Jim's column 13-6-2020

Last week I covered some of the eight instances of Coventry City league games being abandoned since World War Two and promised to complete the story this week.

During the Jimmy Hill era (1961-67) there was only one abandonment of a City game, in December 1962 against Colchester United. The game, on the last Saturday before Christmas, had been earmarked for the launch of the new club song and was the home debut of new signing Ken Hale. It was a pretty murky afternoon when the game kicked off in front of a lowish crowd of 11,803, reduced because of the weather and Christmas shopping. City took a little time to settle on the 'gluey' surface but after 25 minutes nippy winger Willie Humphries was scythed down, twice in 10 seconds and Ron Farmer slotted home the penalty. Despite the floodlights having been on from the start the fog got worse after this and when Hale scored the second on 37 minutes very few in the press box saw the build up to the goal. The ball emerged from the fog and there was Hale to volley past the Colchester 'keeper.

The referee and linesmen came out after the half-time break to test visibility with playing strips held up on each touchline but after waiting for fifteen minutes to see if the fog would lift the ref abandoned proceedings at 4.30. Whilst the fans were waiting for the referee's decision chairman Derrick Robins invited the fans to sing the new Sky Blue Song, the words of which were printed in the programme, and Jimmy Hill conducted the singing from the touchline in front of the main stand. A week later City drew 3-3 at home with Peterborough and that would be their last game for almost two months because of the 'big freeze'. The Colchester game was finally replayed on 26th February and City again took a two-goal lead but were pegged back to 2-2.

It was almost ten years before the next abandonment – a home game with Sheffield United on Saturday 4th March 1972. Heavy rain during the morning had left the pitch saturated and a treacherous playing surface. The Blades adapted far better to the conditions and Alan Woodward scored after 14 minutes before Jeff Blockley headed into his own net before half-time. The rain turned to sleet at half-time and then snow and the conditions became farcical. After 62 minutes with a blizzard raging referee Peter Walters called a halt much to the annoyance of the Sheffield players and management. The crowd, which doesn't appear in the official records was 16,408, the second lowest since the club had reached the First Division five years earlier. The Sky Blues had lost to Second Division Hull City in their previous home game and the performance against Sheffield probably hastened the departure of manager Noel Cantwell. Eight days after the abandoned game, and a day after another defeat, at Leeds, Cantwell was sacked. When the game was replayed chief scout Bob Dennison was caretaker manager and City won 3-2.

Eight months later City travelled to Ipswich under new management with Joe Mercer and Gordon Milne at the reins. The double signing of Colin Stein and Tommy Hutchison had kick started the Sky Blues season and inspired a seven-game unbeaten run with some exciting adventurous football. Ipswich, under Bobby Robson, were fifth in the table, and a tough game was expected at Portman Road. City put on a dazzling display and Hutch ran England full-back Mick Mills ragged. From one of his crosses Stein rattled the post then from another, after 24 minutes, the Scots striker netted with a diving header to give City a deserved lead. Three minutes before half-time there was a partial failure of the floodlights and the half-time break was extended to 20 minutes to try and resolve the issue. The second half got under way under reduced lights and Hutchison looked certain to make it 2-0 but Hunter managed to clear the danger. After 61 minutes referee Pat Partridge called the teams off and the lights went out totally as electricians tried to solve the issue. After a further 15 minutes a loudspeaker announcement was made saying that the game had been abandoned because the electricians couldn't quickly repair things. Joe Mercer summed things up after the game: 'The way we were playing, it was only the floodlights that were going to beat us'.

The game was replayed ten days later and City were affected when they lost Roy Barry with a hip injury after half an hour with the score at 0-0. Alan Dugdale substituted and City held out till just before half-time when David Johnson scored. Trevor Whymark scored a second after half-time and City's eight game unbeaten run was ended.

As I said last week, it was 35 years until the Sky Blues' next abandoned game, at Hillsborough in 2007. There was another post-war abandoned game and that was a supposed friendly against Argentinian side San Lorenzo at Highfield Road in January 1956. I have written about this game extensively in the past but briefly the story is as follows.

San Lorenzo, four times Argentine champions were on a tour of the UK. The game was approaching half-time when the trouble started. Ken McPherson had given City the lead after half an hour, only for Guttierez, San Lorenzo's left winger, to equalise a minute later.

Just before half-time City's Dennis Uphill hit a post and, with the goalkeeper out of position, he was about to score when he was pushed off the ball by two San Lorenzo defenders. Ellis immediately awarded Coventry a penalty, which the whole San Lorenzo team disputed. Sanfilippo, the inside left, went further and kicked Ellis in a temperamental outburst. Ellis ordered him off and there followed five minutes of mayhem.

According to the Coventry Telegraph's reports of the evening’s events, “police were called on to the pitch to give Ellis protection and Sanfilippo was dragged from the pitch by his team’s reserve players and trainer, kicking and struggling like a wild tiger cat”. Ellis, meanwhile, had walked off the pitch and told officials of both clubs he was abandoning the game as he refused to continue under “impossible conditions”.

“The player kicked at my legs and I collared him, although all the Argentine players mingled in so that I could not get at the offender. I told him to get off but he refused to leave the field,” Ellis said.

After half an hour of appealing to Ellis to continue the game, the City chairman, Erle Shanks, told the crowd of 17,357 the game had ended as Ellis refused to continue and under FA rules a substitute referee was not allowed. The crowd, which previously had been whistling and slow hand-clapping, received the decision well and quickly dispersed from the ground. Sanfilippo went on to be top scorer four seasons running in the Argentine league, won 30 caps for his country, scoring 21 goals and appeared for his country against England in the 1962 World Cup.

The interesting footnote to the story is that the current pope, the Argentinian Francis I has been a very keen fan of San Lorenzo since he was a boy. I would love to have a conversation with him about that January night in Coventry.

Finally this week the Sky Blues were confirmed as champions of League One and next week I will be doing my annual statistical review of the season.