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St Andrews

B

beamish

master brummie
When I were a lad…I know what your thinking, another Hovis advert. Well, read on anyway. I used to ask my dad; who were your favourite Blues players and he would mention Harry Hibbs, Joe Bradford and others from the 1930’s. But to me they were second-hand memories, little more than sepia photographs, but they were Blues heroes. In the early 50’s I used to take bottles back to get the money to watch a game at St Andrews, - Listen to the violins - or sneak in under the turnstile. I told you it was like a Hovis Ad. Let me list some of the great players I have had the privilege to see, and these are from the opposition. Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Moore, Nat Lofthouse. One player stands out in my mind, the Gentle Giant John Charles. Then my heroes, Eddie Brown, Alex Govan, Spud Murphy, Trevor Smith, Noel Kinsey, Gordon Astall, Bertie Auld, Ken Leek, Jimmy Harris, Jimmy Bloomfield, Harry Hooper and later of course Super Trev, Bob and Dave Latchford, Kenny Burns…I can’t possibly list them all, but they were blue through and through.

I remember the days at St Andrews
The days of blue and white
I remember the days at St Andrews
Those resonant floodlit nights

I saw the mighty Italians
From Roma and Inter-Milan
Those great Italian masters
We matched them man for man…and more!

The boys from Újpesti Dózsa I can still see them I can
They came here from Barcelona the giants of Catalan
The cream of Zagreb and Cologne, boys of Denmark’s Boldklub
The streets they were rocking in Small Heath
They rocked for the Birmingham club

When Union Saint-Gilloise were hammered
By the boys in Royal Blue
We stood on the Tilton and shouted
O City we love you

There was Johnny and Malcolm and Jimmy
Bertie, Mike and Stan
Those great days there at St Andrews
I can remember them all I can

But none of the days were greater
Than the summer of ‘63
When we stood on that scrap heap in Aston
My mate Barry and me

We had taken the Holt-End that evening
And knew that the trophy was won
And we stayed out all night celebrating
The League Cup belonged to BRUM!

PS. An early memory 1954 I think…BLUES 9 v Liverpool 1…Their goal was a cracker!
 
beamish, You missed out Gil Merrick, he deserves a place in all Blues Fans memories.
 
Blues 9 Liverpool 1 it is still their biggest defeat, and then Blues 7 Port Vale 4, Billy Liddell was a Magistrate, and the Goalkeeper was Rudham from South Africa, i think he made a quick return to SA.
 
Blues: Merrick, Hall, Green, Boyd, Smith, Warhurst, Astall, Lane, Brown, Murphy, Govan.

Liverpool: Rudham, Lambert, Lock, Wilkinson, Hughes, Twentyman, Payne, Anderson, Liddell, Evans, A'Court
 
Gil Merrick still lives in Shirley, believe he got married not so long ago at 86, remember in the late 40s when he was in goal for the first team, Jacky Wheeler was the goalie for the reserves.
 
john 70, Gil Merrick was very poorly for some years and only married again after being given the ok by the hospital, i believe his first Wife died approx 15yrs ago.
 
Hi

Gil Merrick is the Number one for me.
Most succesful player and Manager we have ever had.
That famous cup win in 1963 at Villa Park yet without
warning he gets the sack. Overtones of an earlier sacking
of Arthur Turner wgo took us to our highest league postion
6th and a Cup Final that year.
My Dad played in the same team as Gil Merrick.
It was before the War for St Mary's of Acocks Green.
Gil was a young 15 year old then my dad was in his early 20's.
Gil met my Dad a couple of times when i was younger.
I know Gil took his sacking very bad but thats football for you.
Still he is Blues No 1.

Mike Jenks
 
As a blues supporter myself sadly Gill Merrick passed away about 6 years ago he was cremated at the Robbin Hood cemetery:(Mossy
 
Gil celebrated his 86th birthday on January 26th. Great servant to Blues and gained 23 caps between 51 and 54. He took some stick for the losses against Hungary and Uruguay though.
 
Would any of you know if Gil Merrick had two daughters? I'd love to know if I'm remembering the right family. The daughter I knew would be about 59/60 now. Just curious.
Ann
 
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