PROGRAMME OF THE WEEK with MARK JONES

By Dave Jones on Mar 26, 07 01:12 AM

Rhyl v Oldham Athletic
FA Cup First Round Proper - Saturday November 5th 1960

Programme front cover

Bonfire night 1960 brought another gala occasion to Rhyl when the Latics of Boundary Park arrived at Belle Vue to take on the Lilywhites in the first round of the F A Cup.
With Rhyl struggling at the wrong end of the Cheshire League at the time with 11 points from 14 games, Oldham were fancied to stroll this tie but the Lilies' famed cup tradition and the backing of a 5,000 strong partisan Welsh crowd combined to ensure that the fourth division side didn't get things all their own way.

A spirited showing on a cold afternoon restricted the Latics to a 1-0 victory courtesy of Bert Lister's strike. Lister had signed for Oldham from Manchester City earlier that season and had proved a great success in the Latics forward line.
In the next round Oldham were drawn at Chesterfield and a 4-4 thriller at Saltergate was soured by a 3-0 home defeat in the replay.
This was Rhyl's thirteenth consecutive appearance in the F A Cup proper, a claim no other non-league side could make - what price the same rewards for Rhyl today?
Never mind, there's always the Loosemore's Challenge Cup and a Welsh Cup with no league sides in to play for!
As ever, Rhyl produced a worthy 20-page programme for the occasion (printed by Douglas the Printers) and it contained a wealth of information about on and off the field activities as well as detailed info about Oldham.
Teamsheets
The Latics were led that season by one of the most charismatic and famed footballers of the immediate pre and post-war era, Jack Rowley.
A true gentleman player, Rowley was capped by England in every forward position except outside right and made his name firstly with Wolves before moving to Manchester United (winning League and FA Cup winners medals) and then seeing his league career out on the south coast with Bournemouth.
As a manager he helmed Plymouth Argyle from 1955 before moving to Oldham in the summer of 1960.
Rhyl's boardroom connection with Oldham came in the form of director George Milligan who transferred from the Latics to Everton just before war broke out in 1939.
In the late 60s and early 1970s Rhyl and Oldham became familiar opponents when the Latics entered their reserve side in the Cheshire County League.
Among the programme adverts were a couple for businesses still flourishing today, Slaters car sales, Roger Jones builders merchants, Vickers plumbers and Gibbs of Prestatyn featured, as did the Windsor Hotel and Albert Hotel.
Another classic programme will be uploaded next Monday.