[Lord Snooty]

It's true, theo. But this latest place I've gone to seemed quite desperate for me to go there. The MD even rang me up when I didn't return the works manager's call.
I think I may have landed the job I always wanted, just a few years before I'm due to retire.

[Lord Snooty]

December 25:

So here it is Merry Christmas. Everybody's having football fun. Well they were in the old days. As I mentioned yesterday, the Christmas Day fixture was a regular feature of the football calendar, right up to the 1950s. This was because it was one of very few public holidays back then, before the Trades Unions went out and won us all these rights that so many people take for granted these days.

Our last Christmas Day match was as recent as the 58/59 season, when on this date in 1958, Charlton Athletic traveled up to the West Riding of Yorkshire to play the Town at Leeds Road. This was a year and four days after that 7-6 scoreline, but there was only one goal in this one and it was Stan Howard who scored it to give us a 1-0 win, watched by 14,295 people.

The first Christmas Day fixture for Huddersfield Town came in our very first season in the North Eastern League, a 6-1 defeat at Park Avenue against the Bradford Park Avenue reserves in 1908.

The first Football League Christmas Day fixture came on this date in 1911, a 3-1 win at home to Glossop North End. Harry Taylor, James Richardson and Fred Fayers scored our goals.

Two years later, on this date in 1913, the great Billy Smith made his Town debut, the first of 574 games he played for us over a 21 year period. Sadly, it was a 3-0 defeat at home to Hull City. The day after, in the return fixture, he scored his first Town goal, in another loss.

After the war, Billy scored another Christmas goal. On this date in 1919, he scored one of the goals in a 7-1 win over Rotherham County. This was of course, the time when we almost went under and taken over by Leeds United. Crowds had been really low earlier in the season as the crisis came to a head. Less than 3,000 came to the Fulham game, but the Leeds Road attendance record of 15,459 in 1911 against Chelsea, was well and truly smashed in this game when 26,000 spectators came out to support the club.

Billy scored one of the goals, the other six came from just two players and it was the first occasion that two Town players scored hat tricks in the same game. We can't get two hat tricks in the same decade nowadays.

The two players were Jack Swann and Frank Mann. I've mentioned it before but I'll mention it again. Jack was the oldest surviving FA Cup winner by the time the Centenary Cup Final came around and so was the VIP guest for the day. And Frank was until recently, the oldest player to play for Manchester United at the age of 39.

Five years later, we had not only been saved from merging with Leeds, but we were by now the Football League champions. What a five years that must've been. On this date in 1924, Town made the short trip over the hills to Turf Moor for a Christmas Day game with Burnley. They themselves had been League champions recently, but the current champions thrashed them on their own turf by five goals to one. It was Charlie Wilson doing the damage in this one. He scored four of the goals and George Brown got the other.

Moving on another five years, on this date in 1929, Town went darn the Smoke to play West Ham United. Don't know how they got there. Did train drivers not get public holidays? They need to get Mick Lynch on the case. 

Anyway, somebody I've been writing about a lot this year got his first Town goals in this match. That's Dave Mangnall, who had made his debut in a defeat against Arsenal just before Christmas. He scored twice in the match at Upton Park. The famous Alex Jackson scored the first goal of the game as Town won 3-2.

By the time the 1950s came around, the great British public were being sold the idea of the pefect family Christmas and things were getting commercialised. Not that I remember it, but Bing Crosby was singing about his White Christmas. Well there were white Christmases back then.

Another long trip came on this date in 1952. Not for our lads this time. It was Swansea Town who had to come all the way to Huddersfield for the Christmas Day festivities. Santa Claus didn't come to Town for them. The poor old Swans a swimming got stuffed. Three-nil to the 'Udders.

Willie Davie, Vic Metcalfe and Jimmy Glazzard (pictured) got the goals in the season that ended with promotion back to Division One.

[Lord Snooty]

December 26:

Boxing Day football. One of the greatest traditions of the Christmas holidays. We started with a 3-0 win over Carlisle in 1908 in the North Eastern League and we played away at Fulham in our first Football League season in 1910. Henry Hamilton scored in a 2-1 defeat.

The first bg win was in our second season in the First Division, when on this date in 1922, we stuffed Birmingham 4-0. It was the Wilson Show. Charlie Wilson scoring a hat trick, three of the sixteen goals he scored in the campaign, and Tom Wilson scoring his only goal of the season and one of only four he scored in his Town career of 500 appearances.

The first Boxing Day game I went to was on this date in 1969. It was at home to Sheffield United. I went with my dad and we sat in the main stand at Leeds Road.

I was supposed to be going with the scouts. I'd just joined the cubs, 1st Robberttown pack, and they were organising a trip to a football match. Glad I went with my dad, don't think I would've seen much stood with the rest of the cubs in a massive crowd of 30,907. But then I spotted them all, sat around the edge of the pitch in the days when small boys were allowed to do so.

I was a bit jealous then when I realised it was them.

Anyway, the match was won 2-1 with Steve Smith scoring both of ours.

The best Boxing day game I went to was on this date in 1983. Having beaten Leeds the season before in the League Cup at Bellend Road for our first win over them for eleven years, we now went and beat them at thier place for our first league victory at the Beeston Tip for 20 years.

What an occasion it was. Colin Russell scored the first and Mark Lillis scored the second as we beat the scum 2-1.

So what's your favourite Boxing Day football memory?

[Lord Snooty]

December 27:

The Boxing Day double header for the 86/87 season came just hours after Mick Buxton had been sacked following four straight defeats, which saw us hit the foot of the Second Division table.

The first game of the post Buxton era came on the actual Boxing Day, away at Blackburn Rovers, which we won 2-1 with Duncan Shearer scoring as well as Simon Barker giving us an own goal.

The second game was played 24 hours later, on this date in 1986, at Leeds Road when a season high crowd of 10,003 turned up to see us hammer Bradford City 5-1. Former Town star player Steve Smith was sitting in as caretaker manager. He would later be thrust begrudgingly into the job full time after a series of good results.

The star of the day though was Shearer, the boy from Clachnacuddin, adding four goals to the one he got yesterday. He finished the season as top scorer with 21. Ian Banks, one of Buxton's final signings, scored the other goal. Don't know, or care, who scored for the Bantams.

Six years prior to all that happening though, Buxton was very much the King of Huddersfield. He'd gotten us promoted to the 3rd Division after five years in the bowels of the Football League and after last year's Christmas present of super striker Steve Kindon, Mick bought us another striker for this Christmas, from Mansfield Town. And on this date in 1980, he scored in a 5-0 win at home to Hull City. Who he? Ex Ipswich striker Terry Austin or Tracy as he became known.

He'd actually scored twice, his first Town goals, in a 2-2 Boxing Day draw down at Fellows Park against Walsall. The win at home to Hull was 24 hours later and Tracy was one of five scorers on that day in front of 13,240 spectators, a win that took us up into 5th place.

The scorers were Brian Stanton, Austin, David Cowling, Mark Lillis and Ian Robins.

[Lord Snooty]

December 28:

One of the best football games of the Mick Buxton era took place on this date in 1982. It took place at Sincil Bank as Town won 2-1 against Lincoln City. Yes, I know there were more memorable games, but this one was just a great football match between two superb Third Division teams.

The Imps had won promotion the season before and now, under the management of ex Derby boss Colin Murphy, they had been top of the division all season. Town weren't far behind after rising to 3rd with yesterday's Boxing Day victory at home to Chesterfield. A massive crowd of 11,829 turned up to see the Terriers triumph two-one, with goals from Mark Lillis and Keith Hanvey.

This was a massive win in the season that saw us win promotion to Division Two. It was Lincoln's first home defeat of the season, they had won the previous ten home matches. It gave us belief that promotion could actually be on the agenda. It was a sort of turning point in the other direction for Lincoln. They'd beaten Bournemouth 9-0 shortly before our visit, but now, with the club's finances in turmoil despite the on field success, they ended up the season, down in 6th.

[Lord Snooty]

December 29:

Fred Robinson, the left back for our brilliant Fourth Division champions season, was born on this date, in Rotherham in 1954 and so is 68 today. He was signed by Mick Buxton in 1979 from Doncaster Rovers to replace Phil Sandercock who had transferred to Northampton.

A tough tackling, no nonsense proper defender, he made his debut in the first match of 79/80, a League Cup first round first leg game at home to Crewe. His main task in the team was to protect the delicate Dave Cowling, a man so skillful, but so soft that he was made a target of by opposing defenders, in the days before such talents were protected by referees. So successful was Fred at this that Cowling made enough pinpoint crosses into the box to the likes of Ian Robins, Peter Fletcher and Steve Kindon that we scored 101 league goals in the campaign.

I'd love to see the stats for how many assists he got, but those things weren't an actual thing back then. But we're not talking about Dave, this is Fred's day. He was such a hard man, he had a hard man's tash as well, and Kindo said in an interview (probably for the Final Whistle video) that either the man would get past Fred, or the ball would get past, but never the two together.

He scored one goal in the 79/80 season. I couldn't remember it, so looked it up. It was a penalty against Crewe in a 3-0 home win. His only other goal came early in the following season in a 1-1 draw with Carlisle.

Sadly though, after two great seasons at Leeds Road in which he made 82 appearances, a knee injury forced him into early retirement at the end of 81/82. He worked for 20 years at Holset's Engineering firm according to the book Where Are They Now by Lee Morris, still lives locally and goes to watch Town regularly.

Here's Fred and his moustache, middle row, third from the right. Happy birthday Fred.

Fred played against one of his old clubs on his 25th birthday on this date in 1979. That was an away game at Belle Vue, the home of Donny Rovers.

We had suffered a surprise defeat on Boxing Day, away at the Shay, beaten 2-1 by Halifax Town. Steve Kindon made his Town debut in that game after signing just before Christmas. No silly transfer windows back then, kids.

In this game at Doncaster, Steve scored his first Town goal, the winner in a 2-1 victory, after Brian Stanton had given us the lead.

[Lord Snooty]

December 30:

One of the funniest own goals seen at the John McAlpharm Stadium happened on this date in 1995. It was a home game in the Championship (or Division One as it was known then), the season after we had been promoted, the first one with Brian Horton at the helm.

Town were having a really good season and despite losing at home to Derby on Boxing Day, we were still up in 7th. The opponents were Stoke City and they took the lead through the prolific striker Mike Sheron, who they would later sell to QPR for two and a half million quid. It was looking very much like two holiday home defeats on the trot until the intervention of Stoke goalkeeper Mark Prudhoe.

Under pressure from Town sub Paul Dalton, a Stoke defender was forced to pass the ball back to the keeper. It was now three years since the back pass rule had changed, meaning that keepers were no longer allowed to pick up a pass from one of their own team mates and by now, most of them had got used to this and had developed some decent footwork.

Prudhoe though, made a complete mess of a soft back pass and sliced the ball into his own net.

He later denied touching the ball and said the own goal should be awarded to his team mate. Still your cock up, matey.

Fast forward to this date in 2006, Town were back in the 3rd tier, now calling itself League One. We still had Peter Jackson as the boss, but were going through a sticky patch of nine games without a win that had seen us drop from 5th in the league to 17th. By half time of today's match, at home to Swansea City, it looked like ten games without a win as a Lee Trundle double had us 2-0 down.

The Terriers were booed off and Jacko received a lot of undeserved stick from the crowd. This was still a young team, many of who were dressed as cowboys earlier in the year for a promotional gig that a lot of fans didn't like.

Sheriff Jon Worthington led the comeback, scoring in the 67th minute. Judge Jacko had picked Andy Booth and Gary Taylor-Fletcher in the front line of attack as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and they had been joined by Pawel Abbott, the Rumpo Kid after 34 mintes when Andy Holdsworth went off injured and it was Pav who equalised in the 73rd minute.

As injury time approached, we were still going ten games without a win, but then the referee, the short sighted Wyatt Twearp, who had given the Swans a first half penalty, gave us one in added on time. Unbelievable! Who had the courage to step up and win it for us? It was the sharp shooter Pav. And did he score? Yes siree! Yeehah!

Three-two to Town, game won. But not before The Ugly Trundle received his marching orders for an offence I can't recall. Might've been for rustling or something like that. 

Sadly, it was a false dawn for the team and dodgy Ken Davy eventually sacked Judge Jacko and replaced him with the Man With No Brain, Andy Ritchie.

Twelve months ago, on this date in 2021, we won away at Nottingham Forest. A result well deserved, but made more galling by what happened at the end of the season at Wembley.

Sorba Thomas hit the crossbar in the first minute, before Duane Holmes scored in the 30th minute, after playing a one-two with Harry Toffolo and ran to the Forest fans, cupping his ears after being booed all game.

Brice Samba in the Florist goal, stopped Lewis O'Brien from making it 2-0 in the second half and then Brennan Johnson missed the easiest of chances to equalise. The result meant nothing in the end as we both made it to the Play Off Final, which we won't talk about, thank you very much.

Tom Johnston was born on this date in 1918, in Coldstream. He's the only man to have managed Town in three separate (permanent) spells, though he's best remembered for his first spell rather than the other two in the 4th Division.

In that first one from October 64 to May 68, he had us nearly promoted to Division One, just missing out by losing at home to Coventry on the final day. And then in 68 he got us to the League Cup semi finals for the only time.

After finishing his first spell with Town, replaced by his number 2, Ian Greaves, he went to Bootham Crescent and became a York City legend by winning them promotion from the 4th Division and then getting them up into the 2nd Division for the only time in their history, in 1975.

Tom died in 1994 in Nottingham, aged 75.

[Lord Snooty]

December 31:

The 1921/22 season, the second season in Division One, started with Jack Swann at centre forward. He was sold to Leeds in October and his place at number 9 went to the long serving Ernie Islip, who had been at the club since 1911. But Herbert Chapman was introducing some new players during the season who would go on to be club legends. Clem Stephenson and Sam Wadsworth were now regulars in the side and on this date in 1921, a name who's goals would fire Huddersfield Town to three successive league titles, made his debut away at West Bromwich Albion.

That was George Brown, who made his first Town start in an away game down at the Hawthorns in a 3-2 defeat. George got both goals for the Town, the first of his club record 159 goals (in all competitions). He followed that with two more goals in his next two games but was then out of the side again.

Chapman didn't really fancy him. He'd rejected him after his first trial and George went back to working at and playing for Mickley Colliery before eventually signing on professional terms in May 1921. He hardly featured in the first two seasons, despite those four goals in his first three games. But eventually he made himself the main man and the rest is history. A rather glorious thrice champions history.

Two of George's team mates were born on this date. Billy Watson, born on this date in 1893 in Bolton on Dearne and Roy Goodall, born on this date in 1902 in Dronfield, Derbyshire. Both of them were thrice champions.

Billy, a wing half, came to the club in 1912 and made his debut in January 1913 in a match away at Leicester Fosse, playing at right back in place of the injured Fred Blackman. That was one of only six appearances that he made before the First World War. It wasn't until the 1919/20 season that he became the regular left half, playing 41 of the 42 league games in that memorable season. He also played in every round of the FA Cup which ended in the Final, winning a runners up medal.

He was 27 by now, but stuck around until 1927, forming a formidable half back line with Tom Wilson and David Steele, and by the time he retired he had clocked up 322 appearances for the club, putting him now in 15th in the chart. Could very soon be overtaken by Jonathan Hogg (he's on 317).

His only goal for Town came in the first match of the Cup run that ended with him winning an FA Cup winners medal in 1922. It came in a 2-2 draw at Burnley.

Whilst playing for Town, Mrs Watson gave birth to two boys who would also play for Town, Albert Watson who played 18 games for us and Willie Watson who left for Sunderland after 11 games for us. He of course, went on to play for England at football, but more famously at cricket, helping to win The Ashes in 1953.

Billy died in 1962 aged 68.





Roy was signed by Ambrose Langley for the club in 1921 as an 18 year old, who was training to be an accountant. He didn't make his debut until the next season, standing in at left back when Sam Wadsworth was away playing for England. He didn't play again for a while after facing disciplinary action after lying to new manager Herbert Chapman, about getting injured in a motorbike accident.

The following season he got more regular games, making enough appearances to get a league champions medal. For the rest of his Town career though, he was the main man at right back.

He was capped by England 25 times, with 12 of those as captain. His first game was in 1926 against Scotland at Old Trafford, a 1-0 defeat in which his Town team mate Alex Jackson scored the goal. He was captain in 1930 when the FA rejected an invitation to play in the first World Cup (on the insistence of the Foreign Office), which is such a shame as we could've had a Huddersfield Town player being the first man to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy. Because that would definitely have happened.

Roy stayed at Leeds Road right up until he was 35 years old, by which time he'd clocked up 440 appearances, putting him 5th in the appearances chart.

After the war, he managed Mansfield Town, before returning to Leeds Road as trainer.

Roy died in 1982, aged 79 in Shepley. And quoting Where Are They Now by Lee Morris again, it was the undertaker, former Town player and World Cup winner Ray Wilson, who buried him.

Sadly, we also have the death of another of the thrice champions to report on this date, George Cook. A thrice champion, who's two goals (and one from George Brown) in a 3-0 win at home to Nottingham Forest in May 1924 secured us the first of our titles.

He had four seasons with us, playing at inside forward on 91 occasions, scoring 35 goals. He'd been signed by Herbert Chapman from Bishop Aukland after twice winning the FA Amatuer Cup with them.

In 1927, he was transfered to Aston Villa. After three good seasons at Villa Park, he dropped down to the Second Division to play for Tottenham Hotspur, just missing out on promotion in his final season before dropping another league to play for Brentford in Division Three South.

After that, he moved to Wales to play for Colwyn Bay United and then Rhyl. He must've liked the area, for after returning north to work in the civil service in Durham, it was in Colwyn Bay that he died on this date in 1980, aged 85.

There is one more birthday to celebrate today though. Another one who won the league three times, but not three times in a row and not with us. It was the Premier League with Manchester United and of course, it's our good old friend, manager and best selling author, Steve Bruce.

He was born in Corbridge, Northumberland on this date in 1960 and is 62 today. The second Town manager from that town, as Mick Buxton had been born there 17 years earlier.

Steve never looked like a footballer and despite being a promising schoolboy player, he faced several rejections as a kid before finally being taken on by Gillingham. Despite playing his entire playing days in central defence, he scored over a hundred goals in a twenty year playing career, 38 of them in his time at the Priestfield Stadium. This attracted Norwich City to fork out £125,000 for his services in 1984.

He won the League Cup with the Canaries and the Second Division title, before Alex Ferguson signed him for Man U in 1987. The Red Devils had gone years without winning anything, but now with Fergie in charge and Brucey boy in defence, the trophies started coming thick and fast after winning the 1990 FA Cup. Bruce has three FA Cup winners medals, three Premier League titles, one League Cup, three Charity Shield wins, one European Cup Winners Cup winners medal and the following seasons European Super Cup in his medals cabinet.

By the time United won the Champions League in 1999, Bruce was long gone and on the day they actually won it, Bruce was in his third day as manager of Huddersfield Town. His time with us ended badly, with dim witted owner Barry Rubery and his evil sidekick Iain Ayre sacking him and conspiring to blame him for the departure of Marcus Stewart.

But let's not end the year with the bad times, let's end it with the highlights of that glorious first half of the 1999/00 season, which saw such magnificent victories like the 7-1 win against Crystal Palace, the League Cup win at Chelsea and the brilliant victory at Maine Road against Manchester City.

Happy birthday, Brucey.

I'll just end though with saying thanks to everybody who's read, liked and contributed to this project over the last twelve months. I meant to ask a question on each days post, but most days I forgot. I've done it again today.

Anyway, thanks for reading. 

[talkSAFT]

You should go into journalism (if not already(?)). Always a great early morning read, your Lordship. Well done, and many thanks.

[HerefordBull]

Thanks for doing this daily read over 2022 Snoots.

I've learnt so much about the history of Huddersfield Town I feel I'd be OK now on Mastermind.

Seriously, well done and what are you going to do with yourself now each day to fill your time?

It was nice that the lads finished 2022 with a win the other night against Rotherham (in honour of your dedication ) ..........................lets hope they are to their beds early tonight to be ready for Luton tomorrow.

Thanks once again, all the best both to you and the Terriers in 2023