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On this day 50 years ago Hereford United sealed promotion from the old Division Three. A 0-0 draw away at Walsall got the job done, and two days later over 12,000 packed into Edgar Street to witness a 3-1 home win against Shrewsbury Town which clinched the title.
This is from Ron Parrott's book.
LEAGUE DIVISION 3 1975-76
Division 3 1st (Champions)
The previous four seasons had all seen more plusses than minuses and not too much fine tuning was needed for the trend to continue. John Sillett's bold approach to management knew no bounds - on two occasions during 1975-76 United won away matches 4-3, scorelines which would have made some managers hairless. But Sillett was way ahead on that score as well.
Recruitment was again planned with care. Tommy Hughes found a challenger for his goalkeeper's jersey when Kevin Charlton signed from Bournemouth and by the end of the season the former Wolves apprentice had notched up more appearances than Hughes.
Attacking full-back Steve Ritchie, brother of Bristol City's goalscoring Tom, was signed from Greenock Morton and played in every match. Another Scot, Jimmy Lindsay, arrived from Colchester and the midfielder was another ever-present. The other notable newcomer was Steve Davey, veteran of over 200 matches for one of Sillett's former clubs, Plymouth Argyle. Davey had indeed been a playing contemporary of the United boss. The side had needed a proven goal scorer to complement Dixie McNeil; Davey was the man.
Part-timer John Layton was by now a regular in defence and Steve Emery also continued to develop. Poacher turned gamekeeper, John Galley was converted to a central defender. Terry Paine again provided bags of ammunition for the strikers, and Dudley Tyler also created much that was useful, but the real bonus was the extraordinary form of Roy Carter. The lanky Cornishman, less than twelve months into full-time football at the start of the season, seemed to get better with every game, providing the midfield engine for the elder statesmen around him.
All things considered it was not inappropriate that the 'Player of the Year' award in May was given to "The Team'. It would be churlish to suggest that amid all the excitement of those closing weeks someone could have forgotten to organise the usual vote amongst the supporters. United eventually Won the Third Division championship by the handsome margin of six points from Cardiff City. Hereford hit the top for the first time in February and were never dislodged from pole position, clinching promotion on Easter Saturday with three matches still remaining and making certain of the championship on a balmy Easter Monday evening with an exhilarating win over Shrewsbury Town.
The season offered so many outstanding matches that the authors' selection of Match of the Season was especially heated. We all have our own particular memories, some coloured by the passage of time, and most individuals would find it difficult to look back at 1975-76 and say that any particular game was the match.
Those who travelled to Gillingham on 6 April insist that this was the greatest Hereford comeback ever, and for a club to win 4-3 away from home for the second time in a season was a rare achievement. There were other highlights away from Edgar Street, too-including a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace, watched by a crowd of 20,000; a 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday, who were then on an unwanted tour of the lower divisions; and a 3-0 triumph at Peterborough, who were outclassed on their own patch yet were good enough to finish in the top half of the table. Goalless draws were infrequent, yet one such result occurred at Walsall. It was a predictable score in some ways because the division's two leading goal-poachers Dixie McNeil and Alan Buckley - were in opposition. On this occasion United had to stage a rearguard action from which all the defenders emerged with credit, particularly John Layton, who kept a tight rein on Buckley throughout. The hard-fought point secured promotion for Hereford, and if anyone doubted the fact they only had to look at the grin on John Sillett's face. Several hundred handshakes later he was still beaming.
Not that all the good days were reserved for away games. Edgar Street saw its share of thrills too. Cardiff were caned 4-1, when early goals virtually sewed the game up. McNeil scored four in a 5-0 trouncing of Chester and the season ended with three consecutive home games, with Hereford scoring three goals each time.
The first of these was a derby game against Shrewsbury Town. A scintillating display earned a 3-1 win, not to mention clinching the Third Division championship. No wonder the jubilant fans were on the pitch again, leaving Sillett smiling and shaking hands for the second time in three days.
Dixie McNeil went into the final match against Preston needing a hat-trick to finish once again as the top marksman in the country. He duly came up trumps in a 3-1 victory which also marked the league debut of Kevin Sheedy.
For the second successive season, McNeil had finished top scorer in the Football League. Steve Davey also contributed 18 league goals and the partnership proved to be easily United's most prolific since admission to the league.
Inevitably the season had its bad moments. A colossal Third Division crowd of 35,549 saw Cardiff beat Hereford 2-0 at Ninian Park. Earlier, Peterborough had spoilt Terry Paine's party with a 4-2 win at Edgar Street. Paine had that day established a new Football League appearance record, his 765th league game (713 with Southampton, 52 with United), overtaking the total achieved by Portsmouth's Jimmy Dickinson. One sad event put football into context Jones, aged just 37, was killed in a car accident when driving home after taking charge of Hereford's home fixture with Swindon.
Overall it was a time of celebration. For the third time in five seasons, United could anticipate the challenge of playing at a higher level. Inevitably, with each step upwards, that challenge would become stiffer and stiffer.
The gap between divisions had been amply demonstrated in the League Cup. After knocking out Port Vale, United had entertained Burnley. The Lancashire side were fighting a losing battle against relegation from the First Division. Next season the sides would meet in on equal terms in Division 2. At that time they were separated by two divisions and there could be no argument about Burnley's 4-1 win at Edgar Street. Welsh internationals Brian Flynn and Leighton James looked a class above any Hereford player on the day.
In the FA Cup, United progressed to Round 3, beating Torquay and Bournemouth before going out tamely at the hands of higher graded York City.
Hereford also reached the final of the Welsh Cup, played under farcical circumstances that did little to enhance the credibility of the Principality's Association. The two-leg final against Cardiff City should have provided an upbeat end to an exciting season. But following the first leg it was ruled that Peter Spiring, who had been in the Hereford side, was ineligible - on account of confusion surrounding his earlier loan spell from Luton.
The first leg, originally played at Cardiff, was ordered to be replayed at Hereford on 18 May. It resulted in a 3-3 draw, with the second leg taking place at Ninian Park the next day and ending in a 2-3 defeat. The matches were cobbled together with such haste that many supporters of both clubs were unaware of the dates until afterwards. John Sillett had in any case never been keen on the Welsh Cup, and after this fiasco many others came to share his view.
The Welsh Cup, however, although a welcome diversion when the team was struggling, was the last thing on the minds of Hereford fans as they planned their summer vacations. What really exercised their minds was the fixture list for the following season's 2nd division......
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