Hello folks, to a new blog from your fave crime blogger! This is going to cover various subjects, such as the classic era of soccer - the 70`s, motorbikes, rock music, films, unexplained phenomenon, and anything else that interests me. Let us start with football. I come from Ellesmere Port and we have had a couple of big names in the soccer world emanate from the Port. The biggest, arguably, was the former Manchester City and England manager, Joe Mercer. Then we had Stan Cullis, a former manager of Wolves. On the playing side, nobody came close to Ian Bowyer, star of Nottingham Forest & Derby, under Brian Clough. Ian came from Little Sutton, with his parents living just over a five minute walk from where I lived. For some years, he always left all his medals at his parents home. Kids always used to knock on their door, asking if they could see his medals. My mother, who is in her 80`s, remembers this to this day. They would explain what he had won each of them for, and the kids would be totally awestruck. Could there have been a better inspiration for youngsters? What a total commitment can achieve for you.
Another local player who hit the old first division, was Dave Hickson, who passed away some years ago. He made it with Everton. David Johnson, who played for both Liverpool and Everton, lived in Great Sutton. There was a guy I saw in a game, years back, in which my eldest brother was playing. This guy was tall, about 6`5" and a great goalkeeper. He also managed to get a trial for Coventry, but alas, no success. The local team at that time was Ellesmere Port Town. One man who graduated from the old Northern Premier League, to the Football League, was Leo Skeete. Born in Skelmersdale, he played for Burscough before playing for E.P.T. He was spotted by a scout for Rochdale and signed for them. One of the very first black footballers in the Football League. He carried on doing what he always did; scoring goals. He became the leading Dale scorer but was not in the plans of the clubs new owners, so next season, he was back in the semi-pro leagues. He played for Mossley United, and in total played 350 games and scored 174 goals. How can you ignore a record like that in a career?
To finish, when I first started doing the post in the Port, I delivered letters to a family called Storton. I immediately asked; any relation to Stan Storton? The woman I asked was slightly taken back. "That`s my dad. You remember him?" Stan Storton was the town captain in the late 60`s/early 70`s. My god. Me and my memory!
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