Second best - 1959-60 pt I

[dave.woodhall]

John Russell talks about a season of memories.

https://heroesandvillains.info/2026/01/08/second-best-1959-60-pt-ii/

[robleflaneur]

Great reading.My first full season following Villa. The Charlton massacre was probably the only home game I missed that year.My dad had gone on.about how Charlton were our bogey team and we never beat them.Being a young lad,I didn't fancy it on a miserable,rainy day.
Watching the results coming in,David Coleman standing over the teleprinter,
and the score being so unusual,that it printed it out in full ELEVEN.First and last time I've been unhappy about an emphatic Villa win.
Many years later,having a hip replacement and talking to a fellow patient,he asked me ,"Who did Villa play in their next home game ?" Scunthorpe was my Mastermind reply.
The patient asking me ,had been the Scunthorpe centre forward that day ,Harry Middleton.He went on to do some scouting for Villa and his son,Darren,played at u21 level for Villa.
Harry's route into pro football was unusual in that he joined Wolves after scoring frequently for Kynochs in the Birmingham Works League.

[Legion]

Did. Ages ago.

[Louzie0]

Thanks, John, I enjoyed reading that.

I like your descriptions of the mood and actions of the players, the experience of the crowd and the plans of the manager. It’s so immediate, as if it were happening now instead of 65 years ago!

I know my father used to go to a lot of matches at VP around then (until we moved to live ‘abroad’ for a few years) and he really loved it when we came home because he could go to watch the Villa again and the World Cup matches there in 66!

UTV!

[clinicpebble]

What a fantastic memory. Missing the Charlton game only for it to become that result must have been unforgettable — especially seeing “ELEVEN” printed out in full! And the later encounter with Harry Middleton is an incredible coincidence. Football really does have a way of bringing moments full circle.