Looking at the comments section at the bottom of this article and I had to re-read one particular comment: (All copyright belonging to Amber Nectar) John Carmichael says: January 31, 2013 at 18:05 I’m not sure what year it was but I remember Bob Brocklebank signing forwards Albert Quixall and someone called Metcalf (can’t remember his first name). They were both close to the end of their careers and the Tigers became known, rather unfairly, as Brock’s Crocks! Bradbury was the joker of the team and once, when an orange was thrown on to the pitch, he peeled it and offered it to the referee! I think this is slightly adrift as the 2 players Bob Brocklebank signed if I remember where Roy Shiner and Jackie Sewell both who were at the end of their careers albeit at an international level I believe. Albert Quixhall was one of the players signed by Matt Busby at Manchester Utd following the Munich air disaster and as far as I can remember never donned a City shirt, unfortunately. As for Metcalf I'll pass on that as I haven't a clue.
Like you, I don't recall Quixall ever coming near City. He went from Sheffield Wednesday to Man Utd as you say ( a blond headed lad who wore the shortest shorts), but after that I can't recall. I remember the Sewell & Shiner signings though. As you say, both were pretty well past their prime when they signed for us. I distinctly remember Roy Shiner's debut for us a B.P. He scored 2 goals that day, and the HDM Green Sports Mail headline that evening was "This Roy's a Real Shiner". Edit: Just checked Quixall's Wikipedia entry - never at City. After Man Utd he went to Oldham, then Stockport. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Quixall There was a Vic Metcalfe (ex- Huddersfield & was capped twice for England) who played 6 games for City (58-60) but I don't remember him at all. Twilight of his career probably explains it ! Same time Roy Shiner was there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_Metcalfe.
HULL CITY v LIVERPOOL, 18th February, 1905. The very first meeting between the sides in 1905 attracted a record football crowd to The Boulevard. Promotion chasing Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Everton in an FA Cup 1st round replay left them with a free Saturday on 18th February. They agreed to take part in a friendly fixture with Hull City, who had only been formed in June the previous year and were still not members of any league. There was a lot of excitement amongst football fans in a city dominated by rugby league, with the Hull Daily Mail commenting on 9th February that ‘supporters at Hull cannot help but rejoice in their misfortune’ when it was confirmed Liverpool’s cup exit meant they were coming to The Boulevard. The paper also wrote that there would be five internationals in the Liverpool team, one of whom Alex Raisbeck was the brother of City’s half back Andrew. He had been at Liverpool with his brother between 1901 and 1904, but never featured for the 1st team. On Thursday 16th February the Hull Daily Mail predicted that the game would be witnessed by a record crowd for association football, and praised the board of the club for their enterprise. The paper wrote that as the season had progressed followers of Hull FC had began to accept that there was room for two types of football in the city providing it was of sufficient quality, concluding that ‘the general public cares not one joy whether one club or another provides the good football.’ The Liverpool team were described as a ‘combination of star performers as has never been seen in Hull before.’ Many pass holders who could have got in for nothing also indicated they were willing to still pay the 6d admission in recognition of the efforts in bringing such a star studded line up to the city. The gates opened early for the 3.15pm kick off and a crowd of 8,000 attended, he highest to watch Hull City at The Boulevard to date. Liverpool’s secretary-manager Tom Watson watched from the stands, sat amongst a number of directors and shareholders of the rugby league club who expressed their approval of the entertainment on offer. The paper described how Liverpool’s forwards ‘weaved their way through by masterly dribbling which was invigorating to watch.’ They also claimed the Reds would more than hold their own against half the teams from the 1st Division. The match may have been a friendly but Reds half back and captain Alex Raisbeck was in fine form, breaking up nearly every opposition attack and distributing the ball forward. This led to Hull trying their luck down the flanks, where their pacey wingers caused the Liverpool full backs numerous problems Ned Doig in goal was tested on a number of occasions. Liverpool’s superiority showed though and they ran out 6-2 winners. Jack Parkinson scored a hat trick and Raisbeck got a goal himself with a shot from near the halfway line. The home side certainly hadn’t disgraced themselves though and Watson told those around him that he thought they would be worthy applicants should they try to gain admission to the Football League. That evening, both sets of players watched Beauty and the Beast at the Alexandra Theatre. The following day Liverpool’s players headed for Hornsea, where they stayed for six nights to prepare for the following Saturday’s crucial league game at Grimsby. The Reds beat Grimsby 1-0 and in the summer Hull City’s application to join the Football League was accepted. They wouldn’t be facing Liverpool though, as they won promotion to the top flight and it would not be until 1954-55 that the two sides met in a league fixture. An illustration from the Hull Daily Mail, 16th February, 1905. please log in to view this image
Comparisons of the locations of Hull City's Old Anlaby Road Ground and the recent KC Stadium plus Hull CC's and Yorkshire CC's The Circle Cricket Ground. please log in to view this image
I was in the well that day if I remember correctly, I can't recall why as I usually was in south stand.
Having read all 44 pages I just had to sign up to thank all contributors for this fascinating thread. Special thanks to Malcolm McK for such interesting input. I was a big fan of your dad. I well remember that game against a rampant Ipswich. When my parents social climbing took us from the so called slums of East Hull to the green pastures of Pickering Road I took particular pleasure in looking out for him walking to the games. I have almost got over his missing the penalty to put us out of the Watneys Cup against Man U. Although he did save Denis Law's. Unfortunately I haven't much football facts to add due to not having the memory capacity demonstrated by previous posters. Most things from even a decade or so ago blending into a confusion of fact, half fact and fantasy. "My day" as it might be called was between about 1963 - 75 when I moved away from Hull. The biggest impact of my earliest games was as others have also mentioned the perfection and greenness of the pitch especially under floodlights. It was by far the most glamorous and impressive thing I had ever seen. Mind you, compared with our usual haunts and playgrounds of :- Bombuildings - Spyvee and Hodgeson streets (only many years later realising the origin and significance of the name) Down drain (Holderness drain) Little playgie (Spyvee St) Big Playgie, (St Marks St) Black Hills (Coke slag heaps alongside gasworks on St Marks St. Piggy Bacon (reputedly an old piggery along said drain where our main entertainment was poking the body of a dead dog with a stick as we watched it slowly decompose over a number of years.) Most of the football highlights have been covered in previous posts by others. The Chelsea replay among the highest. Apart from the heartbreak of the score my abiding memory of that game was arriving on the last train from town and being carried to the turnstiles by the crowd rushing to get in without my feet touching the ground. I don't know how we got down there but like many others have said I watched the game from the benches on the running track. I ended up below the east stand about halfway between the halfway line and bunkers. I still clearly recall the mixture of excitement and fear as what to me where giants hurtled into tackles only feet away from us. I am sure the ground genuinely shook. The fear was considerably increased when an unfortunate lad who wasn't paying enough attention to the game took a volleyed clearance to the side of his head. I think he was carried away by St Johns. I am pretty sure that my school, Chapman St, closed for the half day to allow us to get to the match. (Was it an early kickoff perhaps) I would have twagged anyway if it hadn't. Other faded memories are of epic battles for div 3 champions against such as Millwall and QPR in particular and some great and some disastrous away trips to such as Coventry, Ipswich, Chesterfield with me and two mates crammed in the back of my dad's mini van. Although at the time I believed Chillo and Waggy were the greatest strikers in the world, (cruely I felt, neglected by entrenched class predjudice at international level), I also had great if grudging admiration for some of the visiting forwards like Big Sam and John Toshack who always seemed to do well against us. Can anyone remind me which game we were 3 down at half time and came back to 3-3 or was it even 4-3? Another game my memory lets me down on was a night game in the Anglo-Italian legue. This was of course when we considered all "forigners", especialy Italians, as dirty cheats. Granted we have at least now caught up on that score. We lost but my abiding memory was of a fracas between the benches. I was in the well that night and I distinctly saw the Italian trainer throw a bucket of water at our bench and a melee ensueing. Anyone remind me who they were? Another cronic memory lapse I would like filled would be one of my all time favorite goals. I don't even remember if it was Waggy for Chilton or vice-versa. It involved a beutiful dummy by one leaving the other free to slot home. Waggy's irrisistable smile was never bigger. Great thread, again, thanks to all.
Nice to hear from you Old Tige. I heard you'd died three years ago. They've built a Dam where the old road used to go, you know. Woof.
Who's that behind Bremner? I can see Wealands and Nisbet. Cant place t'other one. This was of course when we considered all "forigners", especialy Italians, as dirty cheats. That certainly hasnt changed.
