On This Day 1961 – Frith’s Bantams Outclass The Spireites
Older readers may remember that, on this day (3rd March) in 1961 in the pre Jimmy Hill Sky Blue era when CCFC were known as ‘the Bantams’, they were managed by former player Billy Frith in the old Division Three. Today, well over sixty years ago, in a Friday night game, the club faced the ‘Spireites’ of Chesterfield Town! City had been tanned in Derbyshire the previous October by the tune of 4-1 with Reg ‘Paddy’ Ryan getting CCFC’s consolation goal, so the Bantams were out for revenge against D3‘s bottom club!
Billy’s Boys were in a rich vein of home form only having lost once so far at Highfield Road and inside forwards Ray Straw and Billy Myerscough were regularly banging in the goals (our away form was far less impressive).
The Bantams did the job comfortably enough in early spring 1961 winning by 3-1 in front of 16,717 fans in Coventry. The away team put up a bit of a fight but were outclassed and nobody begrudged their consolation goal three minutes from time from Terry Foley after a suicidally misguided Ronnie Farmer back pass. For City, Billy (17 minutes) and Ray (44 mins) got their customary goals and this time right winger Peter Hill, who later went on to be a coach and kit man for many years with the club (as well as a CCFPA member), added his name to the scoresheet on 68 minutes and might have had a second on 86 minutes but for an errant linesman’s flag.
Sadly all three goal scorers are no longer with us, along with nearly all the team that day. City’s win left them eighth and the Spireites holding up the rest of the table.
