CROOK TOWN V BISHOP AUCKLAND - FEBRUARY 1957

ARNOLD ALTON was a tough, nononsense centre half who followed famous amateur names like Ray Tate, Bobby Davison and Colin Bainbridge in wearing the number five shirt for both Bishop Auckland and Crook Town. However, on Saturday, February 23, 1957, he was a 14-year-old, enthusiastic supporter of Bishop Auckland and he went to Crook with a friend to watch his favourite Two Blues take on the Black and Ambers in the FA Amateur Cup quarter- final.

“It was a bitterly cold day,”

said Arnold, “and most of the game was played in a blizzard.

What was amusing was that before the game the loudspeaker system played a record called Garden of Eden, sung by Frankie Vaughan.

The Northern Echo:
Arnold Alton, who played centre half for Bishop and Crook

That song was just not the right one for that particular day. Indeed by half-time, the cold had really got to me and if a very kind Crook supporter had not given me a coffee laced with rum I might have fainted.’ “I stood at the clubhouse end and will never forget Bishop Auckland’s second goal.

Left back Bert Childs was virtually on the half-way line when he just banged the ball forward. Crook right back Derek Gardener left it for goalkeeper Fred Jarrie, who in turn, left it for Derek. The result was that the ball hit the ground between the pair and flew into the Crook net. That made the score 0-2 to Bishop.

The Northern Echo:
McMillan equalises for Crook to make the score 2-2 against Bishop

Crook came back and two future good friends of mine, Keith Hopper and Jimmy McMillan, both scored to make the final score 2-2.’ “For the replay at Bishop Auckland I stood on the terracing at the Dellwood end and I remember a group of Crook fans breaking into the ground at the cricket club entrance.

One fella decked out in black and amber wielded an umbrella at a Bishop fan. Ray Oliver the Bishop Auckland centre forward was unfit for this game so Bobby Hardisty, normally a right half, led the line with Bob Thursby playing right half.

I had a great view of Hardisty jumping to meet a left wing cross and heading the ball across the goal to Seamus O’Connell who buried a powerful header past Jarrie. Ray Wilkie missed a great chance for Crook before Hardisty scored with a header from a Thursby cross to leave Bishop the 2-0 winners. Close on 24,000 spectators watched the two games.’ When I played for Bishop and Crook in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the glory days were over and the crowds had dwindled.

The maximum wage was abolished in 1961 and a lot of top class amateur players like Peter Garbutt, Jimmy Goodfellow, Dave McClelland, Roland Horrey and Brian Joicey turned professional.

The Northern Echo:
An advert for the game

The best club I ever played with was Willington, who had Don Warner and Bob Kelly on the committee. The best manager was Ray Wilkie, at Durham City, who was a brilliant tactician.