Bobby Tebbutt gets in a shot for Bedford in his debut against Chelmsford at The Eyrie on 7 April 1962, to no avail as the result was a one-goal defeat. He had been acquired by Reg Smith from Northampton earlier in the week, and had fought his way back from a serious injury; at one stage he had been reckoned unlikely to play again, having hit the headlines very early in his career with one of the goals in the Cobblers’ 3-1 defeat of Arsenal in the FA Cup in 1957/8. His Bedford career failed to blossom but he went on to do useful work as a player-coach at Stamford and with Kettering’s junior teams. About to save his shot is Chelmsford’s Alan Collier, who was to join Bedford three years later. With relegation fears now past, the season ended quietly, although attendances crept back up to the 3,000 mark by Easter. Note the invalid carriages parked in front of the stand-the wide gangway behind the touchline was much appreciated by their owners, who could drive straight on to the ground and watch the match from their vehicles.
Hukin had become Smith’s first choice centre-forward, but before the end of the season he also signed John Fahy[3], who had played for Letchworth at The Eyrie back in September, Jackie Walker, a wing-half from Luton, and Bobby Tebbutt from Northampton. With Thompson released at the year’s end, only Hawksworth now remained of the Championship winners of 1959. Sim, unfortunately, opted to return north when his RAF service ended, but by May Smith had already started to build a more stable side.
The good run of February and March evaporated into an indifferent finish, and a final 15th place, prompting the Bedfordshire Times columnist Mike McNay, later to become Arts page editor of the Guardian, to write his end-of-season review in the style of a Shakespearian drama which featured an assassination (of Rooke) and the crowning of a new Emperor (Smith) before ending "exeunt omnes" [4]. But for most supporters, a new manager with a fresh approach gave more heart for the future.
To continue the story go to 1962/3-bright start frozen solid
For full results and teams go to Results and teams, 1950-67
SOUTHERN LEAGUE TABLES 1961-1962
Premier Division
1. Oxford United 42 28 5 9 118 46 61
2. Bath City 42 25 7 10 102 70 57
3. Guildford City 42 24 8 10 79 49 56
4. Yeovil Town 42 23 8 11 97 59 54
5. Chelmsford City 42 19 2 11 74 60 50
6. Weymouth 42 20 7 15 80 64 47
7. Kettering Town 42 21 5 16 90 84 47
8. Hereford United 42 21 2 19 81 68 44
9. Cambridge City 42 18 6 16 70 71 44
10. Bexleyheath & Welling 42 19 5 18 69 75 43
11. Romford 42 15 9 18 63 70 39
12. Cambridge United 42 13 12 17 76 78 38
13. Wellington Town 42 14 10 18 75 78 38
14. Gravesend & Northfleet 42 17 4 21 59 92 38
15. Bedford Town 42 16 5 21 73 79 37
16. Worcester City 42 15 7 20 51 64 37
17. Merthyr Tydfil 42 13 11 18 62 80 37
18. Clacton Town 42 13 10 19 74 91 36
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Tonbridge 42 10 14 18 71 92 34
20. King’s Lynn 42 12 8 22 59 74 32
21. Folkestone Town 42 12 6 24 64 103 30
22. Cheltenham Town 42 9 7 26 48 88 25
First Division
1. Wisbech Town 38 21 11 6 76 42 53
2. Poole Town 38 23 6 9 81 47 52
3. Dartford 38 21 8 9 89 50 50
4. Rugby Town 38 20 9 9 82 49 49
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Margate 38 20 6 12 73 55 46
6. Corby Town 38 19 6 13 82 60 44
7. Sittingbourne 38 16 12 10 69 51 44
8. Dover 38 19 6 13 66 55 44
9. Yiewsley 38 18 6 14 64 51 42
10. Barry Town 38 14 11 13 55 51 39
11. Ashford Town 38 14 11 13 66 70 39
12. Hinckley Athletic 38 15 8 15 75 65 38
13. Burton Albion 38 16 5 17 70 79 37
14. Nuneaton Borough 38 12 12 14 63 69 36
15. Tunbridge Wells United 38 12 7 19 64 85 31
16. Canterbury City 38 11 8 19 60 82 30
17. Ramsgate Athletic 38 10 9 19 48 70 29
18. Trowbridge Town 38 9 9 20 45 69 27
19. Gloucester City 38 6 4 28 46 104 16
20. Hastings United 38 5 4 29 45 115 14
MIDLAND FLOODLIT LEAGUE TABLE 1961/2
P W D L F A Pts
Peterborough United 8 6 1 1 28 9 13
Worcester City 8 5 1 2 15 11 11
Bedford Town 8 3 1 4 14 22 7
Kettering Town 8 2 1 5 14 20 5
Corby Town 8 1 2 5 13 22 4
[1] Gardiner had been “trainer-coach” until Tim Kelly’s departure and became what would now be called the club’s physio in 1959, but no longer ran on with the “magic sponge” because of back troubles. Tommy Ruff and Joe Campbell, two of Rooke’s old guard, shared the sponge for most of his second spell as manager, until Reg Game succeeded Ruff in the summer of 1961.
[2] Although some older supporters took a while to catch on. I remember an old man stopping in front of a poster advertising an evening match at the time and exclaiming “Half past seven kick off? They’ll never get it finished!”
[3] For some unknown reason the local press referred to him as “Jim” for several months before getting his name right.
[4] Thanks to David Ingham, who joined the paper as a junior sports reporter in 1961, for this recollection.