Our Charlies Birthday

[Ron Manager]

Didn't someone really famous also play for New York Cosmos. Who was it now?

Just remembered.....Steve Hunt!

[dave.woodhall]

Didn't someone really famous also play for New York Cosmos. Who was it now?

Just remembered.....Steve Hunt!

Plus Franz Beckenbauer, of whom their owner allegedly said "Tell the Kraut to get his ass up front. We don't pay him to fanny around in defence."

[TheMalandro]

Thought it was going to be pisstake about n'zogbia.
Led hope we don't buy him a birthday cake

[exigo]

And assuming Sid counts with his spells away that takes you to early 1976 with 4 players. If i've worked it out right.

Spink/Hendrie/Gabby appears to get you back to Boxing Day 1979 in three moves.
Assuming Dixon/Aitken is the quickest way to go from 1946 to 1976, then Gidman looks to be all you need to fill that gap.

So, staggeringly, you can go all the way back to the first game after the second world war in just six players.

Eric Houghton finished his career in 1946, having started in 1927. And Billy Walker gets you from January 1920 to 1933. Harry Hampton covers 1904 to 1920. Howard Spencer covers 1892 to 1907. Gersham Cox (me neither) gets you from 1878 to 1893.

Wikipedia goes blank before this point, but working on the assumption that one player could potentially get you from our first ever game to 1878, the list would be (without checking that they definitely overlapped):

??>Cox>Spencer>Hampton>Walker>Houghton>Dixon>Aitken>Gidman>Spink>Hendrie>Agbonlahor.

12 players, from Gabby Agbonlahor to the team that were formed under a gaslight.

[dave.woodhall]

And assuming Sid counts with his spells away that takes you to early 1976 with 4 players. If i've worked it out right.

Spink/Hendrie/Gabby appears to get you back to Boxing Day 1979 in three moves.
Assuming Dixon/Aitken is the quickest way to go from 1946 to 1976, then Gidman looks to be all you need to fill that gap.

So, staggeringly, you can go all the way back to the first game after the second world war in just six players.

Eric Houghton finished his career in 1946, having started in 1927. And Billy Walker gets you from January 1920 to 1933. Harry Hampton covers 1904 to 1920. Howard Spencer covers 1892 to 1907. Gersham Cox (me neither) gets you from 1878 to 1893.

Wikipedia goes blank before this point, but working on the assumption that one player could potentially get you from our first ever game to 1878, the list would be (without checking that they definitely overlapped):

??>Cox>Spencer>Hampton>Walker>Houghton>Dixon>Aitken>Gidman>Spink>Hendrie>Agbonlahor.

12 players, from Gabby Agbonlahor to the team that were formed under a gaslight.

*anorak alert* If you want overlapping appearances rather than careers, Harry Hampton's last game was the one before Billy Walker's and Nigel Spink made his debut after John Gidman left. Gersham Cox left two seasons before Howard Spencer's debut. 

 Archie Hunter was playing from about 1877 until 1890 so he will almost certainly have played in the same team as one of the First XI. He played with Jas Cowan, who played with Billy George, who played with Hampton, who played with Dicky York, who played with Houghton. Then you'd go Dixon, Aitken, Brian Little (last game March 1980), Spink, Hendrie, Gabby.   

[nigel]

I'm sure Villa were his only professional club?
I don't remember him playing elsewhere after he left/retired.

As has been said, A true Legend

New York Cosmos. He deserved that one.

Of course, played in the same team as Pele, too, if I recall
Thanks Dave

[exigo]

And assuming Sid counts with his spells away that takes you to early 1976 with 4 players. If i've worked it out right.

Spink/Hendrie/Gabby appears to get you back to Boxing Day 1979 in three moves.
Assuming Dixon/Aitken is the quickest way to go from 1946 to 1976, then Gidman looks to be all you need to fill that gap.

So, staggeringly, you can go all the way back to the first game after the second world war in just six players.

Eric Houghton finished his career in 1946, having started in 1927. And Billy Walker gets you from January 1920 to 1933. Harry Hampton covers 1904 to 1920. Howard Spencer covers 1892 to 1907. Gersham Cox (me neither) gets you from 1878 to 1893.

Wikipedia goes blank before this point, but working on the assumption that one player could potentially get you from our first ever game to 1878, the list would be (without checking that they definitely overlapped):

??>Cox>Spencer>Hampton>Walker>Houghton>Dixon>Aitken>Gidman>Spink>Hendrie>Agbonlahor.

12 players, from Gabby Agbonlahor to the team that were formed under a gaslight.

*anorak alert* If you want overlapping appearances rather than careers, Harry Hampton's last game was the one before Billy Walker's and Nigel Spink made his debut after John Gidman left. Gersham Cox left two seasons before Howard Spencer's debut. 

 Archie Hunter was playing from about 1877 until 1890 so he will almost certainly have played in the same team as one of the First XI. He played with Jas Cowan, who played with Billy George, who played with Hampton, who played with Dicky York, who played with Houghton. Then you'd go Dixon, Aitken, Brian Little (last game March 1980), Spink, Hendrie, Gabby.   

Cheers Dave. A first team and two subs probably gets you all the way back to beating Aston Brook St Marys 1-0 in a game of half-football, half-rugby. Quite a thought.

Wikipedia claims that Jack Hughes scored the goal in that game, with his page claiming that he joined Small Heath in 1890. He could be the final link.

[Virgil Caine]

Didn't he have a shop in Olton or Acock's Green after he retired?

He did indeed have an Antique shop in Acocks Green but it was broken into so often that he gave it up as he was worried about his own personal safety. This information was gleaned from a very pleasent conversation I had with him about 10 years ago when I met him and Ron Wylie at a match where I was doing some corporate schmoozing. Both of them were proper gentlemen and a pleasure to talk to. Belated Happy Birthday Mr Aitken.

[dave.woodhall]

And assuming Sid counts with his spells away that takes you to early 1976 with 4 players. If i've worked it out right.

Spink/Hendrie/Gabby appears to get you back to Boxing Day 1979 in three moves.
Assuming Dixon/Aitken is the quickest way to go from 1946 to 1976, then Gidman looks to be all you need to fill that gap.

So, staggeringly, you can go all the way back to the first game after the second world war in just six players.

Eric Houghton finished his career in 1946, having started in 1927. And Billy Walker gets you from January 1920 to 1933. Harry Hampton covers 1904 to 1920. Howard Spencer covers 1892 to 1907. Gersham Cox (me neither) gets you from 1878 to 1893.

Wikipedia goes blank before this point, but working on the assumption that one player could potentially get you from our first ever game to 1878, the list would be (without checking that they definitely overlapped):

??>Cox>Spencer>Hampton>Walker>Houghton>Dixon>Aitken>Gidman>Spink>Hendrie>Agbonlahor.

12 players, from Gabby Agbonlahor to the team that were formed under a gaslight.

*anorak alert* If you want overlapping appearances rather than careers, Harry Hampton's last game was the one before Billy Walker's and Nigel Spink made his debut after John Gidman left. Gersham Cox left two seasons before Howard Spencer's debut. 

 Archie Hunter was playing from about 1877 until 1890 so he will almost certainly have played in the same team as one of the First XI. He played with Jas Cowan, who played with Billy George, who played with Hampton, who played with Dicky York, who played with Houghton. Then you'd go Dixon, Aitken, Brian Little (last game March 1980), Spink, Hendrie, Gabby.   

Cheers Dave. A first team and two subs probably gets you all the way back to beating Aston Brook St Marys 1-0 in a game of half-football, half-rugby. Quite a thought.

Wikipedia claims that Jack Hughes scored the goal in that game, with his page claiming that he joined Small Heath in 1890. He could be the final link.

Jack Hughes is the missing link to our early days. He was apparently a great diarist and the only club member to keep records of the early days. It was his talk in 1897 that formed the basis of much of the club's early written history. E.B. Lee was a member of the team in the first match and a photo from 1880 features a Lee as well as Archie Hunter so it's more than likely that there's the first link. 

[dave.woodhall]

And some great pictures of Charlie here:

http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/A/Aitken.Charlie.htm

[Ron Manager]

In the 1976 picture Brian Rowan is shown. I'm fairly sure he played a couple of times for us when he was young. Cant remember where though.

[dave shelley]

I remember him Ron.  Saw a lot of him in the stiffs, I thought he had the makings but, only ever played for the first team once, about 1969ish I think.

Forgot to add, he played full back, right side.

[PeterWithesShin]

13th September 1969. We lost 3-0 at Watford.

[dcdavecollett]

Christ! I went to that game.

It's not very often you see your team concede a goal from a 45-yard free-kick -and not a good one, either!