[Lord Snooty]

November 14:

On this date in 2009, we had the first of our two 6-0 wins against Wycombe Wanderers. it was a League One encounter and they were yo-yoing between Leagues 1 and 2, having just come up, they would go down and back up again before we beat them 6-0 at their place in 2012. Jordan Rhodes of course scored five times in that one. He didn't score at all in this one.

The first goal came from the skipper, Peter Clarke heading in from a whipped in Gary Roberts free kick. The second came from a fantastic, fast paced breakaway (remember them?) from defending a corner, swiftly bowled out by Alex Smithies to Michael Collins, to Anthony Pilkington, to Roberts to tap it into the goal.

That was 2-0 at half time. It was 3-0 after 49 minutes, Pilks smashing the ball home after some good work from young Jordan. Clarkey made it 4-0 from a Robbo corner, winning the header that was blocked on the line. But he was first to the rebound and sent it into the back of the net, through the covering defender's legs.

Substitute Theo Robinson, who came on for Lee Novak at half time, had a couple of chances that went begging. He was just about to tap in from three yards out when Michael Duberry intercepted and stuck it in his own net. Poor Theo could've had a hat trick, but it was looking like he would miss out.

But straight from the kick off, Town won the ball back and set off towards the Wycombe goal in search of another. Dopey Duberry tripped up Roberts in the penalty area, Robbo picked up the ball and placed it on the spot. But being the generous lad he is, he then let young Theo have the chance to make it 6-0. And he took that chance.

Such a popular guy and such was the team spirit of this great side, they all had a mass pile on, even though the game had been won long before.

And we have it on the telly.....

Another game that was on the telly was played on this date in 1999. It was at the City Ground and we beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 in a superb display of football from the terrific Terriers and was the fifth win on the bounce and the fifth in a run of nine wins in ten games.

Sadly I can't find it on YouTube, but I do remember going to the pub to watch it on Sky Sports and Brian Clough was in the expert's chair. An actual bona fide expert on Sky. What a novelty!

Anyway, this was the Clyde Wijnhard show. He opened the scoring, before Kevin Gray headed in the second from a free kick. Alan Rogers pulled one back for the Florist on the stroke of half time. But Clyde sealed the win in the 63rd minute.

Steve Bruce and his Merry Men were now up to third in the table and looking good for at least a crack at the Play Offs. As we all know by now, that didn't happen.

On this date in 1970, we went to Turf Moor and beat Burnley in a First Division match. We'd dropped into the bottom three after last week's defeat at home to Chelsea, but this win took us back up to 17th.

It was a 3-2 win, another that was televised, and here it is, in all it's black and white glory. Bobby Hoy scored twice and Jimmy Lawson got the other.

League title winning manager, Cecil Potter was born on this date in 1888. He had taken over from Herbert Chapman, who had left to join Arsenal and he was the manager who completed our hat trick of Football League titles. I may have mentioned it before but we were the first team to achieve that.

Cecil was born in West Hoathly in Sussex, the son of a Congregational minister, he played for Ipswich Town, Norwich City and Hull City. He then became player/manager of Hartlepools United and later on, manager of Derby County.

After almost getting the Rams to Wembley in the FA Cup and almost getting them promoted to Division One, he was appointed secretary/manager of the double league champions in July 1925, getting paid a handsome salary of £600 per annum.

His one and only season in charge of the Town started well, going unbeaten in the first ten matches and by the time our brave lads went top of the league in February after a win against Everton, we stayed top all the way to the end of the season, becoming thrice champions with a 3-0 win at home to Bolton, with a couple of games to spare.

Sadly, ill health caused him to resign his post shortly after the close of the season and Jack Chaplin took over. Cecil's health improved though and he was back in the game by December, going to manage Norwich. That wasn't succesful though and the Canaries were relegated to Division Three (South) and he resigned.

Jack Cock was born on this date in 1893 in Hayle, Cornwall. He and Fred Bullock played for Town before the First World War and both of them joined the 17th (Service) Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment, also known as the Football Battalion when the war broke out. At the same time, the pair of them guested for Brentford, Jack's old club.

Jack had moved to London with his family at an early age and settled in Fulham. His first job was as a caddie at Burnham Beeches Golf Club, from which he was sacked for playing football with a golf ball on one of the greens. Golf clubs were obviously full of snobs even back then (apologies if you are a golf club snob). So he got a job in a foundry and started playing football for West Kensington Utd. Soon after he was offered a place at Brentford, who were in the Southern League then, from where he joined Huddersfield Town in 1914.

Fred was older than Jack and was married to Maude and they had a son. He'd been at Leeds Road since our first season in the Football League, playing left back and displacing Welsh international Charlie Morris from that position, making it his own right up until the outbreak of the war, by which time he'd become club captain.

In the Football Battalion, Fred was promoted to lance-corporal and Jack was sergeant major. They played matches whilst out in France against other regiments and both played in the regiment's team that beat 34th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery 11-0 in the final of the Divisional Tournament in April 1916 in Hersin, near the Belgian border. Fred's on the back row of this photo, taken from a match played in 1915.

It wasn't all fun and games though. Jack earnt the Military Medal for "Bravery in the Field" and was Mentioned in Despatches for "gallantry". He was actually reported as 'missing, presumed dead' at one point. Fred was injured in the shoulder during the Battle of the Somme. Later he picked up a bad knee injury and was demobbed.

They were both part of the Brentford team that won the London Combination League in the first post war season. After this, they both returned north to resume their careers at Huddersfield Town. The Town however were in dire financial straits at this time and one of the first things they did about this was to sell Jack to Chelsea for a record fee of £2,500. This was shortly after he had won his first international cap for England, scoring in the first minute of his debut.

Last week, I mentioned the Examiner headline that read "TOWN CLUB DEAD" after the proposal to move the entire club to Leeds. The people of Huddersfield were ready to fight back and Fred was one of the main players in the fund raising activity, which as you may have guessed was actually quite successful. Not only was that a success, but also the on field business took a turn for the better and by the end of the season, he had led the Town to not only an FA Cup Final, but also promotion for the first time to the First Division.

Jack meanwhile, in his first season at Chelsea, scored 24 goals and helped them to 3rd in the First Division, their highest finish at the time and also reached the FA Cup semi finals.

Fred played that first season in the First Division, turning out 25 times, but his knee injury eventually forced his retirement, aged 35 in 1921. His final game was in April, a 2-0 defeat at Manchester United.

He'd been awarded a testimonial, which he spent the money on buying the Slubber's Arms pub on Halifax Old Road. It was here on this date in 1922 sadly, where he was found dead at the age of 36. It was said that he died of heart failure due to ammonia poisoning and been suffering "nerve troubles" during the month preceding his death. Suicide? Post traumatic stress disorder? Or what they called "shell shock" back then? So a sad end to the life of a true Town legend, who had earned one cap for England against Ireland in 1920.

Tomorrow, I've another Town suicide to report on as well.

Life went on for his old colleague Jack down in London though and during the next summer he began his other career as a film star, playing himself in a silent movie called The Winning Goal. This led him to another alternative career. He had a fine tenor voice and as such became a star in the music halls. Such was his success at this that he considered packing in football to take this up full time, but stayed at Stamford Bridge, totalling 47 goals in 99 matches before transfering back up north, signing for Everton in 1925.

Up in Liverpool he continued to work the halls, playing 69 times for the Toffees, scoring 29 goals. Then he had a couple of seasons at Plymouth scoring 72 goals in 90 matches, before going back to London in 1927 and becoming a Millwall legend. He scored twice on his debut for the Lions in a 9-1 win against Coventry City.

He finished as top scorer in his three seasons at the Den, totalling 77 goals and helping them win promotion to the 2nd division. And all through this time he continued to entertain the masses in the music halls and even had a signature song, My Blue Heaven, which reports of the time say the audience always joined in lustily with the chorus.

If you're unfamiliar with the tune, this is it. Just picture yourself in an old 1920s music hall in London listening and singing along to this.....

He left Millwall in 1931, winding down his football career at Folkestone, but before his retirement he had starred in another football themed film, The Greater Game, in 1930. Filmed mainly at Stamford Bridge, it has the first credited role for Rex Harrison.

He continued with the singing career and landed a record deal with Parlaphone Records and toured the country. Later he would become manager back at Millwall, leading them to the Wartime Cup Final in 1945. He spent four years as manager there, before becoming a pub landlord at the White Hart in New Cross.

He died in Kensington in 1966, aged 72. Now there's another one who's life story would make a great film.