Tales from a football club

Although I know the thought of football will make many people’s eyes glaze over, I hope you’ll stick with it, because I hope these stories are of general interest, not just to football fans.

We start during the war, and a report which appeared in the Watford Observer of May 2, 1941.

As you might expect, as our young men went to fight the Germans, football as we know it these days was suspended, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any – far from it. And this particular week the most interesting thing about the game wasn’t even the fact that Watford beat Portsmouth 6-0.

The report reads: “Just before Saturday’s match with Portsmouth at Vicarage Road began, a notice was sent around the ground which read ‘Player required, one with experience. Please report to office’.

“Such are the vagaries of war-time football, Portsmouth had a strong team, which included Lacey and Webb of Sheffield Wednesday, Black, of Hearts, the Scottish international, Gardiner (Notts Forest) and Summerby (Preston North End), but just before the game began, Summerby was missing.

“Other teams have reached Watford shorthanded and have filled up the team with the trainer and, during the Easter holidays, manager W Findlay even turned out for Watford.

“But I do not recall a notice like this being sent round Vicarage Road ground before. What a chance for some of those vociferous critics on the bank! As it was, Skilly Williams, in spite of his fifty-odd years, offered to turn out once again, but C. Ward, an amateur half-back from Leavesden, volunteered and took Summerby’s place.”

And so it was that the two teams met, in front of 2,005 people, and gave Pompey six of the best.

Big scores weren’t that unusual during the war years – just the previous week Watford had lost at Norwich 5-4 having walloped the same team 7-1 a week earlier.

Even so, it seems – if the Watford Observer’s report is anything to go by – that Watford were a bit tasty then, war or no war.

“They did not give Portsmouth an inch of latitude and towards the end, the visitors were thoroughly mastered and dispirited,” reads the match report.
So why weren’t these players fighting for King and Country, you may ask. Well usually they were.

“It was a pleasure to see Taffy Davies, now in the Army, once more in blue jersey,” the report reads. “Taffy, who is on leave, did his full share in bringing about his side’s victory.” No doubt on and off the field of battle.

William “Taffy” Davies, who as his name suggests was born in Wales, played his entire professional football career for Watford. He retired at the end of the 1949–50 season, just before his 40th birthday and became the licensee of the Red Lion pub, opposite the entrance to Vicarage Road stadium. He died in Watford at the age of 85 in 1995.

Another Watford player, but this time from way back in the late 19th century when the club was still called Watford Rovers, was E Beevor.

Anyway, he was back in the news in 1989 when a football medal from the 1891/92 season was discovered in Radlett by a man using a metal detector.

The medal, described in the Watford Observer report of May 12, 1989, as “ nine carat gold and shield shaped” was won by Mr Beevor who played in the final of the 1891-92 Herts County Cup competition which was won by Watford Rovers.

It was found by Tim Lowen, a member of the Herts and District Metal Detection Society, when he was prospecting near Radlett. Mr Lowen appealed in the Watford Observer for any relatives of Mr Beevor who may still be living in the area to get in touch with him and they could have the find. Whether he was able to find anyone, and what happened to the medal, I’ve been unable to find out. Does anyone know?

For those unfamiliar with Watford FC’s early history, the club was formed in 1881, playing their first proper games the following year. The club changed its name to West Herts in 1893, changing again, to become Watford, in 1898.
In the 1891-92 season, while still called Watford Rovers, the team – with E Beevor at number 11 – won the Herts County Cup, beating Hoddesdon 5-2 in the final with Walter Selby Coles grabbing a hat-trick.

It was the second consecutive year the team had won the trophy.
Incidentally, hat-trick hero Coles was, some years before, the first man ever to score a penalty for Watford – and, while we’re on Watford facts from the 1890s, other members of that Herts County Cup winning side of 1891-92 included Charles Herbert Peacock, proprietor of the Watford Observer.

Moving rather more up to date, the Watford Observer of May 7, 1982, was just as excited as we are this week, as the paper reported “wild scenes at Vicarage Road” as Watford under Graham Taylor were promoted to the First Division for the first time.

“More than 10,000 of a 20,000 crowd swarmed on to the pitch after the final whistle to cheer the victorious Hornets,” the report continued.

“Fans mobbed players – one embraced two-goal hero Ross Jenkins in the stand.

“The crowd’s enthusiasm was not dampened as they were sprayed with champagne by players in the directors’ box, and the whole pitch was alive with the red and yellow club favours, scarves and hats.

“Celebrations went on into the night as fans marched through the town. Emotions reached such a fever pitch that supporters jumped into the Pond in Watford High Street to cool off.

“Chairman Elton John could not make the greatest moment in the club’s history. But as always, he was kept on the ball about the team’s progress. He was in the middle of performing the hit Rocket Man in Oslo when a telephone call came through saying Watford were one goal up at half time.

“He said: ‘Rocket Man really took off then when they shouted the news on to the stage.’

“Elton finished his concert seven minutes early and listened by telephone to the closing moments. He said: ‘I wish I could have been there. They must have been going bananas!’

“Elton will fly in for tomorrow’s game against Leicester and belated celebrations, but will jet off to be in Rotterdam by 7.30pm for another concert.

“Manager Graham Taylor said he regarded the promotion as the finest achievement in the club’s history. He said: ‘I am glad we have done it our way, keeping to the same pattern all the way from Division Four.’”

Taylor may have been right at the time, but a year later another achievement was being hailed as the best ever, as this Watford Observer report from May 20, 1983, demonstrates. Accompanying a picture of a smiling Elton John with his arms aloft, the report reads: “The moment of Watford’s greatest footballing achievement at 4.40pm on Saturday as millionaire club chairman Elton John sees his team claim the title of second best in the land. Watford had completed a fairytale season with a 2-1 win over champions Liverpool before 27,173 adoring fans.

“With the news that Manchester United had lost 3-2 at Notts County, pop star Elton realised his First Division newcomers had leapfrogged into second place in the final table and guaranteed European football at Vicarage Road next season.”

Sadly, it wasn’t all good news, however. According to the report, some Liverpool supporters went “on the rampage” in Watford town centre after the game. It seems “a band of skinhead fans kicked in windows of two jewellery shops in the Parade and seized items worth thousands of pounds”.

Hopefully there’ll be no such destruction as we celebrate promotion this time.