Parkhouse Colliery FC competed at the same level that their modern equivalents Clay Cross Town FC do today. In 1949-50 they took part in the premilinary rounds of the FA Cup, beating Jump before losing to Rawmarsh (1).
The Boys of '49
Heavy boots, caked with mud
churn the windswept Clay Cross field.
Hard men, forged when the game was tough,
would laugh if they could only see
these moneyed, preening superstars
who never knew a real day's work
in factories or down the mine -
they'd wonder at our changing times
would the Boys of '49.
"Two games a week, it's all too much!",
cries the coach, explains his loss
by how their poor tired bodies fail,
try telling post-war Clay Cross
folk where men worked shifts before they played
in rationed times they never made
the same complaints; they just ploughed on
did the Boys of '49.
Rain soaked leaden leather ball
encased and laced to match their boots
meets a resilient, determined head
or waits while Tommy aims and shoots.
No high tech swerving perfect sphere,
feather-like, caressed by priceless
technicolor foot
insured beyond their lifetime's pay -
a million miles from football's roots
and the Boys of '49.
No Ferraris for these blokes,
no image rights or Nike ads.
Just the pride of the red and white,
the bond they had with the other lads.
Woodger, Brazell, Wragg, Dooley, and Lunn -
the whistle goes, the game is won.
Connaughton, Bradbury, Simms and Baker -
they won't dive, no simulation faker.
Bernard Bowen and Tommy Churm -
my uncles, faces proud and firm
stare from this ancient photograph
this timeless, epic epitaph
to the Boys of '49.
Tim Fellows 2018
Heavy boots, caked with mud
churn the windswept Clay Cross field.
Hard men, forged when the game was tough,
would laugh if they could only see
these moneyed, preening superstars
who never knew a real day's work
in factories or down the mine -
they'd wonder at our changing times
would the Boys of '49.
"Two games a week, it's all too much!",
cries the coach, explains his loss
by how their poor tired bodies fail,
try telling post-war Clay Cross
folk where men worked shifts before they played
in rationed times they never made
the same complaints; they just ploughed on
did the Boys of '49.
Rain soaked leaden leather ball
encased and laced to match their boots
meets a resilient, determined head
or waits while Tommy aims and shoots.
No high tech swerving perfect sphere,
feather-like, caressed by priceless
technicolor foot
insured beyond their lifetime's pay -
a million miles from football's roots
and the Boys of '49.
No Ferraris for these blokes,
no image rights or Nike ads.
Just the pride of the red and white,
the bond they had with the other lads.
Woodger, Brazell, Wragg, Dooley, and Lunn -
the whistle goes, the game is won.
Connaughton, Bradbury, Simms and Baker -
they won't dive, no simulation faker.
Bernard Bowen and Tommy Churm -
my uncles, faces proud and firm
stare from this ancient photograph
this timeless, epic epitaph
to the Boys of '49.
Tim Fellows 2018
(1) Information courtesy of the Football Club History Database
Cracking, today’s lot are spoilt, wouldn’t have lived in those days Tim
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