful moves but the overall play is not of a high standard and the forwards struggle to take their chances. From a corner a scrimmage results in the ball being punched away by a Lincoln hand that was not the goalkeeper’s, but Jimmy Nicholls’ penalty is saved.

In the second half O’s continue to attack and make the breakthrough on 55 minutes when a poor Lincoln clearance from a cross by Fred Parker is picked up by Jack FORREST who fires home. Orient continue to attack with Parker the main threat but with little response from the visitors and in the gathering gloom, the match ends in a narrow win for the home side.

Orient up to 18th with their second home win of the season and Tottenham now six points clear at the top after Fulham’s heavy defeat at Huddersfield. New leaders in Division 1 though with Newcastle taking over at the top after a 1-0 win against Preston, while West Brom lose 0-2 at Notts County.

[Rambling Man]

3rd NOVEMBER 1919

The results of Saturday’s voting in the elections for London’s Municipal Boroughs are in. Progress for Labour was anticipated following a good showing in the London County Council poll in April. In the event, Labour did even better as they won more votes than any other party, finishing with 39.4% of the vote, winning seats right across London but especially in the East and South of the metropolis and gaining control of 13 of the 28 councils. The last time the elections were contested in 1912, Labour won only 47 seats across the whole of London and failed to win control of a single council.

Labour won Hackney (the O’s home Borough) and the neighbouring boroughs of Islington, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and Poplar, all of which they control for the first time. Of the councils in our area, only Stoke Newington remains in the hands of the Municipal Reformers (Conservatives).

[Rambling Man]

SATURDAY 8TH NOVEMBER 1919

PORT VALE v CLAPTON ORIENT : MATCH POSTPONED

Today’s match at Port Vale is off and has been rearranged for Monday 24th November. Port Vale took over the fixture list prepared for Leeds City when they took over Leeds’ place in the league in October, but as a result number of home matches clash with games at Stoke and have to be rescheduled.

Ironically the Stoke match is called off too. Thick fog means the gates cannot be opened for the Potters’ home game against Bristol City.

Elsewhere the big news in the division is that after an unbeaten start of 12 matches, Tottenham have lost their first game of the season, 2-1 at Bury. They still lead by four points however, with Blackpool moving into second place after a 2-1 win at Fulham.

In Division 1, West Brom’s game against Aston Villa is also a victim of the Staffordshire fog giving Burnley the opportunity to move into second place, which they do with a 2-1 win at home to Manchester United. Newcastle still lead the way after winning 1-0 at Middlesbrough.

Meanwhile there is a sensational twist in the Leeds story. Huddersfield Town have announced that they are looking at moving lock, stock and barrel to Leeds and taking over the Elland Road stadium. Huddersfield is a hotbed of the Northern Rugby Union and Huddersfield RFC is one of the top clubs in that code, while the football club has struggled financially. Last Saturday’s game against Fulham attracted just 2,500 people to Leeds Road. The Terriers owners reckon the club could at least double its gates by moving to Leeds and amalgamating with the new Leeds United club.. This is not likely to be popular with Huddersfield supporters however.


Foresight: In 1922 the Northern Rugby Football Union changed its name to the Rugby Football League.

[Real Al]

Spen's thread has reminded me that this one's gone quiet. You still doing this Mr. Rambler sir?