[WakeyTerrier]

That Chelsea game rank as one of the best I've been to, didn't feel like it at the time though. Despite lots and lots of beer before and at half time the nerves were a wreck after the Chelsea equalizer.

[Lord Snooty]

May 10:

On this day in 1922, two weeks after winning the FA Cup, Huddersfield Town won the FA Charity Shield (now Community Shield) for the one and only time. It was a one and only time because the competition from 1923 to 1927, when Town would've been playing in this annual event between the League Champions and the FA Cup Winners, was played between Professionals and Amateurs. The FA got all snotty about the spoiling tactics used by Town and Preston in the Cup Final and refused to sanction future matches.

Anyway, this was played against the champions Liverpool at Old Trafford and Town won it 1-0. Team captain, Tom Wilson, scored the goal in front of a 10,000 crowd.

Only two league games on this date. In 1947, we beat already relegated Leeds United 1-0 at Leeds Road in the First Division. Irish football legend, Peter Doherty scored the goal.

And in 1983, three days after beating Newport County to win promotion from Division Three, we finished off the home campaign with a 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic. Colin Russell scored the Town goal.

Here's that scoreboard again, with Colin second from the left, next to Mark Lillis.

[SHEP_HTAFC]

The two on the right were Johnny's nightclub owners. Met them a few times. Proper pair of ar5es.

[Lord Snooty]

May 11:

It's 1992, Ian Ross has recently taken over from Eoin Hand and we have qualified for the Play Offs for the first time ever. And on this date, we played our very first match in the Play Offs at London Road, the home of Peterborough United.

Town had finished 3rd, four points better off than the 6th placed Posh. So we were the favourites to go through, especially when we had won 7 out of the last 8 games, including a 4-0 win at home to Torquay in the last of the regular league games.

A massive crowd of 11,751 crammed into their pissy little tin shed of a ground and the Town fans there were cheering first when Iffy Onuora gave us the lead in the 28th minute. That was 1-0 at half time, but straight after the break, in true Town fashion, we let them back in. Ken Charlery got the goal to level the scores up.

Town were soon back in front though with former Shayman, David Robinson putting the ball into his own goal. We were well in control and looked to be heading for the 2nd leg with a lead until the 88th minute when we only went and let them equalise again. Mick Halsall scored it and so we go back to Leeds Road all square.

This was a Monday night game. The second leg will be on Thursday the 14th for a chance to play Stoke City or Stockport County at Wembley Stadium.

Fourteen years on from that match, we played another Play Off semi final on this date in 2006. We were in League One now, as opposed to Division Three back then, which of course is still the same thing. Anyway, this one was at Oakwell, against Barnsley.

Peter Jackson was still manager, in his second spell and two years after we had won promotion from the 4th tier. We had finished 9th in the first season back up, but this time we qualified for the Play Offs in 4th position, one point better off than the 5th placed Tykes.

Future Town boss, Andy Richtea was in charge of Barnsley, who were totally out played and out fought by a brilliant performance from Town. Gary Taylor-Fletcher had a header go just wide and Danny Schofield hit the post and it was just a matter of time before Town scored and opened the floodgates.

We did score, but it was far too late in the game. Taylor-Fletcher got it in the 85th minute, bundling the ball over the line after a defensive cock up. Such was the dominance of the terrific Terriers, it was just a matter of turning up for the second leg on Monday night to see us through to the Final against Swansea or Brentford.

What could possibly go wrong? 

It's a happy birthday today to our 4th Division title winning goalkeeper Andy Rankin. Born on this date in 1944 in Bootle, he's 78 today. He was at the back end of his career when he signed for Town in 1979, signed by Mick Buxton to replace Alan Starling, but was the unsung hero as the attackers loaded up 101 league goals in the season. At the back end of the season, he kept 7 consecutive clean sheets, one behind the club record of 8, set by John Oldfield in 64/65.

He had a couple of 3rd Division seasons with us, to add to his First Division stint with Everton at the start of his career and over 300 matches for Watford.

[Lord Snooty]

May 12:

Two players, my favourite Town player that I never saw, and also a modern day legend of the club were both born on this date. More about Rocket Ron later, first up it's Alex Jackson.

You may want to read the long version of his life and career, which I wrote during lockdown. If so, click here.... http://www.sportsbabble.co.uk/showthread...t=profiles

For the shortened version.....Alex Jackson was born in Renton, West Dunbartonshire in 1905, played for Dumbarton, went to America, came back, played for Aberdeen, met Herbert Chapman in a pub.

Signed for Huddersfield, won a league title, scored a hat trick for Scotland against England at Wembley, scored in the FA Cup Final, scored 89 goals for Town, 8th in our all time goal scorers chart (just been overtaken by Jordan Rhodes), went to Chelsea, became a pub landlord, joined the army, became a major, survived the war but.......

He was in Egypt in 1946 when tragedy struck. He was in the Suez zone and whilst driving an army truck, it over turned and he was killed, dying of the head injuries he sustained before arrival at hospital.

He is buried in the Fayid War Cemetery, a patch of land on the western shore of Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake. He was only 41 years old.

Ronnie Jepson was born in Audley, Staffordshire in 1963 and so is 59 today. He's currently out of work following the sacking of his buddy Neil Warnock at Middlesbrough, when he and Kevin Blackwell were given the boot as well.

It was Warnock who brought Ronnie to Town in 1993 to replace Iwan Roberts, signing him from Exeter City. He was Player of the Season in 1994/95, the season we won promotion by beating Bristol Rovers at Wembley in the Play Offs.

Before Joining us from Exeter, he was at Port Vale, Peterborough and Preston. And after us he played for Bury, Oldham and Burnley. But it was at Huddersfield Town where he had his best years, scoring 42 goals, putting him in 38th place in our all time goal scorers chart, level with Bob Kelly and Lee Novak.

He returned to Town in 2008 as assistant to Stan Ternent, who he had played for at Bury and Burnley and assisted at Gillingham. But that didn't work out. Dean Hoyle took over as Chairman from Ken Davy and one of the first things he did was to get shut of Turnip. Despite being a Town legend, Rocket Ron was also dismissed and was out of work for a year before he teamed up with Warnock for the first time at QPR and has been following Colin around the country at various clubs ever since.

On the pitch, on this date in 2012, we were in Play Off action. This one was at the Stadium mk, in the League One Play Off semi final 1st leg match with Milton Keynes Dons. We had finished 4th, a point above 5th placed MKD and it was Town who took the lead through Jordan Rhodes, ending his five match dry spell. That was in the 32nd minute, a header from a Lee Novak cross, in front of the Town fans packed behind the goal in a crowd of 11,893,on a sunny Saturday lunchtime.

In the second half, up the other end, Jack Hunt, played a one/two with Kallum Higginbotham and finished off a good move to put Town 2-0 up and big favourites to progress to the Final, which will be back at Wembley this season. The 2nd leg will be back at the Galpharm in three days time, for the right to play either Sheffield United or Stevenage in the season's showpiece finale.

On this date in 2019, we played the final game in our two season stint as a Premier League club. It was down at Southampton an we drew 1-1. Nathan Redmond scored for the Saints, but Alex Pritchard scored the equaliser in the second half, punishing a mistake by goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

This result means that if we start 2022/23 as a Premier League team, we are currently on a two match PL unbeaten run, after we drew with Man Utd in the previous one.

And in 1951, we had the second of our two Festival Of Britain matches. Having beaten PSV Eindhoven 4-1 three days earlier, this time we went one better, beating French team, Stade Rennais 5-1. Albert Nightingale scored twice against PSV and he added another one against Rennais. Harold Hassall, the season's leading scorer with 18, added two goals to his list in this game. And Jimmy Glazzard, who would be leading scorer for the next five seasons, also scored twice.

They've got two different spellings of Harold's surname on these bubble gum cards.

[WakeyTerrier]

Cracking picture from MK Dons, 3 of my mates stood up and in shot right behind the goals

[Amelia Chaffinch]

I caught the sun that day.

[theo_luddite]

I'd almost erased those red shirts from memory - almost.

[Lord Snooty]

I'd almost erased those red shirts from memory - almost.

I liked them. Much better than that horrible fluorescent thing that Pritchard is wearing. They had to give them all away as a free gift at the Southampton game. It looked like a stand full of stewards. 

[theo_luddite]

I quite liked them at first, the unusual mix of a Rugby League V on a footy shirt. The reason for me erasing them from memory is coming up in one of your posts towards the end of the month.