And we’ve discovered these fantastic photographs in the Chronicle & Echo archives from the 1950s and 1960s.
The images came from our collection of glass plate negatives – the captions are sparse due to the nature of how they were filed at the time. So if you have any more information about them, please email [email protected]
Editor’s note: Following the publication of this gallery, Chron reader Peter Stevenson got in touch to offer more information about some of the pictures included in the gallery. The numbers relate to the images as they appear: 3. Holton, Edwards, Dixon - reading left to right.
7. Dave Bowen watches Brian Etheridge heading the ball. 10. Pre-season match v Oxford United and a 1-1 draw. 12. Graham Moore. 13. 1960-61 season. 14. Charlie Livesey. He had signed for the start of the 1964/65 season. 21. Sanders is seen shaking hands with Fred York (chairman) and C. Buller (vice chairman). 22. Bob Hatton is just behind the Crewe goalkeeper. 23. ? Curtis and Barry Cooke. (I believe that Curtis was a local youngster. He appears in a couple of period team photos but never progressed beyond the reserve team). 27. Cobblers player is Barry Lines. 28. Former Cobblers hero Bobby Brown emerges from the tunnel for Cardiff. 35. Scunthorpe away. John Reid and Frank Large are seen in the centre of this foiled attack. 36. It's Dave Bowen leaning over the board with Ron Patterson gripping the post. The players all look like youth team/apprentices and I wouldn't care to name with any degree of certainty. 39. Frank Large (left) and Don Martin (right) in the thick of the action. 40. The Cobblers player is Alan Woan.
25. Looking Back Cobblers Special
THIS picture shows a pin badge depicting Northampton Town FC in the 1901-02 season. Martin Kennedy gives more details: “ This season was their first season in the Southern League, which was the final step prior to joining the Football League in 1920. Although it is difficult to believe, other teams in the Southern League varied from Tottenham and West Ham to Wellingborough and Kettering, which meant there was a triple representation in the county. Results were certainly changeable, beating Swindon 8-0 and losing 11-0 to Southampton, along with beating Tottenham 3-1 and losing 1-0 to Wellingborough proving the point. One major achievement made by the team was reaching the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history. After winning through four qualifying rounds, the Cobblers played Sheffield United, who were one of the leading sides in the Football League at the time. The Cobblers lost 2-0 which obviously was no surprise. One famous name who appears in the team picture is that of Herbert Chapman, seated third left in the middle row. Chapman played for the Cobblers through this important season in the club’s history and became the manager between 1907 and 1912. However, it is his record of managing Arsenal and Huddersfield to League titles and FA Cups between the end of the 1920s and early 1930s which make him synonymous with greatness in the game. It would be understandable if most readers consider the 1901-02 team picture of the Cobblers to be insignificant, but it was one of the most important and interesting seasons for a number of years.” Photo: Chron
