Matchday Memories: On this Historic Day 1965 – See CCTV Beam CCFC’s Cardiff Win To Cov’s H.R.

JH, Sky Blue legend

On this day (6th October) in 1965 the Sky Blues, under iconic manager Jimmy Hill, were a couple of months and ten games into the 1965-66 Division Two season which eventually would see them just miss out on promotion to the ‘promised land’. They eventually finished third after giving it a good go (and set the foundations for promotion success to the top division for the first time in the club’s history the following season).

The Sky Blues performances at home were particularly pleasing but today’s away match at Ninian Park, home of Cardiff City made history since yet another JH innovation allowed the game to be beamed back to giant screens on the pitch at Highfield Road. JH had seen this tried in Canadian Ice Hockey as the Toronto Maple Leafs often relayed their games in the USA back home.

The Cardiff programme

There were 12,639 in Ninian Park, but 12,000 tickets had also been sold for Highfield Road for the first ever CCTV broadcast of a UK football game on the big screens. The 10,295 Coventry crowd watched enthralled as the game unfolded on, by today’s standards, a very flickery, blurry, black and white image as they peered through a particularly murky Coventry evening mist. The company involved, Viewsport, who had done ‘beamback’ for boxing matches in the UK, were two months away from being able to broadcast in colour apparently. The programme (above right) also advertised another so-called ‘JH gimmick‘, the Sky Blue Express.

George in the Sky Blue

However, the result made it an occasion to remember as the Sky Blues ran out 2-1 winners in Wales, made all the more surreal since the Sky Blues were wearing red and white striped shirts (borrowed from Stoke City) so their kit would show up as a clear contrast to the Bluebirds on the black and white broadcast!

Ronnie in full flight

The Sky Blue ‘iron man’ captain (whom we have lost from the game all too recently) George Curtis scored the Sky Blues goal seconds before the half-time break and nippy Welsh winger (the late) Ronnie Rees grabbed the second, and winner, three minutes from time. Gareth Williams got the Bluebirds’ second half equalising goal.

The match commentators for the broadcast were City Director and seasoned broadcaster John Camkin (co-author with JH of the Sky Blue Song), Charles Harrold and Irish International Danny Blanchflower.

Thanks to former CCFPA committee member Dean Nelson you can watch some contemporary ITV coverage of this historic occasion by clicking on the image below:-

and some vox pops can be found here:-

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-football-match-on-large-screens-1965-online

Jimmy Hill’s men that day lined up:-

Bob Wesson*, Mick Kearns, Allan Harris*, Ron Farmer*, George Curtis*, Brian Hill*, Ron Rees*, Bobby Gould, George Hudson*, Ernie Machin* and John Mitten Unused Substitutes:– Dietmar Bruck & Dave Clements

We are pleased that all members of this team later went on to join CCFPA though eight of them (*) have sadly since passed away.

Jimmy Scoular‘s Cardiff team comprised:-

Dilwyn John, Peter Rodrigues, Colin Baker, Graham Coldrick (sub. David Summerhayes), Don Murray, Barry Hole, George Johnson, Peter King, Gareth Williams, Terry Harkin and Bernard Lewis. The substitute was David Summerhayes, not the Welsh footballing collossus John Charles (as the programme said)!  Referee:- E.D.Wallace

CCFC 1965-66 (August)

a commemorative ashtray of the game

The Sky Blues repeated the ‘beam back’ experiment again at the end of April in their match at the Valley against Charlton Athletic but the team lost 2-0 in this game. They also did the ‘double’ over the Welsh club this season beating them 3-1 at Highfield Road at the end of March thanks to goals from Ernie Machin, Peter Denton and a penalty from Ronnie Farmer (all later CCFPA members though all are sadly now deceased).

By the end of the season Southampton pipped the City by a point for second place in Division Two and runners up to Manchester City with both promoted. The Sky Blues would have to wait just one more season before they made ‘the promised land’ of the top flight.

Middlesbrough and bottom club Leyton Orient were relegated. Cardiff City finished twentieth poised just above the trap door!

Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images.