Gridball
1956

History was made as Houston became the first team from outside the British and Irish Isles to reach Supergrid, triggering a deal to stage the showpiece in the States upon the first appearance by an American side. Demand was so great for tickets that the event had to be switched from Philadelphia to the Chicago Stadium where 16.000 fans could be accommodated.

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Houston's impressive run to Supergrid included playing a part in eliminating the defending champions, Glasgow in the Second Round. However, a young and inexperienced side would be weakened further by the loss of their top scorer, Barbara Graham to injury. The stand in shooter was Charlotte Gilpin, who at just fifteen years old, showed a calm head on young shoulders to score a hat-trick in the semi final victory over Leicester. Her reward would be to become the youngest ever Supergrid player.

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Opponents West Ham were on the road to redemption that date back to 1953. Having lost that season's Supergrid to Dublin, the Hammers embarked on a nightmare season in 1954 where they failed to win a single game and were eliminated to the 1955 qualifiers in humiliation. American coach, Anne Gardner was given the chance to turn the team around and did so in impressive style, combining the talents of forwards, Dorothy Kirton and June Kaye to devastating effect.

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Kaye and Kirton smashed their way through the opposition in 1956 being tagged Special K as Willesden were defeated in the quarter final before Cheshire were outclassed in the semi. The Hammers duo battled it out for the golden bat during the season with shooter Kirton holding off her attacking team mate to become the first player in history to win a second top scorer title. Kaye accepted her silver bat with the greater honour of being named in a West Ham dominated team of the year as Gridball of the Year for 1956 three days before Supergrid. Buoyed by this, the Hammers arrived in Chicago as strong favourites to keep the title in the British and Irish Isles.

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Houston's game plan was to frustrate the Hammers lethal front line and pick them off as the game wore on but that plan was torn apart in seconds as Kirton smashed home the first ever first quarter Supergrid goal with barely a minute on the clock. Fears of a Houston collapse weren't realised, at least not yet as the young Stars kept their composure without threatening to force an equaliser. Plan B was to get in at half time and regroup but that plan too was thwarted as Kirton added a second for the Hammers four minutes before the break.

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Elvis Presly entertained the crowd at half time as Houston plotted a way back into the match in the third quarter. However, Dorothy Kirton had other ideas and her goal just four minutes into the restart effectively ended Supergrid '56 as a contest. The Hammers began playing with smiles on their faces, knowing that the title was now theirs and when Kirton smashed in a fourth, it capped a fantastic personal day for her, becoming the first player ever to score four times in a Supergrid. Not content to rest there, she scored a fifth so that the Hammers too could claim a record victory, bettering Glasgow's four goal haul the previous year. 

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The final hooter would come as a blessed relief from a very one sided Supergrid. The Hammers, trophy in hand, set off for New York for a guest TV appearance before flying home in triumph to London, while the Stars had at least thrown down the hope of America breaking the British domination of Gridball.