Torquay United Fans Forum

As a schoolboy I was also at the 8-3 win over Newport in October 1963. From memory we were 2 up after about 10 minutes but it was 2-1 at half time. According to a book I have the score was still 2-1 with less than 20 minutes to go.

It seems that the weather forecast was correct for a change. I live in Hertfordshire just over 20 miles from Boreham Wood and at 6am this morning there was a good covering of snow. It is now sleeting and I assume the ground is also frozen.

Slightly off track. Sir Henry Tate was born in Chorley and set up a sugar company in the 1800s which sometime after his death merged with another to become Tate & Lyle so if you like sugar in tea or coffee he is the one you have to thank. A very generous man the Tate Gallery in London is named after him.

desperado wrote: ↑05 May 2019, 18:42 My Dad took me in for the last 20 minutes of this game - Babbacombe End ( my first ever visit to Plainmoor) they must have opened the gates at that time
(Gateman will know) an incredible introduction to Torquay United and I have been hooked ever since barely missing a home game, on average one or two every two years. I remember the flurry of goals but not details, I seem to recall Newport scoring a penalty at about 3-1 ?
Perhaps someone can remember how the scoring went from 2-1 ?
I wasnt allowed to go to the next home game which was a Wednesday night but remember checking the Daily Mail next morning before school - a 1-0 win over Gillingham. Going down to get the football buff at 6pm ish was very exciting , especially in later years when it was Bondys Tuck Shop and John was actually in there serving sometimes !

I can remember the gates being opened halfway through the 2nd half so you must have arrived just in time to witness the extravaganza. I can vaguely remember a Newport penalty and the score at some stage (I think) being 4-2 but the rest is a blur.

At the time I was a schoolboy at Homelands next to the ground and I am not sure if I was at the Gillingham game but I was certainly there for the next Saturday home game when we beat Bradford Park Avenue 6-2. After the 8-3 I went home slightly disappointed.

During the mid to late 1960s I worked across the road from the Tuck Shop and I do remember John Bond being in there. On a Saturday my Father often came home with a football buff.

I can also remember someone from the Herald Express walking amongst the crowd on the Popular Side during the 2nd half of games selling newspapers containing the half time scores.

portugull wrote: ↑05 May 2019, 19:32 TerryTorq you are spot on I looked up Soccerbase and it was 18 August 1962.

Unfortunately my memory isn't that good so I will own up to having assistance from a couple of books containing most of our results and goalscorers from 1899 onwards.

Magpiegull wrote: ↑05 May 2019, 15:33 I well remember the Newport game. 71 mins 2 - 1 and 87 mins 8 - 3! I also remember saying to my mates that I was cutting down on smoking and would only light up a cigarette when United scored. Acting the fool, I ended up with a handful of lit ciggies! I might be wrong, but I also seem to remember a cup match against Northampton where we were 0 - 1 down at half time but went on to win 7 - 1

With 8 goals in 16 minutes that certainly was a excellent afternoon to be at Plainmoor.

Although I wasn't there I believe the 7-1 win against Northampton was in November 1959 and before our 7-0 win against Lymington earlier this season was our highest ever victory in the FA Cup.

It seems I always stood at the wrong end because I was in the Cowshed for the Spurs game in 1965 when Robin Stubbs scored his late goals at the Babbacombe End. After that season I migrated to the Popular Side to get a better view.

At Football League level and above that is the only time that I have seen 10 or more goals in a match. When the 8 goals were eventually beaten about 15 years later it was at White Hart Lane when Colin Lee score 4 goals for Spurs in a 9-0 win over Bristol Rovers so at least there was a Torquay connection.

Being local boys Ernie Pym and Tommy Northcott were both crowd favourites. I believe the Ernie Pym hat trick against Exeter City was the opening game of the 1962/1963 season and although Ernie Pym didn't score we also won the home game 3-0.

I was in the Cowshed at the Ellacombe End so witnessed the 2nd half action from a distance although it didn't diminish the enjoyment. For one goal I remember Robin Stubbs beating the offside trap near the halfway line and with no defenders in front of him, I and it seemed everyone else thought he would go on to round the goalkeeper Len Weare and score. Instead somewhere between the halfway line and the goal area he decided to shoot. To start with the crowd groaned but as the ball sailed towards the top left corner (from where I was standing) the groans turned to cheers.

Afterwards a friend and I were walking down Bronshill Road towards Castle Circus to get a bus back to Shiphay when a lady walking towards us asked us what the score was. When we told her it was 8-3 she thought we were taking the pee. Great memories indeed.

Reg Jenkins was a good strong player and with his short back and sides the 14/15 year old me thought he looked like he had just come out of the army.

Although I had been to Plainmoor a few times before, in September 1962 I was deemed responsible enough to attend a home game against Barrow on my own. Reg Jenkins didn't play that day but he was soon back in the team only to be dropped again before coming back for the final games of the season. During his last season with us 1963/1964 he played in 37 league games.The following season he was back at Plainmoor playing for Rochdale (where he played over 300 league games) although thank goodness we kept him under control in a 2-1 win.

One game that he played in which has stayed with me ever since was against Newport County on 19 October 1963. The forward line that day was Bobby Webb, Tommy Northcott, Robin Stubbs, Reg Jenkins and Ernie Pym. We took an early 2 goal lead but by half time it was 2-1. Nothing much happened at the start of the second half and it wasn't until I read about it many years later that I found out that with 20 minutes to go the score was still 2-1, then all hell broke loose. In those final 20 minutes the score changed from 2-1 to 8-3. Our scorers were Robin Stubbs 5, Reg Jenkins 2 and Tommy Northcott.

I have seen games at the highest level including the top division, England Internationals and 2 European Cup Finals (both at Wembley) but that amazing afternoon at Plainmoor in October 1963 has remained with me forever.

portugull wrote: ↑29 Apr 2019, 10:14 Thank you TerryTorq I was at that game but 55 years later no surprise I got the name wrong!

Peter Anderson was like an Olympic Sprinter and he ran about 100 yards with the ball because no one could catch him.

I believe we signed Peter Anderson from Plymouth and he could certainly shift a bit. If it was a Friday night game there were plenty in those days so I am unable to pinpoint exactly which match it was.

I moved away to Hertfordshire in late 1969 to improve my job prospects so the 1960s are the times that I remember most. I live 30 minutes from St Albans so I was there on Saturday but as I was with a local Spurs fan we stood at the home end at the side rather than behind the goal. We had an excellent view of the action especially in the first 10 minutes.

And some of the new records were achieved over 42 rather than 46 league games.

When I was a schoolboy I was at a home match in 1963/1964 when winger Peter Anderson scored in 28 or 29 seconds. The goal was scored at the Cowshed end where I was standing. It could have been a night match possibly a Friday night but I can't remember who our opponents were although I think we won 3-0 or 3-1.

In case anyone has a last minute change of plan, I still have a Bristow's Bench Block E adult ticket for anyone who wants it. No money required.

Terry

With tickets for the Hungerford match tomorrow becoming as rare as Rocking Horse manure, I am marooned in sunny Hertfordshire and I won't be able to get to Plainmoor.

So if anyone needs or knows someone who needs an adult £15 ticket (Bristow's Bench Block E) please let me know and I will email it to you. I purchased it via the website and saved it as a pdf so you will be able to print it yourself. No money required just ensure that you have a bloody good time.

Enjoy the party everyone, occasions like this don't come around very often.