88 in one

Joe lives in Spennymoor, plays at Bishop Auckland, had had three previous aces – two at Bishop, the first when playing with the County vets at Hartlepool.

“Derek Dent, my partner, called it immediately. I think he was more excited than I was.”

An all-round sportsman – “trophies for most things, even tug-ofwar, never top-notch at anything” – he worked at Black and Decker in Spennymoor after moving north from Cheshire in 1965.

The day after the hole-in-one he played bowls for Spennymoor at Pity Me, Durham. Perhaps inevitably, he – and they – won that one, too.

Neither Joe nor the Backtrack column knows if he is the oldest North- East golfer to hole-in-one, and someone may like to mark our cards. The world’s oldest, however, was 102- year-old Elsie McLean playing the 100-yard third at Bidwell, California, in 2007.

The oldest man was Harold Stilson, of Florida, but he was just 101.

THE Northern League annual meeting at Northallerton Town on Saturday heard lots of good news, not least the five-year, £200,000 sponsorship from Ebac. What appears not to have been recorded is the outcome of the post-meeting 5s and 3s grudge match between Mr Les Hood, Town’s admirable chairman, and the Northern League chairman. Home advantage notwithstanding, Les came second – “soundly thrashed,” says the NTFC website. It really was a very good day.

GOOGLE “God’s solution” and myriad answers emerge – from a sanctuary in Solihull to a drop-in centre in Dagenham.

Google “God’s solution” and “Catterick” and all becomes clear.

It’s the name of a bar at Catterick racecourse, called after an eighttimes winner – usually in March – between 1985 and 1991. Among those who’ve had smiling photographs taken beneath the sign is the Reverend Lindsay Southern, livewire curate of the parishes around Kirklington, near Bedale, who on August 8 becomes priest-in-charge of the parish of Catterick Village, in which the racecourse stands.

Officially she will be collated, not calibrated as the folk at the party where we met last weekend had supposed.

“That’s what you do to rifles,” said Lindsay.

At any rate, the parish magazine editor has asked for a nice picture of the new incumbent. “I think,” says Lindsay, “that I may have just the thing.”

BILL Larmouth, Willington’s centre forward in the still-remembered 4-0 FA Amateur Cup final win against Bishop Auckland, has died. He was 87.

It was April 22, 1950. The Bishops were hot favourites, Northern League champions, making their 13th final appearance. Willington whipped them.

Bill was a miner from Seghill, in Northumberland, travelled by taxi with Cramlington-based team mates Joe Robinson and Stan Rutherford, from whose cross he hit the third goal.

“He was a very steady centre forward, a bit of football about him and not just a barger,” recalls goalkeeper Jack Snowdon, still in Willington.

“He was also a real gentleman who never had a bad word about anybody.”

Jack is now one of three survivors from that great Wembley day - Joe Robinson and centre half Edgar “Keg” Yeardley the others.

DUE at Barnard Castle on bank holiday Monday – 1.30pm start – Marske Cricket Club scorer Dave Beach received a 9.30pm message the previous evening advising that they needed to be there by noon. The road was to be closed for the world rubber chicken chucking championship.

Suspecting that alcohol might have played a part, and that pigs might similarly fly, Dave googled the necessary and discovered that chicken chucking was, indeed, part of Barney Meet.

They duly arrived by 12. “I thought,” says Dave, “that it made a change recording chickens instead of ducks.”

AN ever-growing annual event, Hawes branch of the Sunderland FC Supporters Club holds its jamboree on June 22-23, coinciding with the upper Wensleydale town’s gala. It’s supported by the Sunderland fanzine Seventy3 and by 100 followers who’ve already booked accommodation.

The gala’s theme is pirates: that, of course, is coincidental.

...and finally, last week’s column sought the name of the North-East Football League team for which Baden Powell played. It was Darlington, ten appearances on the right wing in the early 1950s, before a “long and successful” career at South Shields.

“Not the Baden Powell,” of course, points out Don Clarke, “though he would have been to his mother.”

Mr Powell, 81 later this month, is alive and well and still living on south Tyneside – we hope to have more of him next week.

The other Baden Powell was on the front page back at the time of the 1936 Olympics, attending a huge camp at Raby Castle. Readers are invited to name today’s Chief Scout.

Back on patrol next Thursday.