Its
very sad to report the death of former Coventry City player Lawrence
(Lol) Harvey at the age 85. Lol was a one-club player who spent 12
years at Highfield Road and made 148 senior appearances for the club
despite an injury affected career.
Born
and raised in Heanor, Derbyshire and one of five boys, Lol was
spotted playing schoolboy football by scout and former City player
Harry Holmes. Harry Storer, the manager at the time, knew the county
well and recruited many outstanding young players from the area –
long-serving player and trainer Peter Hill also came from Heanor. Lol
arrived in Coventry as a 15-year-old with his best mate Frank Austin
who hailed from the next village. The pair were soon appearing for
the youth team, then playing under the pseudonym of Modern Machines
in local leagues alongside other talented youngsters such as Reg
Matthews, Ronnie Waldock and Trevor Lewis. Soon he was in the 'A'
team in the United Counties League playing against much more
experienced and physical players.
In
October 1951 Lol, a right-half back in those days, was called up for
his reserves debut at Brentford and played alongside the veteran
captain George Mason and goalkeeper Alf Wood in a 0-0 draw. Seven
days later with the club in an injury crisis, in what must be
something of a record, he was promoted to the first team, again at
Brentford's Griffin Park. He became the youngest City debutant at 17
years 101 days and in the Brentford team that day was a certain Jimmy
Hill. Brentford won 1-0 with an early goal but the Coventry
Telegraph
praised the Derbyshire youngster: 'he gave a grand display at
right-half and was watched by his mother and father who travelled
down from Heanor. and also his Coventry 'landlord' who has kept an
affectionate eye upon him since he came as a very tender youth to
join the groundstaff. Their pleasure at his success was matched by
that of the City players and manager. All were agreed that he had
acquitted himself with considerable credit.. and never looked out of
his class.'
Seven
days later Lol was retained in the first team for his home debut, a
1-2 defeat to Doncaster which left City in the bottom two of Division
Two and he was featured in the programme. The Coventry
Telegraph
reported that: 'Young Harvey again showed up well and always tried to
get his forwards moving with neat ground passes. Lol's third and
final first team game that season was at Everton on the following
Saturday and 'the youngster tackled as well as anybody in defence,
and showed spirit – although he was a little over zealous on
occasions'. City, with two players virtually as passengers for much
of the game, were beaten 4-1. Lol was back in the reserves the
following week and City's season went from bad to worse and saw them
relegated to Division Three after nine seasons in the second tier.
Lol
went back to the reserves but in the season following relegation he
played 20 games and over the next four seasons he was in and out of
the first team and built up a reputation as a whole-hearted player
with a bite in the tackle. In December 1954 he scored his first
senior goal, the first in a 4-0 FA Cup win over Scunthorpe. In 1955
Jesse Carver arrived from Italy's Serie A as manager and Carver took
to the industrious Harvey and Lol was a virtual ever present in
Jesse's attacking team. Tragedy struck however in early 1956 when
playing for the reserves at Plymouth he suffered a serious knee
injury, probably one referred to today as a cruciate ligament, and
doctors told him he would never play again. He required a major
operation and he was told there was no more than 50-50 chance of it
succeeding. Lol, softly spoken and deaf in one ear, replied: 'If you
can give me 50 per cent chance, I will give you the other half'.
He
recovered – the specialist said it was just as much due to his
determination as to anything else – but he was left with a 16-inch
scar down his leg. Lol, a true fighter, was out of action for over a
year but returned to play his part in the club's promotion from the
Fourth Division. Billy Frith brought Lol back into first team action
when he returned for his second spell as manager in 1957 and later
that season he converted him to full-back. He played 41 games in the
promotion season – his best season in terms of appearances despite
later admitting that he basically played on one leg. More knee
injuries hampered his 1959-60 season and he played only two games.
Then, after 148 games for the club, he suffered another injury in a
1-4 defeat at Barnsley on the opening day of 1960-61. He recovered
sufficiently to play a few reserve games but on the Saturday before
Christmas against QPR reserves at Highfield Road his knee went again.
By January 1961 a Harley Street specialist was adamant that Lol,
despite his desire to carry on, would suffer irreparable damage if he
continued playing. His son Neil told me that the decision left his
Dad heartbroken: 'he was devastated at the time, he had a wife and
three children to support and was used to living in a house supplied
by the club. He had no trade and had to find a home. It taught him a
massive lesson and when as a young teenager I was offered schoolboy
terms by City he refused to let me do it. He told me that I needed a
trade because football was such a precarious career and that if I was
good enough then I would be good enough to go to football when my
apprenticeship was over. I didn't appreciate it at the time but
certainly do now.'
I
spoke to Dietmar Bruck who was an apprentice at the club in the early
1960s and his memory is of the card school in the player's lounge
after training each day. Lol, Frank Austin, Peter Hill and Reg
Matthews (who, although playing for Chelsea by then, was still
training with City during the week) would have their lunch then
settle down for an afternoon of cards. Another
former player Mick Kearns was sad to hear of Lol's passing:
'he was a lovely man who always had a smile on his face and will be
sorely missed by all who knew him. His cruciate ligament injury would
have ended most player's careers but he fought his way back but sadly
was never quite the same player'.
Manager
Billy Frith persuaded him to stay at the club assisting Paddy Ryan
with the Bantam Fighting Fund pools set-up. In early 1962 Lol decided
to leave the club and he joined Haddon and Abbotts, a small local
engineering company, and later he moved to Massey Ferguson where he
spent 32 happy years alongside other ex-City mates like Alf Wood,
Brian Nicholas and Ron Farmer. He loved Coventry and stayed in the
city after retirement.
Since
the Former Players Association was formed in 2007 I've got to know
Lol and his family, wife Janet and son Neil well and he was an active
participant in the association, assiduously attending home games at
the Ricoh as well as Legends Days every year up until 2018 when his
health started to fail. I remember him meeting up with former City
man Ronnie 'Polly' Waldock at a Legends Day. The two, who both hailed
from Heanor, had not seen each other for over 60 years and it was an
emotional reunion. At
home games the popular Lol could normally be found sitting with his
good friend Brian Nicholas, ironically the man Billy Frith signed to
replace him, as they discussed and argued about the pros and cons of
the modern game and reminisced about the old days. Often they would
be interrupted by autograph hunters but Lol always took time to sign
and have a few words with the fans. Neil again: 'Dad loved Coventry
City from the day he arrived as a 15-year-old until the day he died.
There were only ever two things in his life: Coventry City and his
family'.
Lol (left) at Legends Day 2013 with Ronnie 'Polly' Waldock & their sons
Like
many ex-footballers Lol was struck down with dementia and just over a
year ago he moved into Brandon Care Home where he passed away
peacefully in his sleep last Saturday morning. With the current
social distancing rules only his very close family will be able to
attend the funeral but Neil is planning a celebration of Lol's life
when things hopefully return to some normality and I am sure this
will be attended by his many friends from inside and outside the
football world.
RIP
Lol.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment