Lochee Boys turned out in United strips

BERT GALLACHER, who featured in BwB on August 10 (“Eddie and Bert Ran Lochee Boys”), got in touch to say he was very surprised to have featured.

“My son contacted me early afternoon on Friday to say I was in the Tele,” said Bert (75), now living in Byron Street in the city.

“It’s ironic that my son now lives just across the road from the current Lochee Boys Club clubrooms.

“We had some really good times running the team, but I eventually had to give up when I went to work for the Post Office Phones (what was to become British Telecom) and that involved working on Saturdays.

“That came at a time when Eddie Garty (now living in Burnside Court, Lochee), too, was in and out of hospital with leg trouble, so we went to the Lynch brothers (John and Andy) and told them we would be giving up running the football team.

“That was when they brought in the Grier brothers.”

Bert also relayed a good tale about one of the players in the Lochee BC photo on that date.

“Jimmy Fraser was also a very good boxer and was a junior ABA champion, but I can’t remember at which weight. Anyway, he was down in London to fight and it was the same time that Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) was in the capital to take on Henry Cooper.

“The great man and Jimmy were in a gym at the same time and I’m told there is a photo with Clay with an open hand, showing all five fingers, on top of Jimmy’s head, saying, ‘Cooper’s going down in five!’.

“I haven’t actually seen the photo myself, but it would be wonderful if any of your readers could dig it out.”

Bert sent in the photo (at foot of column) of Lochee Boys Club and he reckons the strips they have on were the ones Dundee United played in when they were promoted back to the top division in the early 1960s.

“Strips were very hard to come by in those days as there was not much money about,” continued Bert.

“I’m sure it was said these jerseys came from United’s promotion season. We just seemed to fall heir to them.”

WINTER DAY THAT SUMMERS STUMPED SHANKS

CHARLIE WALKER, one of the famous family duo who are avid letter-writers to the Tele (there’s also Andy), wants info on a classic football match.

“Around a month after I was married — November 23, 1957 — a football result came through on the radio . . . Charlton Athletic 7, Huddersfield Town 6,” recalled Charlie.

“I couldn’t believe it at first and thought it was a mistake.

“However, it seems that Charlton were 5-1 down at one stage in the game and made a remarkable comeback to win.

“I’m also sure that one of the headlines in the Sunday papers was ‘Summers scores five in the winter’.

“Can you verify this? If so, give the teams and the scorers.”

This scoreline did, indeed, occur and it was a Division Two match played on Saturday December 21, 1957, in front of 12,535 spectators at The Valley.

Going into the game, Charlton were handily placed on the fringe of the Second Division promotion race.

Charlton lost their skipper and centre half Derek Ufton very early in the game when he dislocated his shoulder.

With no substitutes, the Addicks were left to play over 70 minutes with only 10 men.

Les Massie (27) and Alex Bain (35) put the Terriers two up at the break.

Source of danger

Charlton manager Jimmy Trotter tried at the interval to rally his troops, urging his team to try to feed left-winger Johnny Summers, who had looked the team’s one potential source of danger.

Summers then pulled a goal back within two minutes of the restart, but four minutes later, Huddersfield had swept into a 4-1 lead through Bain’s second goal and a Bill McGarry penalty.

Bobby Ledger then slotted home the visitors’ fifth just past the hour mark.

With 28 minutes to play, Charlton were a man short and four goals in arrears.

The game was now surely over and there seemed no way back for the London side.

But, within two minutes, Summers and Johnny “Buck” Ryan brought the score back to 5-3 — and Huddersfield inexplicably fell apart.

In 73 and 78 minutes, Summers had brought his personal tally to four as the home side drew level, putting the crowd in a frenzy.

With nine minutes remaining, the Valley terraces exploded with glee as Summers rammed home his fifth goal to put Charlton 6-5 in front.

So it was five goals in 18 minutes for the 10 men, one can only guess what the Huddersfield manager Bill Shankly was making of it all.

With four minutes remaining, Huddersfield sensationally levelled when a Stan Howard shot deflected off Scot John Hewie and beyond the wrong-footed Willie Duff — another Scot — in the Charlton goal.

Then, miraculously, in the final seconds, Summers set off on one final burst, tearing clear of the hapless Tony Conwell yet again to send over a cross which Ryan met perfectly to win the game.

There was a vastly more tragic fate awaiting Johnny Summers, the hero of this hour, who would die from cancer within five years of this unforgettable afternoon.

Charlton — W. Duff; T. Edwards, D. Townsend; J. Hewie, D. Ufton, B. Kiernan; R. White, F. Lucas, J. Ryan, S. Leary, J. Summers.

Hudderfield — S. Kennon; T. Conwell, R. Wilson; K. Taylor, J. Connor, B. McGarry; B. Ledger, S. Howard, A. Bain, L. Massie, R. Simpson.