by Malcolm Pheby | Jan 6, 2021 | Sport
World snooker finals didn’t always take place in the familiar plush surroundings of Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre – as John Spencer can attest. As defending champion in 1972, the Bury-born master potter took on snooker phenomenon Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins at a very...
by Malcolm Pheby | Oct 23, 2019 | Manchester, Sport
Three centuries of horse-racing in Manchester came to an abrupt end in November 1963 when Lester Piggott rode Fury Royal to victory in the Goodbye Consolation Plate. Cheers in the grandstand rang out for the final time before race officials began the sorry task of...
by Malcolm Pheby | Oct 2, 2019 | Manchester, Sport
Normally when British boxing legend Henry Cooper came to Manchester it was to fight at Belle Vue. But in June 1972 it was different. Cooper arrived at Old Trafford to captain a team in the long-running BBC quiz show Question of Sport. It was in the middle of the First...
by Malcolm Pheby | Jun 26, 2019 | Rugby League, Sport
Record signing Jim Sullivan lost no time piling on the points when he made his debut for Wigan rugby league club in August 1921. The Welsh fullback scored no less than five conversions in a 21-0 win against Widnes. He’d score another 2,312 in his remarkable 25-year...
by Malcolm Pheby | Jun 19, 2019 | Sport
If you wanted to see brilliant men’s tennis played by its biggest stars in the 1990s, then Didsbury was the place to go. Sampras, McEnroe, Edberg, Ivanisevic and Rafter all made their way to Manchester to play at the Northern Lawn Tennis Club. The Manchester Open was...
by Malcolm Pheby | Jun 12, 2019 | 1960s, Sport
Half a century ago this week, the M.E.N. published a fascinating insight into life behind the scenes at Old Trafford during the First Test match against the West Indies. Photographers captured every aspect of the grand cricketing occasion – from cushion-sellers...
