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Catholic Shield winners, 1931
This trophy-winning Shield team contained one future star, but of the world of boxing, not football. John “Nipper” Cusick is seated second from the right on the front row. As a team, in the following season, it was even more successful. Mr Johnny Bill, who had been appointed in 1929, is pictured on the back row. A board (in the original photograph) standing just in front of Cusick reads:
St GREGORY’S MANCHESTER
(Shield Team)
1st DIVISION (SOUTHERN) CHAMPIONS
WINNERS OF CATHOLIC SHIELD
-1931-
Sixty-five years later, in 1996, this photograph was published in the Manchester Evening News, having been sent in by Joe Williams, of Knutsford, Cheshire. Joe is on the left of the second row in the photograph and “wondered what became of his team-mates”.
Manchester Boys, 1932-33
Standing, from left: Stanley (Central High), Brown (North Manchester High), Jackson (Central High), Pendlebury (North Manchester High), Mauchan (Didsbury Central).
Seated, from left: Proctor (St Gregory’s Central), Woodstock (St Cuthbert’s), Battarbee (Didsbury Central), Ridgway (North Manchester High), Howard (Ravensbury Street), Turley (St Anne’s).
The team won the Lancashire Cup beating Salford.
Record Gate
The record gate for a schoolboys’ match up to this time was that which attended the English Shield final between Manchester and Southampton Boys at Maine Road, the home ground of the Manchester City Football Club, on 7th May 1932, when over 50,000 spectators saw the game.
MSFA
The Manchester Schools’ Football Association, established in the previous century, was responsible for the organisation and regulation of much of the schoolboy football in the city. Schoolboy football was carried out by sports masters and ordinary teachers, in a voluntary capacity, in hundreds of towns and cities in England and Wales. These teachers were rightly proud of the heritage bequeathed to them by those early pioneers. The MSFA was determined to uphold the high ideals of the English Schools’ F.A., namely, the mental, moral, and physical development of schoolboys through the medium of association football. Playing football in the streets, open spaces and playgrounds of urban Manchester was an important and enjoyable pastime for many youngsters. It was always an honour to be selected for the school team and competition between rival teams was sometimes fierce, with many schools having reputations for producing efficient and successful teams as is clearly evident when one looks at records of trophy winners.
There were many ‘Leagues’ in the city and teams competed in Cup and Shield games. St Gregory’s fielded a number of teams. Its First Division team, of under-14s, played in the Southern League against teams from Didsbury Central, Ducie Avenue Central, St Margaret’s Central, and Heald Place Senior. In 1935, the team was taken by Mr Johnny Bill and played its home matches at Platt Fields. Its colours were amber with claret v. The duration of play was 35 minutes each way.
Another team competed in the Senior Division. This was for boys “under 16 years of age upon the day of the return to school after the Midsummer Holidays”. In the Senior League, St Gregory’s competed against Alma Park, Ardwick Central, Didsbury Central, and St Margaret’s Central. Mr G. Curran managed the senior team, which also played at Platt Fields: its colours were red.
In addition, the school also competed in Catholic Cup competitions.
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