We started the week with this card of footballer F.R. Goodall, and the March links with him are both curious ones, his birth, which was on the 31st of December, 1902, but not registered until March 1903 - and his death, on the 19th of January, 1982, also not registered until March, 1982.
There is also a rather doom-laden fact from modern history, as it was on the second of March, 2010, that Huddersfield received their worst score, five goals to nil against, whilst playing Southampton.
This card holds a bit of a secret, for F.R Goodall is more usually known as Roy Goodall. and therefore collectors of cards of him may be seeing this one for the first time. His full name, however, was Frederick Roy Goodall, and he was born on the 31st of December, 1902, in Dronfield Woodhouse near Huddersfield, one of four children, born to a coal miner. His mother is a bit sketchy, as his father is recorded as being a widower at the time of our man`s birth; all we know about her is that she was called Florence, and they never appear to have married, but all four of these children seem to be hers, with him.
It took a lot of digging before I found that our man did actually play for a youth team, Dronfield Woodhouse F.C., most sites seeming to think that his first team was Huddersfield Town, which he joined in January 1921, when he was eighteen. He stayed with them throughout their glory days, when they became the first team to win three league titles in a row under legendary manager Herbert Chapman, in the years 1923-4, 1924-5 and 1925-6, and narrowly not win in the next two seasons. They also won the F.A. Cup in 1922, and were runners up in 1928, 1930, and 1938 In fact it is true to say that they were the dominant team of the 1920s and 30s.
In 1926 our man married a local girl Edith Clay - and he was also called up to play for his country. Rumour was that he was going to captain England in the 1930 World Cup, but they never took part. The reason for this is often cited as being because the journey, by ship, to South America was too long and too expensive. In fact no teams from Europe had agreed to enter by the deadline to receive those entries. This led to the hosts writing to the Football Association and asking/reminding England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to take part. This was even more curious because at that time the Football Association were not members of F.I.F.A., they had resigned. Anyway they did reply, out of courtesy, with a firm rejection of said offer.
Despite a lucrative offer, from Arsenal in 1930, he stayed with Huddersfield Town until 1937, at which time he had played in over four hundred matches, and had also played for England until 1933, in twenty five games, twelve of which he captained. In the same year, 1937, he signed with Nottingham Forest, as a trainer, and stayed there until 1944. Now we know that during the second World War he was a Drill Instructor, and rose to the rank of Sergeant Major, so he must have been stationed in England, which allowed him time and opportunity for football.
After his demob, he was in the running for the manager of Newcastle United, but when that went elsewhere he took a job managing Mansfield Town, for four years, until 1949, though he came back as assistant trainer in 1964. After that we do not know what happened to him, until he died on the 19th of January, 1982
Now our original Ardath reference book, RB.6, issued in 1943, does not number the sets within, it only lists them in alphabetical order. However the description is detailed, and reveals there were two versions - one issued at home in the United Kingdom, which is today`s card, and one an export issue, which was our Card of the Day for the 8th of October, 2023. Another difference between the two sets is that ours is the only one with an album offer, though it is printed in a rather odd place compared to most cards, who choose to print it in the vacant space in the side border(s) - here it is located in a box between the top box with the set title, and the text, starting with the name of the subject depicted.
The full text in our original Ardath reference book reads :
- March 1935. 50. SPORTS CHAMPIONS (titled series). Size 1 7/16" x 2 11/16". Numbered 1-50. Fronts printed by offset in 4 colours, titled, white margins, varnished. Backs printed in dark grey, titled "A Series of 50 Sports Champions" with descriptions, adhesive. Issued with State Express `333` Cigarettes. Pocket album issued, price 1d.
- June 1935. 50. SPORTS CHAMPIONS (titled series). Size 1 7/16" x 2 11/16". Numbered 1-50. Fronts printed by offset in 4 colours, titled, white margins, varnished. Backs printed in dark grey, titled "Sports Champions. A Series of 50 " with descriptions, adhesive. Issued in New Zealand with Ardath Cork Tipped Cigarettes. Subjects the same as above set. (This series has no album offer.)
This is much reduced for our original World Tobacco Issues Index, to simply :
- SPORTS CHAMPIONS. Sm. Nd, (50) Special album issued. ... A72-39
A. Home issue. Brand issue, "Issued with State Express" at base,
B. Export issue, "Issued with Ardath Cork Cigarettes" at base.
And that remains the entry in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, save the new card code of A745-510