Chapter 3 - 'Things Can Only Get Better'?
We left our saga, despondent and suicidal, at the beginning
of the Summer of '58 with thoughts of the Cobblers languishing in the basement
of English Football.
However, the world was not all bad, for some of us we were
nearing the end of our first year at good old Trinity High!! Ahead lay a
six-week summer break, a taste of freedom and a chance to savour the good things
in life!! We discovered that girls weren't so bad after all. We
donned our 'Italian Pin Striped Suits' and our 'Winkle Picker Shoes'. We
lay in the bath for hours on end to shrink our 'Blue Jeans' to our lower
halves. I could see mine in those days!
 We listened to 'fade in/fade out' Radio Luxembourg much to
the annoyance of our parents. We eagerly awaited the New Musical Express
each week to clock the latest top ten. We spent our Saturday mornings in
the booths at Boots and Abels eagerly debating what to buy.
For the anoraks among us, here are the U.K. Top Ten Selling
Singles for 1958:
1. All I have to Do is Dream - The Everly
Brothers
2. Who's Sorry Now? - Connie Francis
3. Magic Moments - Perry Como
4. Carolina Moon - Connie Francis
5. Hoots Mon - Lord Rockingham's XI
6. Tulips from Amsterdam - Max Bygraves
7. When - Kalin Twins
8. It's Too Soon to Know - Pat Boone
9. It's Only Make Believe - Conway Twitty
10. Whole Lotta Woman - Marvin Rainwater
I have started so I had better finish:
· Elvis Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army
· The Bridge on the River Kwai won the Oscar for the best film
In sport, our little world turned briefly from the Cobblers
to the County Cricket. I was proud to receive my junior membership, and to
watch the likes of Tribe, Manning and the legendary Frank Tyson from the top of
the brand new stand under which was housed a revolutionary indoor cricket
school.
The Summer of '58 also saw the first major television
coverage of the World Cup in Sweden. Having watched a teenager named Pele
lead Brazil to a 5-2 victory over Sweden in the Final, I began to wonder whether
perhaps the Cobblers were the best team in the world after all?
France also had a great team, losing out narrowly to Brazil
in the semi-final with the likes of Raymond Kopa and Jus Fontaine.
England's performance as usual was pathetic, and if memory serves me right,
Wales reached the other semi-final inspired by John Charles (who recently passed
away) and the Allchurch brothers.
 Just
for the record, June 1958 saw Real Madrid win the European Cup for the third
successive year. They went on to win it in '59 and '60.
You may well ask where have the Cobblers been in Chapter 3,
and it would be fair of you to do so. I could have bored you with a set of
statistics, and tales of Saturdays out in Gateshead, Hartlepools and Barrow, but
I hope I have left you with something more inspiring and nostalgic. For
the record, Season 1958/59 saw the Cobblers finish a creditable 8th in the
Fourth Division. Alas, there was no cup run to get the adrenaline going.
But don't despair, be patient, Dave is coming!!!!
To Be Continued......................... |
