Backtrack

The strange phenomenon of a glaring pitch and other mid-game oddities

10:00am Saturday 16th November 2019

Reflecting, as it were, upon a strange phenomenon – and not just sunshine at Consett – the column two weeks ago noted that spectators had to swap sides during an Ebac Northern League game up there after being dazzled by the glare from the synthetic pitch.

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The once youngest hat-trick scorer in Football League history watches his beloved Oldham Athletic

10:00am Saturday 16th November 2019

Almost 65 years after he became the youngest hat-trick scorer in Football League history – a record claimed later by Trevor Francis – Ken Chaytor was back watching his beloved Oldham Athletic last Sunday.

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Broomfield runners mark their fifth birthday

9:20am Saturday 9th November 2019

One small step for the Broomfield Runners, the group marking its fifth birthday will for the first time “take control” – provide all the volunteers – at this morning’s Northallerton parkrun.

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A two man excursion on the Railroad to Wembley to see Shildon beaten by Lower Breck

9:00am Saturday 9th November 2019

Whether from feet-beneath-the-table experience or from noses pressed enviously against the banqueting hall window, faithful readers may be familiar with The Parable of the Rich Man’s feast.

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Diamond geezer

8:11am Saturday 2nd November 2019

Almost 60 years to the day since being told the assistant secretary’s job was his – “told” is the appropriate word – Malcolm Pratt marks 60 years unstinting service to Philadelphia Cricket Club with a clubhouse party on November 23.

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Matinee performance

8:01am Saturday 2nd November 2019

Before considering last Saturday’s momentous events in Japan – and today’s, come to that – it’s necessary to admit that Darlington Rugby Club and I have history, though some might suppose it pre-history.

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Help from The Prince's Trust to paint perimeter of Darlington Railway Athletic club

10:20am Saturday 26th October 2019

As Forth Bridge jobs go, nothing could gloss over the fact that Alan Hamilton’s was up there with the most optimistic.

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The replica Darlington nameplate and the "suggestions of skullduggery" surrounding it

10:00am Saturday 26th October 2019

The steam engine nameplate in the photograph says Darlington, but doesn’t say it all. The wheels are again about to come full circle.

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Greenswordsmanship

5:23am Saturday 19th October 2019

THAT extraordinary all-rounder Steve Greensword, now 75, finds himself included in Wisden Cricket Monthly’s Club Cricket Hall of Fame – No 25 it says, to which a reasonable response might be “What kept you?”

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Annual excursion orgy finally gets under way to see Crook beaten in first round of FA Vase

5:00am Saturday 19th October 2019

THE Railroad to Wembley has rather been delayed this season, problems with what might be called the permanent way.

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Former England winger returns to his roots signing his new autobiography at Waterstones in Darlington

5:00am Saturday 12th October 2019

HOME ground, Dave Thomas spoke at West Auckland workmen’s club last Friday. Great footballer, he’s fast becoming a best selling author, too.

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Healy delighted

6:44am Saturday 5th October 2019

GETTING on 40 years since first he helped tell the story of West Auckland’s World Cup wins, Geordie actor Tim Healy is reliving the role.

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Jim Elliott: Death of a Wolves cub

6:34am Saturday 5th October 2019

YOU’VE heard of 15 minutes of fame? Jim Elliott had his, almost set your watch by it, at Highbury on April 8, 1972. Then he headed to Kings Cross, a one-way ticket back to Bishop Auckland.

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Levels’ best

5:43am Saturday 28th September 2019

THE holiday was in Somerset, a chance to watch Wells City v Newton Abbott Spurs in the FA Vase, the gates outside the ground dedicated to Mary Bignall Rand.

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Guiding light: Dave Thomas’s uplifting autobiography is compelling reading

5:36am Saturday 28th September 2019

PUBLISHED this week, Dave Thomas’s uplifting autobiography makes for compelling holiday reading. The 90-minute chat in his conservatory should not be supposed hard labour, either.

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One door opens….

11:11am Saturday 14th September 2019

At the start of what was to prove a memorable weekend, though for some forgettable reasons, the handsome new Brian Johnson gates at Darlington Cricket Club – still the Feethams ground – were formally opened last Friday evening.

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Mike Amos: Splendid weekend for Willington Cricket Club and its great stalwart

11:00am Saturday 14th September 2019

SENT to bed early, like a recalcitrant child, last week’s column was unable to record a splendid weekend for Willington Cricket Club and for John Coe, its great stalwart and president.

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Mike Amos visits the closest football ground to the sea in Europe

5:00am Saturday 7th September 2019

Arbroath Football Club is famous for two things, three if you include the steak and black pudding pies.

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Mike Amos: New play chronicles links between Manchester United and Bishop Auckland after the Munich air disaster

11:20am Saturday 31st August 2019

A NEW play chronicling the links between Manchester United and Bishop Auckland after the Munich air disaster will be launched next year.

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Mike Amos: Perhaps a billions-to-one shot, I catch up with the nine-hole wonders

11:00am Saturday 31st August 2019

HE was a joiner’s son, raised on a council estate in Lancashire, is now reckoned Britain’s third wealthiest man – down from top place last year – with a net worth of £18.15bn.

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