Previous page 1933 to 1949-1950 Next page 1956-1957 1953-1954 to 1955-1956 Leyton Orient Division III (South) 1953-1954 For 1953-1954 the programme cover slightly differed (see right). The solid banner at the top made way for something more flowery and it stayed that way for a number of seasons. On Saturday 19th September 1953 we played Bristol City. Oriental Chatter bemoaned injuries to Stan Morgan (achilles tendon), Billy Rees and Les Blizzard. The reserves suffered their first defeat at West Ham 1-4 where they fielded a young team and praised “Phil White on the right wing had a good match and was one of the best players on the field. This lad seems to be full of promise and as the season progresses will be making a strong challenge for entry in the first team”. Team: Groombridge, James, Earl, Jackett, Bishop, Burgess, White, Edwards, Davies, Lusted, Whiteley. Dia Davies had equalised a penalty. Monday, October 5th was the date for the first round of the London Challenge Cup against Finchley. The winners would meet Walthamstow Avenue or Wealdstone. Beacon Flashes mentioned a free social at the Coach & Horses. “Orient plans to build a new stand. In fact, they have no security on the ground unless they do! The moment they begin building they can get a 42-year lease from Leyton Borough Council. The directors fancy a stand like Bristol City’s. Cost would be about £25,000, much of which would, they consider, soon be recovered in increased receipts.” Team in the programme: Welton, Evans, Charlton, Blizzard, Aldous, Mallett, Facey, Rees, Pacey, Morgan and Poulton. We won this one 41 with goals from Poulton, Rees 2 and Facey. Before the match we were fifth from bottom, City six from top. 20th February 1954 we played Doncaster in a fifth round FA Cup tie. To get this we had beaten Kettering, Weymouth, Tranmere and Fulham scoring 15 goals in the process. Oriental Chatter revealed the Combination side had played 14 consecutive matches without defeat whilst the juniors (Chase of Chertsey) were in the last eight of the FA Youth Challenge Cup. Billy Ress was recovering from a fractured jaw and was due to have the wire splint removed. During this time he could only partake of food in pulp form. In the previous week Mike Burgess had made his début at home to Reading and helped us to a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Ken Facey and Stan Morgan. The reserves chalked up a draw 2-2 at Southend after leading until injury time. White and Edwards were the scorers. Team: Welton, James, Earl, D. Benneton, Bishop, Jackett, White, Heally, Edwards, Lusted and Whiteley. Team in the programme: Groombridge, Evans, Charlton, Blizzard, Aldous, Mallett, Facey, Burgess, Pacey, Morgan and Poulton. To progress to a tie against Port Vale we needed three goals from Morgan, Pacey and Burgess. Vale were top of Division Three North. Before this match we were ninth in the table, Ipswich were top and Walsall bottom. Doncaster were in Division Two. Their reserve goalie was Harry Gregg. Rees was top scorer with 19, Pacey 16, Poulton 11 and Facey 9 whilst in the reserves Edwards had 14, Davies 12, Lusted 10, Bishop 6. Final note from the programme was this: “Patrons will assist if they will kindly obey the instructions of the crowd packer this afternoon. There is a ground limit of 30,000, and everyone can view the game in complete comfort if they will please MOVE when requested to by the officials.” 13th March 1954. FA Cup sixth round against Port Vale. Oriental Chatter revealed that “This year the finances of the club should be their best-ever since taking over at Osborne Road.” The programme for this match extended to four pages with a staple, though mine is missing. A rust stain shows where it should be, see above Meet The Players - Leyton Orient. The price for this match was double at 6d. 31,000 saw the O’s lose to a single goal. Team in the programme: Groombridge, Evans, Charlton, Blizzard, Aldous, Mallett, Facey, Pacey, Rees, Morgan and Poulton. Maybe they should have kept Burgess in. A Who’s Who in the Orient Supporters Club was written by Beacon: LOOKING BACK By J.E.B. HAVING followed the fortunes and misfortunes of Leyton Orient since the days they played as a semi-pro- fessional side (and were known as Clapton Orient) in the London and South Eastern Leagues, I think I can claim to be one of the oldest supporters. I still enjoy a chat about players and the achievement of the club in those far off days, but with the passing of time, alas, there are few survivors with whom one can now exchange reminiscences. As the limelight is so strongly fo- cussed on Orient at the moment—and, incidentally, many more people are taking-notice of the club—a glance back at its early his- tory will, perhaps, not be without interest. EARLY HISTORY It was in 1905 that Clapton Orient took the plunge and applied for admission to the Second Division of the Football League (there was no Third Division then). They were elected, along with Chelsea, and it was after-wards said that the entry of the two London clubs into the League brought about the eventual falling from grace of the Southern League as a premier football organisation. At that time clubs like the Spurs, Fulham, West Ham, Portsmouth and Southampton were members of the Southern League. Mr. Sam Ormerod, a Manchester man, was appointed manager of Orient and he got together a team which, on paper, looked good enough to go places. Few of the players already with the club were retained for League duty. One was Bert Kingaby, a fast and tricky outside, right, who lived in Clarence Road, Hackney, and he quickly established himself in higher grade foot- ball. The half-back line of Proudfoot, Boden and Codling should have been good enough for any side. The first playing season ended disastrously, for Orient finished at the foot of the league table, and it became necessary to go cap in hand and apply for re-election. The appeal was successful, but a losing team had brought about the usual result—poor gates—and there was no altern- ative but to sell players. Proudfoot went to Chelsea, but returned after the death of Billy Holmes, who had succeeded Sam Ormerod, as Orient's manager. ANOTHER CUP-TIE ACHIEVEMENT Orient's fortunes varied during the years, and for a long time the building up of the ground at Clapton was a heavy burden on the finances. Enormous improvements were effected in a few years. Orient continued on its carrer of ups and downs and then came the year 1926 when the club made history by reaching the 6th round of the F.A. Cup—the corres- ponding round to that being played today. Middlesbrough and Newcastle were defeated en route. One outcome of the Newcastle game was that Johnny Townrow, Orient's hefty centre-half, who had almost completely subdued the redoubtable Scot, Hughie Gallacher, gained an English international cap. Jack Tonner, the present Orient capable groundsman, wars a member of the team in the cup winning series ; inside, left was his position, and a determined forward he was. Later trouble begain to rear its nasty head, and in an effort to bring about a revival Arthur Grimsdell, the famous Spurs and international half-back, was appointed manager. He turned out with the team occasionally. Arthur did not remain long with Orient. He resigned, but it was not because of any disagreement with the directorate that he did so. ORIENT AT WEMBLEY The greatest shock that Orient fans ever had was the announcement that the ground at Millfields Road was to be vacated and new quarters taken over at Lea Bridge Road, previously a speedway track. Here was a fall from grace, indeed, and there were very few amenities. After a time is was discovered that the pitch at Lea Bridge Road was not of the correct dimensions required for League football, and the club was ordered to put the matter in order. This meant finding another ground for temporary weeks and after some trouble permission was obtained to play matches on the cup final pitch at Wembley. Thus Orient have already appeared on the fam- ous sward, but not before the huge crowd which usually pack the stands and terraces. In all, there were four different managers during Orient's stay at Lea Bridge and for practically all the time finance was in a parlous state. Peter Proudfoot was in charge when the change-over took place and for a short term Jimmy Seed (now with Charlton) held the reins. He was followed by David Pratt, who brought a number of stars to wear Orient colours. His stay, too, was brief and Peter Proudfoot returned to have another spell. BIRTH OF LEYTON ORIENT Another change of ground was made in 1937 when Orient took over Leyton Stadium from the amateur club, Leyton. Mr. Tom Halsey was manager when the second world war broke out. Serious competitive League foot-ball re- started in the 1945.46 season and Bill Wright, ex-Orient player, was in charge until the arrival of that great-hearted foot- baller, Willie Hall. Willie's appointment was hailed with glee, but a serious illness compelled him to resign after only a short period in office. Charles Hewitt followed and the name of Clapton was replaced by that of Leyton and he in turn was succeeded by Neil McBain, and then Alec Stock, who had been a guest player for Orient during the war, took over in 1949. The rest is recent history and latterly thumping big news ! " STOCKS AND SHARES " What does it mean to you ? Cllr. "Bill" Child, Chairman of the Shares Com-mittee, in the following trenchant article, tells you all about it. What is it all about ? This is a question I have often been asked about the Share Scheme. The answer is very simple. The directors and management of Leyton Orient wish to provide top-grade football for the East End of London. The old club has a new outlook, a progressive outlook. It has had a good season, with every intention to get better and better in the future. To accomplish this, finance is needed, and the directors, in their wisdom, decided to float a larger share capital bringing the amount to .C20,000. This means that 60,000 new shares are available at 5/- each. Many supporters, local busi- ness men and friends have subscribed, phe amount grows daily, but there are still many to be taken up. It is your opportunity to assist the club and share in its future prosperity. It is quite simple to obtain shares. Call at ' the Supporters' hut, the office, or contact me personally. Ask for a prospectus, fill in the form at the back with the amount required and the club will issue a certificate of which you will be justly proud in the future. What-ever the result of to-day's game, we are not going back. Our aim in the days ahead is the First Division and the name of Leyton Orient on the English Cup. It can, and will be done with your help. Good luck to you all. ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND THANKS On this, perhaps the greatest day in the history of Leyton Orient, we are grateful to the " Empire News " for allowing us to use their pictures of our, players which are included in today's programme. Those of Port Vale were provided by " Soccer Star," of Cheapside, to whom we extend our sincere thanks. The Norwich City programme of 3rd April 1954 was printed in green ink and consisted of three 11” x 8½” (A4) with a staple cost- ing 3d. A trip to London cost 14/6 as long as you departed at 8.55am and returned on the 6.55pm. Team in the programme: Groombridge, Evans, Charlton, Blizzard, Aldous, Mallett, Facey, Pacey, Rees, Burgess, and Poulton. We lost this one 1-3 with Burgess getting our goal. Norwich No. 9 was a Mr Johnston. He got two of their goals. We finished the season three places higher than last at 11. Colchester United and Walsall (they were bottom for the third season in a row) were re-elected to the league which meant Bath City, Merthyr Tydfil, Peterborough United, Worcester City and Yeovil Town stayed where they were. Those making their début during this season were Dai Davies, Edwards, Burgess, Bishop, White, Jackett, Morgan, Mallett and Earl. Playng their last games:Evans, Dai Davies, Whiteley, Edwards, Jackett, and Lusted. Leyton Orient Division III (South) 1954-1955 The Millwall programme of 30 August 1954 still had a blue cover with white inside with blue printing and cost 3d. It consisted of three A4 sheets folded in half with a staple. Strangely it was printed in Poplar E14. We started the season with a win at home against Torquay thanks to new signing from the Den Johnny Hartburn and an own goal. We continued winning at home to Millwall with a lone goal from Burgess. We then lost 5-0 at Bristol City. Team in the pro- gramme: Welton, Lee, Charlton, Blizzard, Aldous, McKnight, Facey, V. Groves or Rees, Pacey, Burgess, Hartburn. The Big Red Book shows that neither Groves or Burgess played and he was replaced by Poulton. We lost 1-0. Our programme had not changed from last year. We played Workington Town in the FA Cup 2nd round 11 December 1954. We pro- gressed to this stage by beating Frome Town away 3- 0 with goals from Facey, Groves and an own goal. We were second in the table behind Bristol City, a situation that was to re- main all season. Forester was moaning about gates when “Last Saturday was a shocker” This would have been against Southend when 16,181 attended, a game we won 5-1 (Facey (P), Morgan, Rees (2) Blizzard). The reserves had drawn against Aldershot with Albert Woodison, newly signed from Ramsgate getting the goal. Woodison never made the first team nor any league team. Team: Groombridge, Bennetton, Earl, Mallett, Bishop, McMahon, White, Woodison, Burgess, Brown and Fisher. We lost this match to a single goal. Team in the programme: Welton, Lee, Charlton, Blizzard, Aldous, McKnight, Groves, Facey, Rees, Morgan, Hartburn. The first match of 1955 (1 January) was a top of the table clash at home to Bristol City. We were three points behind them with two games in hand. Mike Burgess topped the goalscoring chart for the re- serves with 14 goals whilst the first team top scorer was Facey with 16. Team in the programme: Welton, Lee, Charlton, Blizzard, Aldous, McKnight, Groves, Facey, Rees, Morgan, Hartburn. We ran out 4-1 winners with goals from Groves, Hartburn 2 and Blizzard. That was the last programme I had for the 1954-1955 season. We missed out on promotion by nine points to Bristol City. Surprisingly enough Walsall did not finish bottom of the division for the forth year in a row. But they were bottom but one. They and Colchester were re-elected which meant Bedford Town, Headington United, Peterborough United, Worcester City and Yeovil Town remained where they were. Playing their last games for the club were: Pacey, Poulton, Mallett and Fisher. Leyton Orient Division III (South) 1955-1956 For the opening match of our promotion season we were away at Walsall. My programme was for the match against bottom of the table Swindon 15 October. By which time we had played 13, won 8 and drawn 2. Highlight was the 6-0 home defeat of Colchester with a hat trick from Groves, Hartburn, Woosnam and an own goal from Fenton. Low light would have been the previous game at Newport where we lost 3-0. The programme had this to say about it: It was almost on the stroke of half-time when Newport’s strong, robust centre-forward, Tom Johnston, headed through a cross from the left wing to put Newport in the lead, Five minutes after the interval Johnston scored number two for Newport with an- other good header, and about five minutes later the same player completed his hat-trick with fast left foot shot. We also learnt that Len Julians and Ron Heckman were now full-time with the club and five players were on £1000 wages last season. We were in fourth position four points behind leaders Northampton and won 4-0 with a goal from Heckman and a hat-trick from Facey. Team in the programme: Welton, Lee, Charlton, McMahon, Aldous, McKnight, Facey, Woosnam, Groves, Heckman, Hartburn. The following month, strapped for cash we sold Vic Groves and Stan Charlton to Arsenal for £30,000. The match following their sale was at home to Crystal Palace and this is how the match went. My next programme was not until 14 April against Shrewsbury but in February Stock left for Arsenal, We signed Tommy Johnston from Newport for £6,000 plus Mike Burgess and he scores on his début at Swindon. Stock returned after 53 days. We topped the table but our undefeated home record was surrendered to second placed Brighton in the previous home match. Wins followed at Torquay and Southampton and continued in this match by a 5-2 margin with goals from Heckman 2, Johnston 2, Hartburn. Les Gore’s record during Stock’s absence according to Leyton Orient A Complete 1881-1990 was P10 W9 L1 F 30 A 11. This meant he took over be- fore the Reading game on 11 February until after the Torquay game on 2 April. However in Images Of Sport Leyton Orient it stated Les was given a pen inscribed with won 10 lost 1. Team in the programme: Welton, Gregory, Earl, McMahon, Aldous, Blizzard, White, Julians, Johnston, Heckman, Hartburn. My penultimate programme for the season in 26 April against Millwall kick off 6.15pm. A significant match as the win saw us gain promotion. They only needed a point from their last four matches having lost the previous match 2-0 at Ipswich. In the match before that we drew 1-1 away at second placed Brighton in front of 30,913 fans where top scorer Ronnie Heckman (29) broke his jaw. Team in the programme: Welton, Bishop, Gregory, McMahon, Aldous, Blizzard, White, Julians, Johnston, Woosnam, Hartburn. We won 2-1 with Johnston scoring the winner. Hartburn got the earlier goal. The last match of the season was at home to Ipswich 3 May. We had lost the last two away matches at Bournemouth 1-3 (Julians) and 0-5 at Millwall. We were to lose this one as well 1-2 (Woosnam). The Third Division South Championship Shield was presented before the match by Arthur Oakley the Football League President. Also in in attendance was Sir Stanley Rous. Work on a new stand (the old Mitcham Stadium) had been started with 1000 seats allocated to season ticket holders. All the players with the exception of Morgan, Fisher and Woodison were retained. Team in the programme: Welton, Bishop, Gregory, Blizzard, Aldous, McKnight, White, Woosnam, Johnston, Facey, Hartburn. Being in the bottom two meant Crystal Palace and Swindon Town applied to, and were re-elected to, the league which meant Bedford Town, Boston United, Chelmsford City, Gloucester City, Hastings United, Headington United, Hereford United, King's Lynn Town, Peterborough United, Worcester City and Yeovil Town failed in their election bid. Email Keith Next page 1956-1957 Previous page 1950-1951 to 1952-1953

1956-1957