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Jackie Bolton's time at Whitby Town - part 2
Jackie Bolton's son has been looking back at the former Whitby Town player who featured for the Seasiders between 1954 and 1960
Given what had happened earlier when we were deemed surplus to requirements at Whitby, there was a fantastic feeling amongst the Redcar team after that win. That said, it did feel a bit surreal celebrating in the away dressing rooms at the Turnbull Ground having played there for Whitby in the previous two and a half seasons. I still have a copy of The Whitby Gazette report on the match and the reporter Norman Gittens (who wrote under the name of “Wanderer”) gave me a good report which was pleasing!
It turned out to be a very poor season for Whitby Town and Stan Lacey left the club. At the end of that season Alan Brown (who undertook the role of General Manager) wrote to me and asked if I would go back to play for Whitby Town the following season (1958/59). I didn’t have to be asked twice and was pleased to return. I was delighted to be back at Whitby Town. I never wanted to leave in the first place, and it felt like I had returned home. I was also playing Northern League football again. I had enjoyed my time at Redcar Albion, but the crowds and atmosphere were at another level at Whitby.
Alan Brown (who had taken over from George Breckon) ran a well-known local plumbing business and did a good job for the club as General Manager. He had good contacts and I remember Jimmy Gordon who was the Middlesbrough Football Club Trainer at the time, coming to Whitby Town to help us with our training on a part-time basis in tandem with his role at Middlesbrough. Through Jimmy we were even able to train at Ayresome Park at times which was ideal for the Teesside based players.
I returned to Whitby at the start of the 1958/59 season under former Middlesbrough player Bobby Stuart who had become manager and played every game that campaign. It was a special season as we reached the North Riding Senior Cup final and went on a memorable F.A. Amateur Cup run.
The 1959 North Riding Senior Cup Final at Scarborough’s Athletic Ground was a fantastic occasion. There was great rivalry between both clubs and despite the torrential rain there was a huge crowd of nearly 3,000 in attendance. Scarborough were strong favourites and won the match 2-0 but it was a great experience not just for me, but the other Whitby players as well. Although we lost, we put up a good performance against a team of professional footballers and did not let anyone down.
The F.A. Amateur Cup run started with a 2-0 home win in the 1st Qualifying Round against Cargo Fleet from the Teesside League. In the 2nd Qualifying Round, we hammered fellow Northern League team South Bank 9-1 at the Turnbull Ground.
The 3rd Qualifying Round saw us travel to Bridlington Central United. They had an excellent pitch and good facilities. It was one of the biggest attendances at their ground for a long time and there was a large Whitby contingent present. They tried to play football against us, but we were comfortably the best team and ran out 5-1 winners.
We played away to Methley United (near Leeds) in the 4th Qualifying Round. They were favourites and (like Bridlington) tried to play football against us but in the end, we just had too much quality for them and deservedly won the match 3-1. It was a compact stadium and once again there was a big crowd there.
The team had played well all season and we were gaining confidence. Having reached the 1st Round proper there were some top teams left in the competition. We were drawn away again, this time to Sheffield based Norton Woodseats. It was a very tough assignment for Whitby as Norton had a strong team. In the previous 1957/58 season they reached the F.A. Amateur Cup 2nd Round and the F.A. Cup 4th Qualifying Round. The season we played them they reached the F.A. Cup 3rd Qualifying Round.
Once again, we went into the match as underdogs, but we played really well that day and pulled off a fantastic 4-2 win. We started to really believe in ourselves and our supporters were right behind us all the way.
Our superb cup run had taken us to the 2nd Round, and we were hoping for lady luck to finally show up with a home draw. However, for the fourth round in a row we were drawn away. Briggs Sports (Dagenham) were the opposition. They were known nationally in non-league football having reached the F.A. Amateur Cup semi-final in 1953/54 when they lost to the mighty Bishop Auckland in front of 54,000 at St. James Park, Newcastle. They had won their own League (the Spartan League) the previous three seasons in a row (and also went on to win it for the fourth consecutive season in 1958/59 – the season we played them).
The Whitby players and officials travelled South by coach and stayed in a hotel on the Friday night before the game.
There was an impressive attendance which I think was around the 2,500 mark. There would have been more but there was another big F.A. Amateur Cup tie being played locally at the same time. We were 1-0 up in the first half and it should have been 2 or 3 as we outplayed them. However, just before half-time they scored through Alf Noble (former England Amateur International and previous F.A. Amateur Cup winner) and that turned the game on its head. In the second half they were a different team and we were involved in a right battle. I remember their second goal well. It was big scramble in our box and then a shot hit the inside of the post and went in. We lost 2-1 and it was very disappointing, especially as we could have had the game wrapped up in the first half. Nevertheless, we had had a great run and had done the club, the supporters and the town proud.
In the 1959/60 season my former teammate Benny Edwards became Manager and I played 14 matches under him. However, I wasn’t a regular and I liked to be playing! Other teams had good contacts and Redcar Albion were aware of my situation and were soon onto me. I had done well there in 1957/58 and had enjoyed it, so it seemed like the time was right and it was good knowing they wanted me to play for them.
Later that season Redcar went on to win the North Eastern League and Cup double and one of my highlights away from Whitby was winning the semi-final at Ayresome Park against Gateshead ‘A’ and then scoring the first goal in a 2-0 final win at Sunderland’s Roker Park against South Shields Reserves. It was late on in the match and a header (at 5 feet 3 inches I was the smallest player on the pitch)! A Middlesbrough lad scoring in a winning cup final at The Roker End … it doesn’t get much better than that!