Two Rooms And A View: 82 – An Amazingly Naive Society
…Refereeing in those days was a pleasure. Most teenage players respected authority, played to the whistle and didn't use foul language, especially within hearing distance of the referee. There were few cautions and sending a player off was extremely rare.
In many ways, society was amazingly naive compared to the present day. I remember the local Referees’ Association recommending that if I sent a player off for using foul or obscene language, I must not repeat the actual words uttered in my report to the Durham Football Association. They suggested that if the player said, "F. . . off,” I should describe the offending word as perhaps, “An old Anglo-Saxon four-letter word beginning with F!” How things change…
Robert Owen recalls his days as a football referee in more innocent times.
To read earlier chapters of Robert’s autobiography please click on Two Rooms And A View in the menu on this page.
Winston Taylor was secretary of this league from 1941 to 1991 and the joy of playing football in an organised league for thousands of youngsters was made possible only by his fifty years’ dedication to youth football on South Tyneside.
In his obituary in the Shields Gazette on 4th May, 1994, it was stated that one of the highlights of this time was in 1957, when he travelled to Wembley to see two former players from the J.O.C. League, John Dixon (Aston Villa) and Ray Wood (Manchester United), face each other in the F.A. Cup final.
Winston would be disappointed to hear that recently, due to falling numbers, the league has had to merge with another local junior league. However, John Diamond, the league's historian, ensures that records and memories of the important local junior league will not be allowed to disappear.
Refereeing in those days was a pleasure. Most teenage players respected authority, played to the whistle and didn't use foul language, especially within hearing distance of the referee. There were few cautions and sending a player off was extremely rare.
In many ways, society was amazingly naive compared to the present day. I remember the local Referees’ Association recommending that if I sent a player off for using foul or obscene language, I must not repeat the actual words uttered in my report to the Durham Football Association. They suggested that if the player said,
"F. . . off,” I should describe the offending word as perhaps, “An old Anglo-Saxon four-letter word beginning with F!” How things change.
During the summer of 1954 when Roger Bannister was the first ever person to run a mile in less than four minutes, I humbly applied to referee in the prestigious Houghton and District Junior League during the coming season. I was accepted and enjoyed the first class grounds and changing accommodation of the many collieries who had teams in the Wearside League. It was worth the extra travelling.
However, not all games were without incident. On one occasion, a vicar challenged my parentage. It was in the Durham Junior Cup, when a junior team from a church in Sunderland was entertaining another local club team. The vicar was standing in for the junior team manager and he had no comprehension of the basic requirements of the game. The pitch was unmarked, had no corner flags and he had no team sheets for me to sign. When I explained that I would have to report this to the Durham F.A., he was furious and used language that belied his profession. It meant another paragraph on the report!
The highlight of my career as a junior referee was perhaps when I was appointed to officiate in the cup final of the Houghton and District Junior League in 1956. This was played at the Riverside Park at Chester-le-Street, not far from where we used to live at Fence Houses. It was the first time I had officiated in a match with two linesmen and in front of such a large crowd. Fortunately, the game went well and I successfully applied for my senior referee's certificate at the end of the season.
Acting as linesman at higher grade and cup competitions, was an essential part of any young referee's career. My C.V. as a linesman included assisting at a Newcastle United (under 18) game at Hunters' Moor, when one of the home team was Ken Wimshurst , a former Stanhope Road School lad. Ken went on to have a useful career with several football league clubs.
In later years I got good experience 'running a line' to Jarrow Football League referee Bill Downey, when Gateshead (then in Division 3) played Berwick Rangers in a pre-season friendly.
Like many organisations, promotion in the refereeing world during the 1950's, depended on who you knew as well as ability on the football field. Therefore, when the Referees’ Association found out I went to the same church as the town's only football league referee, Stewart Blenkinsop, they thought I was 'made'. They recommended I ask him to use his influence to get me a push up the referee ladder. When I refused and said, "Any promotion I get will be based on my ability and not on who I know," they were amazed.
I continued to enjoy refereeing for many years until April 1960 when I finally shot myself in the foot with regard to the Referees' Association and any chances of promotion. They invited me to act as linesman to the F.A. Cup Final referee of that year — Keith Howley of Middlesborough. He had agreed to officiate at a testimonial match at Simonside Hall for South Shields long serving players, Baden Powell and Bobby Owen (no relation). The game was marketed as an International XI v South Shields XI. Several football league players were involved and a large crowd was expected.
The date, however, clashed with an important annual Boys' Brigade event, which I certainly could not miss. The local Referees' Association was not impressed and told me to 'sort out my priorities.'
