Match programme: York City v Chester (18 February 1958)

About this match programme

By Richard Snowball

This away match at Chester was played virtually 22 years to the day since York City's biggest defeat in the Football League, when Chester won 12-0, and it proved to be another disastrous result this time losing 9-2.

The score was due partly to an head injury to goalkeeper Micky Granger who suffered concussion which affected his eyesight and he had to leave the field.

As this was before substitutions were allowed, York played with 10 men with Gordon Brown going into goal, but he did not prove up to the task and could not stop the flow of goals.

The match was played in the middle of a spell of conceding 30 goals in 7 games during the months of January and February, 1958. This proved crucial at the end of the season as it was the last season of regional football and the formation of a new Division 4.

The top twelve sides in Division Three (North) and (South) formed the new Division Three and the bottom twelve in each the new Division Four. York City finished thirteenth, one of four teams on 46 points, but York's inferior goal difference proved to be vital. This was despite finishing the season on a ten match unbeaten run.

Surprisingly during this dismal run York reached the 4th Round of the F.A. Cup beating Birmingham City 3-0 in the 3rd and drawing 0-0 at home with Bolton Wanderers before losing the replay 3-0 at Burden Park.

The home match with Bolton was watched by 23,600 the second biggest gate at Bootham Crescent after the 28,123 who saw the Huddersfield game in 1938.

Acknowledgement

This facsimile of the match programme was created by the publisher of There’s Only One Arthur Bottom, the daily email newsletter for fans of York City FC, and TOOAB contributor Richard Snowball.

www.tooab.com