Result: 2-1 Win (HT 2-1) Naylor 22 (pen), Evans 25; Booth 24
Attendance: 10,287
Hereford United: Hughes, Radford, Naylor, McLaughlin, Jones, Tavener, Redrobe, Tyler (Taylor*), Hinch, Rudge, Evans.
*sub Paul Taylor's solitary HUFC league appearance.
Grimsby Town: Wainman, Beardsley, Booth, Hubbard, Wiggington, Gray, Barton, Hickman, Lewis, Boylen, Sharp.
League Position: Hereford are 15th (26 games in), neck and neck with Grimsby.
On the Pitch: Merry Christmas in 2024 together with a Happy New Year in 1974 - 19 days into it admittedly - as Hereford had just beaten West Ham in the FA Cup via a replay at a packed Edgar Street (17,423). A game on a par with the famous Newcastle win, albeit without the drama of Radford's magical moment. Hereford had almost won at Upton Park, conceding a heartbreaker of an 88th minute equaliser to Redrobe's first half goal; the equaliser by Pat Holland was also a bit special though. Beyond the cup double-header, Hereford had kicked off 1974 away to Blackburn, where they had gained a very welcome 2-1 win, before being edged out 2-1 last time out at Watford.
The 10,287 gate for the visit of Grimsby was boosted by vouchers for the upcoming Bristol City cup match (where 17,423 would be present - HUFC were surely coining it in at this time?) The majority of the 10,287 crowd were also boosted by an excellent HUFC display where all the goals came in an explosive 4 minute first half spell, the Evans goal being described as a brilliant winner.
Click on photos to enlarge.
Colin's Comments: His usual well crafted assessment of all that is going on around Edgar Street, before he touches on the challenges that the infamous 3 day week is having on the printers of the match programmes.
In the Opposition: Dave Boylen and Harry Wainman were both one club men, apart from a minor blemish by the latter, who spent 9 games on loan to Rochdale in the 72-73 season. They played an impressive 384 and 420 league games respectively for Grimsby.
David Booth also played 200 league games for Grimsby before going onto manage them to their highest league place since 1948 - 5th in what is now the Championship. A dip in form towards the end of the season was all that stood between them and promotion to the top flight. Booth would then embark on a managerial equivalent of the Race Across The World programme, taking up numerous jobs in exotic Darlington, India, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia, spending over fifteen years abroad.
Lew Chatterley would go onto be Lawrie McMenemy's right hand man during an excellent 6 year spell at Southampton in the 1980's, the pair first having played together at Doncaster in the early 70's.
One player to note is Frank Barton, who would go onto play 22 times for Hereford in 1978, before heading across the pond to play indoor soccer at Wichita Wings, Seattle Sounders, and Tacoma Stars. Wichita is a city slap bang in the middle of the US with a population of 400k, Tacoma is just south of Seattle and has a population of 220k. If you ever find yourself on Pointless you owe me. Finally, I have no idea what exactly US indoor football involved back 45 years ago, but it feels like a knackering way to wind down your career.
Fan of the Week: This week we are treated to the entire population of Herefordshire plus Thing out of the Addams Family.
Edgar Street Chatter: News about this match having vouchers that can be used for the upcoming Bristol game also reveals that the normal matchday entry was 50p to stand and £1 to sit; that equates to roughly £7.50 and £15 respectively at current prices - for League 1 football! These were being increased to 70p and £1.50 (£10.50 and £22.50 today) for the cup match. The main takeaway, apart from football being comparably cheaper, is that the difference between the cost of standing and sitting was far more significant than today.
Another thing I have clocked, and I am not sure if it is the programme writer or the 1970's way, but the name Bobby has been quoted Bobbie a number of times. This week Bobby Charlton who recently spoke at the HUFC banquet receives the treatment.
Meanwhile reserve team youngster Mervyn Jones has gained selection to the England U18 squad.
Going by Car: If you drove to Aldershot today you would note that the Birdlip "Missing Link" is currently keeping the excavators busy; back in 1974, pretty much all of that road was missing.
Vital Statistics: HUFC alive to people selling tat outside the ground - you don't get much better proof that Hereford were quite big than that. On the flip side, with the season well under way, they are scratching around for players to feature.
In the News: New Year's Day 1974 was a public holiday for the first time, which if I have understood that correctly meant that all previous NYD's must have been horrific?
In the Singles Charts: You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me by the New Seekers spends its only week at No.1.
In the Album Charts: Sladest by Slade also enjoys a single week at No.1. A compilation album that contains most of their No.1's, but not their recent Christmas smash hit.
On TV: 7th January 1974 sees the launch of Wish You Were Here with Judith Chalmers.
In the Maternity Ward: Spice Girl Mel C was born on 12/1/74, and to show that girl power really was a thing, was quickly followed by DJ Edith Bowman (15/1) and Kate Moss (16/1).
