BACKTRACK only twice spoke to the great Stan Anderson, who died earlier this month, the first time in his improbable capacity as captain of the Left Handers’ Golf Association ahead of a match at Bedale.

The second followed the death in 1997 of Billingham boy and former FA Cup final referee Kevin Howey and concerned Stan’s most infamous hour – said by long-serving former Echo sports writer Ray Robertson to have involved “the most almighty clanger of all time.”

It was October 1957, Ayresome Park thronged for a friendly between Boro and Sunderland to spark the old ground’s floodlights.

Boro were awarded a penalty, despatched with accustomed velocity by Lindy Delapehna, the celebrated West Indian with whom Stan played cricket at his native Horden.

The shot was so strong that it broke the net. Stan, Sunderland’s right half, retrieved the ball, placed it on the six-yard line and took a goal kick. The referee waved play on.

“I never thought I’d get away with it,” said Stan, a future Middlesbrough manager. “It was a joke that backfired. Kevin and I became good friends, but neither of us ever lived it down.”

LEZ Rawe, for whose long life a memorable thanksgiving service was held in Bishop Auckland on Monday, was a wonderfully enthusiastic sports master at the town’s grammar school who forever failed to teach the column the forward roll.

His MBE in 2005 was for services to the community, not to the clumsy, though he still made periodic appearances hereabouts.

Born in Toft Hill, he’d on one occasion explained that in schoolboy cricket up there a “treacle” had nothing to do with a sticky wicket but was a gentle first ball from which the recipient could neither score nor be dismissed.

“They always were kindly folk in Toft Hill,” Lez added.

A little googling also reveals memories on Salut!, a Sunderland FC website, from former Bishop grammar school boy (and Shildon lad) Colin Randall. It’s headed “The cane and the Bunsen burner tube”, though Lez’s preferred instrument of admonishment was a size 10 gym shoe.

The Bunsen burner tube was wielded by Cosher Ibbertson.

Arnold Alton, like Lez a former Northern League centre half, also recalls being taught all those years ago by Butch Dixon, a fearsome Bishop Auckland full back before the war – “he told me that as a centre half I should hate my own mother.”

With Butch, however, the weapon of choice was a well-directed blackboard rubber.

* Colin Hurworth sends pictures of Lez from his days as a Bishop grammar school pupil, in the centre of the back row – about 1938-39, he supposes. Colin’s dad is on Lez’s left, future Bishop Auckland cricket club secretary Norman Linton on the extreme right. The picture’s taken in front of the quadrangle, then new. Who, wonders Colin, is the little lad looking enviously out?

THE bad news: Wearhead United, that most glorious of grassroots football clubs – remember the Red Arrows? – are leaving the Crook and District League after 60 years because so few want to play Saturday afternoon football.

They’d joined after a season in the Weardale League, long gone, enforced because the Auckland and District had expelled them – too far to travel. “By far the longest serving members,” confirms Crook league president Maurice Galley.

The better news is that United hope to join the Wear Valley Sunday League, meaning that football will continue to be played on England’s highest ground – 1,107ft above contradiction.

Best of all is that the Crook league, now the only remaining Saturday afternoon local league in Do Durham, admitted two newcomers at the annual meeting.

Red Well Rangers from Barnard Castle will be joined by Darlington Grammar School Old Boys in the latest of several incarnations. Since it’s probably 40 years since the old place became comprehensive, few may strictly qualify.

AS yesterday’s column noted, we’ve been on Skye, an island where competitive football is played in the summer in the hope that the weather might be a little less bad.

It wasn’t last Wednesday. While the sensible stopped indoors to watch Iran v Spain on Skye TV, the column found itself at Portree Juniors v Kyle, Skye and Lochalsh League.

On the second longest day of the year, the floodlights around Portree High School’s all-weather pitch were switched on for the 7 15pm kick-off, though they could do little to stem the downpour or the plunging mercury.

The crowd appeared to be one, the Barlinnie-jail fence around the pitch presumably there to keep folk in, the accent a bit like Dr Finlay’s Casebook.

It ended 17-2 to Portree, the sporting Kyle lads finding consolation in scoring twice. Last season on the same pitch, they lost 15-0.

In all these years, I’ve never seen more goals in 90 minutes. Can anyone beat it?

….AND finally, the column two weeks ago sought the nickname of legendary Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin. It was, of course, the Black Spider, promoting memories from Don Clarke both of Moscow Dynamo’s visit to Roker Park in November 1955 but of a familiar refrain from the 1960s.

“Aye, aye, aye-aye, Monty is better than Yashin…..” It rhymed ultimately with thrashing.

Still with Russia in mind, readers are today invited to name the last England player before Harry Kane to score in the first two games of a World Cup finals.

More finals thoughts next week.