DAVID GARDNER of Hetton-le-Hole in County Durham was taken by last week's Page in History, which came from the Sports Despatch – Darlington's "Sporting Pink" – from FA Cup Third Round Day 50 years ago.

Newcastle lost to Bedford Town and Middlesbrough lost at Brentford, but Sunderland beat Northampton Town 2-0 at Roker Park. "Cup joy day for Sunderland...Usher goal sparks win", said the headline.

"I have often wondered what happened to Brian," says David. "He came from Easington Lane and was spotted by Sunderland AFC while playing for Elemore Colliery Welfare Juniors – Elemore was the mine and main employer in Easington Lane back then.

"Also scouted by Sunderland at the same time was Brian's lifelong friend and my cousin, John Gardner. They lived 100 yards apart, played for the same team, went for trials at Roker Park and were offered the option of signing for the club.

"However, my cousin had however lied about his age and once Sunderland found out that he was too young they dropped their interest in him. But Brian signed a professional contract and went on to play 61 games for the team he had been a lifelong supporter of. He then joined Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster Rovers before playing one game for Yeovil Town before disappearing off the radar. He'd be 70 years old now. Out of curiosity, I would like to know what he has done since his football career ended. Perhaps the Echo's readers could help."

Winger Usher played for a couple of seasons in the mid-1960s, helping Sunderland to win promotion into the First Division. He then went to Wednesday for three years before moving to Doncaster, for whom he made 170 appearance in five years, and where we believe he still lives. Any information?

AS Memories 208 mentioned, Darlington Football Club is sorting out its bits and pieces prior to its move back into the town to the Blackwell Meadows rugby ground. One of the items that puzzled Glen Bowes, who works in the club shop, was a large, framed photograph which had been screwed to the wall in a bar at Feethams. The photograph said simply: "Footballer, 1914."

Who was he?

Several people kindly answered: Billy Meredith, one of the earliest footballing superstars who was banned for a season for allegedly attempting to bribe an opponent.

Meredith has, though, no obvious connection with the Quakers. He was born in Denbighshire in Wales in 1874, went to work down his local pit aged 12, but was rescued by football, turning pro with Manchester City when he was 20. He led the Sky Blues to promotion to the First Division and to winning the FA Cup, but in the last match of the 1904-05 season, with City two points behind Newcastle, it is said that Meredith offered the Aston Villa, Alex Leake, captain £10 to lose the match.

Villa beat City 3-2, the match ended in a punch-up involving Leake and Newcastle won the title. Sixteen City players were suspended, including Meredith, the captain, although the Football Association never called him to give evidence. He always denied his involvement, although there is a suggestion that had he been called, he would have said that City was riddled with corruption and he was only offering the money on behalf of the team manager.

When his 16-month ban was over, he re-emerged as a Manchester United player, and with them he won the league title in 1908 and 1911 and the FA Cup in 1909.

He also chaired the inaugural Players' Union meeting, demanding an end to the minimum wage and insurance against injury. The Football Association tried to ban the union, causing Meredith and his fellow United players becoming "the outcasts", refusing to play until the ban was lifted, as it was after a couple of weeks.

In 1914, when he was lionised in Darlington, he was in the dogdays of his career: dropped by United and squabbling over pay. On the last day of the 1914-15 season, the Red Devils avoided relegation by bribing Liverpool to lose 2-0 at Old Trafford. Meredith, despite his track record, was uninvolved in the underhand activity, and said he was mystified why his team-mates refused to pass to him during the match.

After the First World War, he returned to City and made his last appearance in a FA Cup semi-final against Newcastle at the age of 49 years and 245 days – still a City record.

In his heyday, Meredith, who played 49 times for Wales, was a superstar. He was teetotal, honed his fitness and his skills by looking at his diet and attending additional training sessions, although his trademark was chewing a toothpick throughout matches.

IN THE PICTURE

Everyone should have recognised Jack Charlton, second from the right, and most Sunderland fans should have spotted their "Player of the 20th Century", Charlie Hurley, on the right. On the left is Albert Johanneson, of South Africa, who was one of the first black top-flight footballers in this country