Wilf Tranter, Footballer

WILF TRANTER, CAPTAIN OF MANCHESTER BOYS 1959-60

Wilf Tranter was born at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester in March 1945 and grew up in the Salford rugby league stronghold of Pendlebury, where he attended St Mark’s Primary School. After passing his 11+ he chose to attend St Gregory’s because of its reputation as a “footballing school” – and football was his passion. And so it was at St Gregory’s that Wilf enrolled in September 1956, a journey that took him about seventy minutes by bus.

A bright boy, Wilf was placed in the A class and Whitaker house. A good all-round sportsman, he excelled not only at football but also at sprinting and recalled training in Ardwick Green Park with Mr E. Hurst, the PE teacher.

As early as his first year, 1956-57, Wilf’s soccer skills were noted and he became a regular member of the East Area team even though it was intended for third-year boys. By 1958-59, his third year, he was captain of the East Area team and played alongside fellow-Gregorians Peter Jackson and Mike Barry. 

Captain of Manchester Boys Under-15s, 1959-60

Each year the Manchester Schools’ F.A. selected a squad of boys to represent the city, the boys being under 15 years of age before 1st September. The Manchester team in season 1959-60 was captained by Wilf Tranter, who had the distinction of leading his players to success in a number of prestigious competitions. At the start of the season well over 100 boys had been given extensive trials before the potential squad of about 16 players were selected.

The MSFA was established in 1889 and season 1959-60 was its 70th anniversary. At that time it was the largest Schools’ Football Association in the country. (London formed a County Association, so it did not take part in the competition for the English Schools’ Trophy.) Among the MSFA officials in that season were Mr J.H. Davies, Honorary Secretary; Mr T.E. Coates, Chairman; Mr E.H. Wetton Team Manager; and Mr H. Roberts and Mr J.T. Cain, who were Selectors. 

Wilf was also selected to represent Lancashire. He experienced travelling throughout the country, often by British Rail in reserved compartments; staying in hotels; attending social functions and receptions in town halls and elsewhere; playing at famous football grounds, often in front of large crowds; playing against boys who years later would become household names, such as Tommy Smith (Liverpool), Ron Harris (Chelsea) and Paul Madeley (Leeds), and being featured regularly in the sports pages of local newspapers. 

It was a great honour for a boy to be selected for Manchester Boys. Players were instructed that they should always be careful to conduct themselves, both on and off the field, in a manner which would bring credit to themselves, their school, and the Manchester Association. Behaviour at all times must be of the best and players were expected to keep their kit in perfect condition. Since a footballer’s boots were the most important part of his equipment, every player and reserve was therefore encouraged to take a personal pride in the care of his boots, and see that they were kept in good order, especially with regard to studs and laces.

The goalkeeper on that team was Maurice Bethell, from Burnage Grammar, who played also for Lancashire Boys and was an England trialist. He has kindly supplied much of the information and illustrative material that is included in this section.

Maurice writes: “Mr Wetton oversaw many of the training and coaching events. There were also two or three other teachers involved. So far as the coaching side went, there wasn’t a great deal. Training was usually done at one of the many school playing fields around Manchester: the facilities of the professional clubs were never used. The actual training primarily focused on fitness and simple things like being aware of where team mates were, tackling, making use of the wings and passing. With regard to the goalkeeping side of things for myself and Ken Sutton [reserve ’keeper], there wasn’t really anything different other than practising shot stopping and making sure we shouted when we wanted the ball or were going for the ball … Everything was found for us apart from fares to training or when we met in town for travelling. All fares outside of the Manchester area and accommodation was taken care of by the Manchester Education Committee (I presume) … There was obviously much goodwill by the football clubs letting us use their grounds [for matches] and presumably printers of some of the programmes… The largest crowd we played before was against East London Boys at Maine Road when there were 16,000 there … We played on cinder and shale pitches, Newton Heath being the best known and some of the park pitches were shale.”

It was during the English Trophy run when Wilf was chosen for England Boys trials. With Manchester Boys having played most of their ties away from their home patch of Maine Road, the selectors requested him to attend trials in Yorkshire the day after a match against Grimsby Boys. Feeling shattered after a particularly hard game, he was given a brief run out lasting barely twenty minutes and missed out on final selection. It was a bitter blow and, despite later making two appearances for Lancashire Boys, circumstances seemed to have conspired to deny him the international recognition many people felt he deserved.

Included below is a scrapbook-like compilation of selected material relating to Wilf’s year as captain of the team. It serves as a reminder of a memorable year in the life of a well-known Gregorian.

Victory in the English Schools’ Trophy

Manchester reached the semi-final of the competition in its first year (1905) and lost to Sheffield. The following year they were beaten in the final by Sheffield and in the 1915 final lost to Cardiff.

The years 1932-39 were outstanding in the MSFA’s history. During that time they shared the trophy once and won it three times. The great 1932 final against Southampton at Maine Road was a memorable occasion.

In 1938 Manchester beat Bootle with a record score of 11-0. Since the war they had been in finals twice, but each time were beaten by Swansea.

Led by Wilf Tranter, the Manchester team had now reached the final once again and faced a powerful East London Boys team over two legs. To reach the final was a great honour, for at the start of the season nearly 400 teams had set out on the long trail. And the City team had played away in every round except one and beaten strong opponents.

This being the 70th anniversary of the Manchester Schools’ F.A., there was a feeling that the winning of the coveted English Schools’ Trophy would be a fitting celebration.

East London Boys had a proud record, too, but this was their first appearance in the final. They, too, had overcome strong opposition, especially Bristol and Stockton.

Both Manchester newspapers, the Evening Chronicle and the Evening News, featured the forthcoming matches in their columns. The first leg was played at Maine Road on Wednesday, 4th May, 1960, and Manchester won 2-0. Afterwards an official function for all the players, officials and guests was held at the Kingsway Hotel, Manchester. A three-course meal, followed with coffee, was laid on and there were speeches and toasts. A grand occasion indeed.

The second leg, played on 9th May at Millwall, resulted in a 5-1 win for Manchester, who therefore won the trophy with a 7-1 aggregate score. 

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