Gridball
1961
The Official Gridball Site
Sunday, October 22nd 1961
Nations Cup Semi Finals
Real Time Game date 28th April 2024
site updated every Sunday 1pm UK time
Contents
Virginia Revolution
Division Two side through to the promotion Play-off quarter finals
June Kaye
Former West Ham star, Now Rotterdam Coach
Elite Matchday Sixteen
Liverpool are Regular Season Champions, despite unbeaten defence by Willesden
A routine victory for the Liverbirds over visiting Los Angeles secured the Merseysider's first honour since clinching Supergrid in 1951 as they maintained their points advantage over defending Shield holders, Willesden to clinch the 1961 Regular season Shield.
And with the Dreamers doing their best to keep rampant Sally Jellicoe in check, Thelma Bradford was given the freedom to clinch the victory that rendered Willesdens's 4-0 Elizabeth Meriwether inspired defeat of Wandsworth in the West London derby, fruitless.
Mixed feelings for the World Champs, who have completed their schedule without defeat but still miss the first honour of the season due to their lack of bonus points. Despite their defeats, both the Dreamers and the Brewers had done enough to ensure they too progress to the last eight. Los Angeles' visit to Liverpool today ensured they couldn't return in the play-offs, instead facing an All American trip to impressive Middlesex, who got over their disappointing exit from the cup last week to post a super bonus point victory in Houston the proved fatal for their Texian hosts, the penalty point demoting them with just two minutes of the season remaining.
A previous visit to Merseyside in regular season also ensured Nottingham avoided having to go back. Two second half goals in Dublin ensured they secured the final play-off spot at the expense of Staffordshire and a no less daunting trip to the defending Champions. With neither the Californians or English Midlanders able to return to Liverpool, it was sixth placed Cork who will now cross the Irish sea in four week's time after Liccy Davie's hat-trick cemented the cup holders last eight spot.
While Cheshire complete the line up, setting up an all English tie with the Brewers with a crushing 4-0 slamming of Lancashire that sends the Second Division Champions back from whence they came.
And their company down there will be strong as no less than three former Champions lost their Elite status. West Ham already knew their chances were slim prior to their timid pointless tie with a Newcastle side who left the court expecting to make it a quartet of demoted Champions, before finding that the late penalty point against Houston saved them from automatic demotion.
Glasgow too will be missing from the Elite ranks for the first time next term. Penalty points in each of their final two games proving damaging, and Dublin complete the trio.
St Louis and Newcastle have a final chance to save their Elite status when they face a couple of Second Division promotion hopefuls in the repechage, while already demoted Bristol and Birmingham saw little point in staging a game that had no bearing on the table, the game being postponed last weekend.
Top Scorers: October 7th 1961
Thelma Bradford
Liverpool
Scored both goals to defeat Los Angeles and put her in joint Bronze Bat position going into the Quarter Finals
Mary Bryant
Willesden
Rachel Wells
Nottinghamshire
1961 Team of the WeeK
Matchday sixteen
Elizabeth Meriwether
Current player of the year, tipped to become the first to retain the title after hat-trick against Wandsworth
Anne Pringle
Staffordshire
Brenda Swire
Nottinghamshire
Liccy Davies
Cork
Barbara Holt
Middlesex
Division Two Results & Tables
Manhattan have been installed as favourites to win the Second Division after completing their programme with just a solitary defeat.
The eight group winners will now go into a knockout stage. The four Play-off winners will then meet with the two winners earning promotion while the two losers will get a second chance in a repechage at St Louis and Newcastle.
Division Three
Kingston and Iowa remain the co favourites to move up into the Second Division as they completed perfect regular season records.
All the group winners will now meet in the play-offs with the eight winners getting a crack at a Second Division team for a promotion place.
1961 Open Cup Quarter Finals
Liverpool's Treble bid is on
The Liverpool Liverbirds rested a trio of stars for the trip to Third Division Palatinate in Germany and briefly looked like they might suffer the same fate as Willesden in the last round after Schmidt gave the minnows an early lead. However, the Liverbirds were in control before the end of the first quarter as Thelma Bradford and Maureen Davis, the latter standing in for Sally Jellicoe, turned the game around. Both would strike again in the second half to put the game beyond the Harlequins.
It was a much tougher battle for cup specialists, Lanarkshire at Second Division Virginia as their bid to reach three consecutive cup finals stayed on course with Eileen March's early goal.
But there was some joy for the lower divisions as Second Division New Orleans came from behind to oust Portsmouth. Leslie Sears appeared to have the Pompeys on track but Shirley Shear levelled before the interval to set up Marsha Blumenthal's winner thirteen minutes from time.
The only all Elite tie of the competition so far was a jittery affair, settled by Shane Cordell's fourth quarter goal to see Lancashire through against Middlesex. and leave the Second Division Storm as the only hope of taking the cup out of the British Isles for the first time. They'll have to play the game of their lives against treble chasing Liverpool while the Hotshots must try to prevent a third consecutive cup final for the Miners.
Nations Cup Quarter Finals
Nations Cup Semi Finals
Scots sink the auld enemy!
La Vita Bella Italia!
Scotland and Italy with make their first appearances in the Nations Cup Final in November in Rome after sinking former Champions, England and France respectively.
The Scots appeared to have the harder task on paper, not only having to take on the title favourites, but also having to do it on their patch in London. Eileen Logan always feels at home in London, and the West Ham player fired the Scots into a third minute lead, instantly cancelled out by Sally Jellicoe as the Liverpool Shooter added another notch to her almost certain Golden Bat. In a tense encounter, the Scots weathered and frustrated the English attacks before Lanarkshire's Una Kier hit the sucker punch seventeen minutes from time. The English went all out to salvage the situation but when Kier got on the end of a counter attack to make it three, two minutes from time, another English attempt to conquer the Scots lay in tatters.
Meanwhile in Rome, the Italians faced '58 Champions France in what looked a harder contest to call on paper. And so it proved as both sides found it tough going to break down their opponents. Young Turin Attacker, Miranda Borini put herself on the radar of the Elite teams when she nipped in to put the Italians in front nineteen minutes from time before their veteran Nord Shooter, Pam Todd bagged the winner twelve minutes from the end. The Italians will now have hosting rights when they face the Scots next month. Kingston's English born Italian star, Yvonne Wizenbrug will be a Cork player by the time of the Final, having signed a deal to join the Elite Irish outfit for 1962.
Snippets
News from around the Gridball
Saturday 14th
Cheshire star, Watson weds.
Carol Watson hit a brace last weekend to ensure the Cheshire Cats secured their place in the Supergrid Quarter Finals. With a month to wait before those games take place, Watson will be centre stage again today as she marries her actor fiancée, Roy Smith. “It gives us a great opportunity to have a good honeymoon before I come back for the quarter final in November.” Quipped Watson.
Assistant Anne eyes promotion
Virginia Assistant coach, Anne Meadows has been described as the most glamourous coach in Gridball. The three times married former Miss England was meant to be assistant to Leigh Egnor at Virginia but had to step in at the start of the season when Leigh needed to take a leave of absence for health reasons. Now Virginia have a real dilemma as Meadows arrived for last weekend's final game at home to Indianapolis, knowing that they were in the promotion play-offs barring a disaster. Whether or not Meadows can take the Americans to the Elite Division for the first time, that title of most glam coach is hard for anyone else to beat.
Monday October 23rd
Clothes on her mind
20 Year Old Hertfordshire Centre, Carola Anson wanted to learn to speak French so much, she rented a Paris apartment this year, commuting back and forward between matches as she perfected the language. Was it for a move to a French club? “No” Advised Carola. “It’s because I want to holiday in France in the close season.” Just as well as Carola and Co are tasked with ending the promotion hopes of Montmartre in Paris next weekend. The prize for the winner is a Play-off Semi Final, which guarantees at least a promotion Play-off. Before she takes to the court, Carola intends to take to the shops. “The week before I gave up my apartment, a thief broke in and stole all the nice clothes I’d bought. I intend to take the opportunity to restock.”
Friday October 27th
Baron named in love scandal
27 year old former Manchester Bee, Judy Baron has been splashed across the front pages in the States this morning after being seen out holding hands with married Television star, Gerald Hunter. When asked about the relationship, she said “It’s true. We are in love, but we don’t want to talk about it.” Baron is the soon to be ex wife of British actor, Tony Hendry, whom she married two years ago. However, their marriage broke down due to the separation of his British work and Baron playing her Gridball in Milwaukee. They had met while she was still part of the Manchester side, which reached the semi finals of Supergrid in 1957.
Baron’s season with the Does is over after the American side suffered demotion to Gridball’s third level, the Pan American Division, just two weeks ago. She and Hunter, star of Television’s The Settlers, booked separate suites in a luxury Bahamian resort. Hunter told reporters “We don’t know what will happen. We’re both still married, though Judy’s divorce is imminent. We’re going to ground to let the dust settle.”
The World of October 1961
The Russians detonate another H bomb as Cold War Tensions grow, At one stage, American and Russian tanks perform a sixteen hour stand off at the Berlin divide. Meanwhile Stalin becomes persona non grata in Moscow. For reasons unknown, his body is removed from display in the open tomb he shares with Lenin and buried nearby. Russians are told to stop wearing Stalin commemorative pins.
The United Kingdom's most remote settlement, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, the only human settlement on the tiny island of Tristan de Cunha is evacuated after a nearby volcanic eruption. The entire island population of under three hundred is flown to the UK.
The New York Yankees claimed the World Series in Baseball, with Roger Matis, unusually for the sport, garnering World headlines as he sets a new record of 61 Home Runs. However, due to the expanded season, Babe Ruth's record of 60 in fewer games remains recognised alongside Matis' new tally.
Breakfast At Tiffany's hit cinemas and created the iconic image of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly. The film is a major box office hit
Hot on the heels of that, Broadway hit musical, West Side Story comes to the big screen. The story of a love affair across the divide of the Puerto Rican and White communities in New York is also a huge box office smash with Natalie Wood hailed as it's star.
British MPs will be fair game for lampooning from now on as the British satirical magazine, Private Eye hits the new stands for the first time.
The Highwaymen, a collegiate four piece folk group from America, become a British one hit wonder when their rendition of American Cotton Field song, Michael becomes the biggest selling single of the month, knocking The Shadow's Kon Tiki off the top of the charts for a week before being replaced by Helen Shapiro's Walking Back To Happiness. All three songs contrieve to keep Billy Fury's Jealousy off the top spot while John Leyton's Wild Wind, Cliff Richard's When The Girl In Your Arms Is The Girl In Your Heart and Cleo Laine's You'll Answer To Me all peak as big hits this month.
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