2:07pm Wednesday 25th November 2009
By Sam Morshead
THIS week we count down Town’s top five one hit wonders.
For the purpose of this list, a one hit wonder is a player who represented the club for just a single game.
Although many individuals have pulled on the red shirt for just one match, it is those whose truncated careers at the County Ground bring with them a level of intrigue or peculiarity who grace our top five.
Every club’s history includes interesting episodes, tiny gambits of absurdity that get swallowed up by the legends and idols which frequently dominate these countdowns.
This is a chance to look back over some of the stories that are so well hidden from Town’s past.
Let us know what you think below and make suggestions for next week’s topic: Swindon Town’s Top Five.
This week’s honourable mentions go to: Andy Lonergan, George Ephgrave, Lance Carr and Arnold Broadhead.
5. There is only one reason why Ronald McDonald makes the top five, and it does not need explaining.
McDonald, a Scot, played at left-back against Bournemouth and Biscombe in 1934. Town were considered a laughing stock after their 3-0 defeat to the Division Three minnows and McDonald never lined up for the club again.
There were rumours in the ensuing years that he went into the catering industry, but they remain unproven.
4. Mark Hughes is amongst Swindon Town’s youngest ever players. But the midfielder’s first youthful appearance was his only foray in Town colours.
Hughes, a wide-eyed, enthusiastic 17-year-old, came on as a substitute in the 0-0 draw with Northampton Town at the County Ground in March 1984.
In that moment he became the second youngest player ever to turn out for the Robins – only coming in behind Paul Rideout.
But Hughes did not find a place in the side easy to come by. His manager, Ken Beamish, did not involve him for the remainder of the campaign and the youngster spent two more years on the sidelines, before switching to Gloucester City after his contract expired.
3. Neil Harris Snr moved from Swansea to take over from the departing Ted Vizard as manager at the County Ground in 1939.
At 45 years of age, Harris had built himself an illustrious career which included running out for Newcastle United and Rangers.
A powerful, bustling centre-forward, the Scot scored the opening goal of the 1923/24 FA Cup Final for the Magpies – one of 87 strikes in 174 games in the North East.
Running to form, the bulky goalscorer also claimed one solitary cap for his country in 1924 in a 1-1 draw with England at Wembley.
Harris’ time in Wiltshire was somewhat uncomfortable. He put pen to paper in June 1939 on a one year deal with the Robins but, two months in, World War Two erupted and the contract was extended until March 1941.
Taking control of a wartime side was a difficult prospect for any manager and Harris was forced to call upon the services of several guest representatives (including his son, Neil Harris Jnr, who played under the pseudonym of Smith to avoid detection by his own club’s authorities).
With military call-ups in the immediate lead-ups to games more frequent than not, Harris was bound to find himself short-changed on the playing front at some point during his tenure.
That moment came in a match against Bristol City when Harris was left short of numbers with kick-off looming. He chose the most obvious resolution, borrowed a pair of boots two sizes too small for him and lost two toenails as he played a part in his side’s 5-2 defeat.
It was the 45-year-old’s only Town appearance – unmemorable on many levels – and the striker’s last of his career.
He was released from his contract by the club at the end of the season when it was decided that it was impossible to function during wartime. Harris was intending to return at the conclusion of the conflict but tragically died, aged only 47, in 1941.
2. Freddie Cox was one of those players who guested for Harris in 1939. A tricky and talented winger with a turn of pace and magnetic feet, Cox represented some of the best and most respected clubs of the period after his lone showing for the Robins.
The wide man was just 19 when he took to the County Ground turf but, from that moment on, he grew in character and ability.
Having served as a fighter pilot in the RAF during the Second World War (where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross), Cox returned to his native Spurs in 1945.
He spent three more years at White Hart Lane before moving on to arch-rivals Arsenal for £12,000 – a significant sum - in 1949.
He was instrumental in the Gunners’ progress towards claiming the FA Cup that year, scoring the semi-final winner against Chelsea and laying on Reg Lewis’s winner against Liverpool in the final.
Two years later Cox grabbed another semi-final winner, again against Chelsea, although Arsenal lost the final 1-0 to Newcastle.
The diminutive winger faced serious competition from Ian MacPherson for his spot in the starting eleven at Highbury, however, and it soon became obvious that he was facing a struggle to fit into the Gunners’ systems.
After 94 appearances and 16 goals for the club he left in 1953 to become assistant manager at West Brom. He was just 33.
After three years in the Black County Cox decided to pursue his own managerial interests and took over the reigns at Bournemouth, where he oversaw a mammoth shock as the Cherries toppled his first club Spurs in the 1956-57 FA Cup.
His reputation preceded him as he switched along the south coast to Portsmouth in 1958.
But Cox was ill-suited to the position and faced the sack within 12 months of his tenure.
Despite earning another promotion with new club Gillingham in 1962, further managerial disappointment followed when he returned to Bournemouth. After witnessing his side get relegated from the Third Division in 1970, Cox was fired and never returned to football.
A terrific winger, a decent manager and a man who fought for his country to distinction, Cox died in 1972 at the age of 52.
1. The name Danny Blanchflower is not synonymous with Swindon.
The defender played at the highest level throughout much of his career. But, in 1945, he guested for the Robins and the County Ground, for one 90-minute session, was able to witness a national legend represent the club.
Born in Belfast in 1926, Blachflower would go on to earn 47 international caps for Northern Ireland, captain his club, Spurs, and develop a good reputation as a journalist.
Tactically astute and the lucky possessor of an authoritative yet inspirational air, Blanchflower was recognised as the greatest Tottenham Hotspur player of all time by The Times earlier this year.
Having made his solitary Town appearance at just 20 years of age, Blanchflower moved to Aston Villa from Barnsley in 1951 for £15,000.
Three years later he was transferred to London where a love affair of in excess of 300 games began.
Whilst at Tottenham, Blanchflower was nominated as English Footballer of the Year twice, in 1958 and 1961. But he remained private, slightly introverted. He turned down the opportunity to be part of the TV show ‘This is Your Life’ in 1961.
After his retirement from the game, Blanchflower was intent on involving himself with the media - he had commentated on matches from as early as 1956.
A spell in announcing in the United States was abrupt due to Blanchflower’s resounding and public condemnations of the failures of the American game, but the Irishman returned to Yorkshire in 1968 to become a part of Yorkshire Television’s matchday team.
For a man so in tune with the intellectual side of football, Blanchflower did not deserve the nature of his final months The legend developed Alzheimers and died at home in 1993, aged 67. It was a terribly sad end to the life of a true great.
The FA acknowledged his involvement and contribution to the game when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.
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