The story of Gridball '57
Twelve franchises were offered in 1952 to commence play in 1957
10 from Germany, 1 each from Switzerland and Finland
Wuppertal - West Germany - Named Arrows {Pfeile} reason not recorded
Munich - Upper Bavaria, West Germany - Named Coral [Korallen] for the team colour
Hanover - Lower Saxony, West Germany - Named Royals for the connections to European Royal heritage
Berne - Switzerland - Named Bears as the emblem of the Canton
Frankfurt - Hesse, West Germany - Named Eagles {Adler} for the emblem of the region
Helsinki - Finland - Named Devils for the team's red colours
Stuttgart - Baden-Wurttemberg, West Germany - Named Beetles for the Volkswagen car being built in the area.
Nuremburg - Franconia, West Germany - Named Batters as a Gridball term
Palatinate {Pfalz} - Mainz, West Germany - Named Harlequins {Harlekine} for the multiple kit colours
Potsdam - Brandenburg, East Germany - Named Dynamo in a bid to appeal to East Germany [relocated to West Berlin in 1961]
Dortmund - Arnsberg, West Germany - Named Temptresses [Verführerinnen] Unspecific reason
Kiel - West Germany - Named Flamingos for the team colours
Each of the twelve new teams hosted a qualifying group
Qualifying Competition
Due to the number of competing teams, the weaker and new teams took part in a qualifying round
First Round
The winners and runners up of each group progressed to round two, click on tables to magnify
Second Round
Quarter Finals
Semi Finals
SUPERGRID 1957
Portsmouth Pompeys vs Willesden Saxons
Willesden Saxons 2-1 Portsmouth Pompeys
After Sudden Death
Margaret Rees {37}, Beryl Lugg-Neville {61}
Carmela Peruyero {50}
Yet another new name was set to go on the trophy as Portsmouth and Willesden fought their way through a season of upsets to reach Supergrid. The Saxons had been among the favourites to win the title but in an injury hit season, arrived at the showpiece without a trio of stars. Goalie, Shani Wallis had missed the entire season while on maternity leave but was able to keep it in the family as her fifteen year old niece in law, Pam took over the custodian duties. Defender and club captain, Kathleen Bidmead was also absent, having badly injured her knee in pre season. More woe for coach, Pamela Sholto came when she lost her star shooter, Roaslie Williams during the season. These key injuries had suggested this might not be Willesden's year but those still in the team fought the adversity to win through to the big one.
Opponents, Portsmouth were among the outsiders at the start of the season but showed a fantastic team spirit to become the second lowest ranked Supergrid team in history. Their side included the young player of the year, Adrienne Mitchell in goal.
On the day, much would centre around a first half incident where the young Pompey's goalie was left writhing in agony after an ugly clash with Saxons stand in Shooter, Maureen Davis. As the ball came into the zone, a frustrated Davis lunged recklessly towards the ball, battering Mitchell in the process. After a long delay, a dose of smelling salts and a few checks to make sure she wasn't seeing double, Mitchell bravely continued, not yet knowing she had a fractured jaw. More amazingly was the umpire's reluctance to dismiss Davis, accepting her explanation that she slipped.
If Mitchell's capacity was reduced, she didn't show it and continued to play an excellent game to keep Willesden out. The Saxons had already squandered two glorious chances through Anstiss and Davis before the incident, and went in at the break all square but well on top.
There was a little surprise and huge round of applause when Mitchell returned after the interval and she would continue to play unhindered by her injury, racing out to deny Rees early in the Third Quarter. However the Welsh International used that chance as a siter and when presented with a carbon copy a few minutes later, she cleverly dinked the ball under the onrushing goalie to open the scoring.
Few could see a way back for the underdogs, especially on an afternoon where they'd seen a lot of the ball in the centre of court but constantly overhit their passes beyond the forwards. Just ten minutes remained when Carmela Peruyero, the first Mexican to play in a Supergrid, was finally given a pass she could latch on to, which she snapped up with glee to blast past a helpless Wallis junior.
Willesden weren't done yet and the villain of the afternoon, Davis almost snatched a late winner before sudden death was called.
Portsmouth sacrificed their goal scorer for the extra period, opting for a defensive outlook while Willesden went positively reckless, removing the youngster Wallis and opting to go without a goalie. Under Gridball rules, in sudden death, any member of their team could act as a goalie when defending the shooting zone, However, they would be doing it without padding. Although defender, Ann Hanslip did put on arm pads to assist her defending.
Portsmouth would barely get a chance to expose it as Gridballer of the Year, Beryl Lugg-Neville took the opportunity to win the Championship.
Willesden Saxons: 1957 World Champions
Netminder: Pam Wallis, Age 15, Rated 1 {Average}
Born in Perivale, she was keeping it in the family as the niece of Tottenham Soccer goalkeeper, Bill Wallis, the husband of regular Willesden netminder Sharon Wallis who was expecting the couple's first child. Despite her huge inexperience, she kept goal in all bar one match, although benefitted from a team in front of her that gave few opportunities to opponents. By the following season she was back to third choice keeper behind her aunt and Isabelle Jeffrey and made just one further appearance in 1959. At the time of the game she was thought to be the youngest ever Supergridder at 15 years, 9 months and 23 days. However, it later emerged that Houston's Charlotte Gilpin had added six months to her age and was actually fourteen days younger than Wallis when she'd played in the previous year's showpiece.
Left Guard: Ann Hanslip: Age 23, Rated 8 {Superstar}
Right Guard: Josephine Gordon: Age 27, Rated 4 {Very Good}
{Pictured Right} Another with a Tottenham connection as she had become engaged to Spurs player, Tony Dee the previous year after being named in the 1956 team of the season. Despite a stellar campaign at the back for the Saxons, she missed out on that honour this year but, in the absence of club captain, Kathleen Bidmead, had the honour of lifting the trophy.
Hastily recruited from Leicester when Kathleen Bidmead was ruled out pre season with a serious knee injury. Bringing back the Londoner, who had left for Leicester in 1952 without playing a senior game for the Coral, white and black proved an inspired decision by Pamela Sholto as Gordon was named in the Team of the Year. This would be Gordon's only playing season for the Saxons and had already arranged to join the Mexico City Aztecs before Supergrid, knowing her place would to back to Bidmead next season. Alas she would suffer back to back demotions in North America but stuck with the Aztecs.
Sweeper: Beryl Lugg-Neville: Age 23, Rated 7 {Star}
{Pictured} Another Gridballer with Soccer loyalties, although she married Arsenal player, Norman Neville. Joined the Saxons in 1955 from her native Plymouth and had her greatest ever season in 1957, being named Gridballer of the Year at the end of the campaign, topped by scoring the title winning goal in sudden death. Having won the highest honour of the game, she instantly announced an intention to return to Plymouth to fulfil a desire to win the title with her home team. Unfortunately things didn't pan out for her in that regard as her form suffered amid press rumours she was having an affair with an Italian Count, which ended her marriage. In 1960 she was part of a Plymouth side demoted to Division Two.
Centre: Margaret Rees: Age 23, Rated 8 {Superstar}
The Welsh engine of the Willesden Saxons team that was named third in the Gridballer of the year awards this season. Played for the National team as they won a Silver medal in the Nations cup earlier in the season. She scored the opening goal of the final[pictured] and experienced a repeat in 1959 with another Championship Gold and Nations Cup Silver. Started her career playing alongside her sister, Anne Dynevor for Cardiff.
Attacker: Jean Anstiss: Age 23, Rated 7 {Star}
Shooter: Maureen Davis: Age 22, Rated 4 {Very Good}
Pictured: Click on name for profile
Willesden's all time top scorer at the time of Supergrid '57, yet she was out of favour at the start of the season, with Rosalie Williams installed as the first choice Shooter. Williams' injury that ruled her out half way through the season put Davis back in the front of the attack. However a reckless challenge on Portsmouth goalie, Adrienne Mitchell would leave her as something of a villain on the day. This was Davis' last game in a Willesden shirt, moving to Potsdam the following season. Their demotion to Regional Gridball in 1960 saw her move back into the big time with Liverpool.
1957 Nations Cup
1957 Golden Bat
Jean Allen
Mississippi Mockingbirds
39 Goals
Silver Bat
Sally Jellicoe
Liverpool & England
28 Goals
Bronze Bat
Lyn Cox
Manchester Bees
22 Goals
Erma Blue
Plymouth Pilgrims
22 Goals
Other High Scorers
Mary Lees - Montmartre 21
Carmela Peruyero - Portsmouth 21
1957 Gridballer of the Year
Beryl Lugg-Neville
Willesden
Sweeper
Runner Up
Jean Trend
Cheshire
Attacker
Third
Margaret Rees
Willesden
Centre
Young Player of the Year
Adrienne Mitchell
Portsmouth
Netminder
Goalie of the Year
Patricia Allen
Cork
Team of the Year
Neminder: Patricia Allen
Left Guard: Ilene Andrews: Portsmouth
Right Guard: Josephine Gordon: Willesden
Sweeper: Lugg- Neville, Centre: Rees, Attacker: Trend, Shooter: Jean Allen
Tributes pour in for Mattie Bulger
Mattie Bulger, captain of the Liverpool Liverbirds 1951 World Champion team had died aged 40. Bulger, who was a keen aviator was the co pilot in a piper alpha aircraft on route from London to Helsinki when it came down just a few minutes after take-off. she celebrated her fortieth birthday just four days earlier and had been on her way to meet representatives of the Helsinki Devils whom she was due to coach next season.
Bulger was born in Liverpool in 1917 and was a keen amateur sportswoman before the war. It was during the conflict that she earned a pilot’s licence, being trained to fly Spitfires and Hurricanes, which she delivered from factory to airfield around the country. After the war she found opportunities in civil aviation limited, and briefly worked as a stewardess at British Overseas Airways before being signed by the Liverbirds in their open trials in 1949. Bulger played at centre in the unofficial 1950 British Championship before being signed on as a full time pro for the inaugural World Championship.
She captained the team, playing at centre in the Liverbirds first ever World title match in March 1951 and went on to score twice in a 4-0 victory over Sheffield later that month. Bulger went on to be an ever present in Liverpool’s title win, scoring five goals, including one in the Quarter-Final.
Despite their success, Liverpool recruited heavily for the following season and Bulger lost her place in the team to Amy Martin, playing the 1952 season in the Junior Liverbird’s European campaign. She retired from playing at the top level at the end of the season, becoming player coach of minor side, Bootle in the Liverpool Championship, guiding them to back-to-back titles in 1956 & 57.
Bulger’s minor league success had led her to being on the brink of accepting a major role as coach of the Devils in Finland and had delayed travelling to Finland until last weekend in order to celebrate her fortieth birthday earlier in the week. Bulger was travelling as co pilot in her own piper alpha aircraft from Croydon to Helsinki when contact was lost over Norfolk on Sunday afternoon. Police later confirmed a downed aircraft had been found near King’s Lynn and both occupants were pronounced dead at the scene. Bulger never married or had children and had been living above the newsagents shop she shared with former team mate Bessie Melia.
Tributes have flooded in for Bulger.
Writing in her column in the Daily Express, ’51 title winning teammate, Gertrude Keegan wrote “She wasn’t the most gifted of players, even by her own admission, but her qualities as a captain and motivator shone through on that 1951 title winning season, which was by no means plain sailing. I’m certain Liverpool wouldn’t have won the title without her.”
Janet Horsbrough, who herself came close to death this year in the Oxford Street bus crash in June “I’m shocked. Mattie was such a larger-than-life character and I was so pleased to hear she was planning on going into senior coaching. She would have done really well.”
Rosalie Williams {another ’51 teammate, now with Willesden} Mattie was an excellent coach, and just starting out on what I’m sure would have been a glittering career in that capacity.”
Stars come out for French photoshoot
French magazine, Charme invited Liverpool star player, Constance Kidd, and her defensive partner, Katherine Molloy to Paris to take part in a Gridball themed fashion shoot with locally based Montmarte players Eileen March and Valerie Squires. Kidd & Molloy face Willesden in the Quarter Finals this weekend and the former won the title with Newcastle. {Large image Kidd} {L to R Molloy, Squires & March}
Gridball monthly star Interview
September '57:
Constance Kidd
Liverpool Liverbirds
