Bill Marshall recalls the Press' sporting headlines during this week...

80 YEARS AGO

FIXTURE backlogs are nothing new, of course, but spare a thought for Yorkshire League club Bridlington Town, who not only had to play two matches in a day but six matches in eight days to complete their fixtures.

The 14-hour day that faced them for their 'double-header' involved games against Huddersfield at Heckmondwike and at Selby Town, and nine players were due to feature in both contests.

The itinerary was: 10.30am leave Bridlington; 3pm play Huddersfield at Heckmondwike; 5pm take taxis to the railway station; 6.30pm arrive at Selby for 7pm kick-off; 12.30am arrive back at Bridlington.

Meanwhile, York City ended Tranmere Rovers' promotion hopes by defeating them 2-0 at Bootham Crescent, but the main talking point was the intervention of a football-loving terrier, which ran onto the pitch and prevented Duncan Lindsay from shooting at goal and possibly making it 3-0, Ted Wass ending the interlude by picking up the dog and handing it to York manager Jock Collier.

Albert Banfield and Ted Hathway scored the goals, and Lindsay then bagged a brace as they drew 2-2 at home to Gateshead, who had led twice.

Visiting keeper Goodfellow was three times busier than York custodian George Wilson but the match still ended in a stalemate in front of only 2,000, many of whom stayed away to listen to the FA Cup final between Arsenal and Sheffield United.

It was the first time that the BBC had experimented with sports commentators, while a media ban by Wembley bosses caused reporters to fly above the stadium in autogyros to see the match! Arsenal won 1-0 via a 74th-minute Ted Drake goal.

York City Rugby League won 9-2 at St Helens Recs thanks to a try by Rees and three goals by Dingsdale.

50 YEARS AGO

IN A week when the Moors Murders trial was dominating the front pages, cash-strapped York Rugby League Club, in a decision which some found controversial, opted not to install floodlights.

Meanwhile, superior teamwork and better handling carried them to a 7-2 home win over Salford.

Rippon scored a 70-yard try, Eric Payne adding three goals, but they followed that with a 21-0 defeat at Hull KR in their last away match of the season, which wasn't a bad outcome considering they were defending for 70 minutes.

Former Minsterman Eamonn Dunphy scored for Third Division leaders Millwall in their 2-0 home victory over York, John Hawksby, Harry Fallon, Barry Jackson and Gerrard Baker doing best for the visitors.

However, their attacking limitations were shown up in a 1-1 draw at home to Peterborough United, David Dunmore getting the goal on an afternoon when winger George Hamstead was particularly off-key.

York schoolgirl Anne Barner broke the British and English records for the women's 100 yards butterfly while swimming for Yorkshire against Northumberland and Durham at Darlington.

20 YEARS AGO

ONE of football's low points of the decade occurred at the Goldstone Ground, where Brighton's match against York City was abandoned after 16 minutes due to a pitch invasion.

The Seagulls fans were protesting about their board, but it all got rather ugly, with both crossbars being smashed, missiles being hurled into the main stand, dug outs being jumped upon, the players' tunnel being ripped and, worst of all, a large wooden stake being launched into the paddock, hitting a woman spectator, who needed help from the St John's Ambulance Brigade before being taken to hospital.

Five people were arrested and three others injured, and the match followed City's 2-0 defeat at fellow strugglers Carlisle United that was described by our man Tony Kelly as "weak, wayward and witless".

York still needed three points from their last three matches to secure safety.

On the rugby league front, York fared no better, losing 48-18 at Hunslet Hawks, despite being only 24-18 behind with almost 20 minutes left when Hawks centre Mick Coyle was sent off for a high tackle on his opposite number Damian Ball.

York trailed 20-6 early in the second half, Chris Hopcutt having scored for them in the first half, and Mark Cain and Jason Laurence crossed in the second half, but they couldn't make headway against 12 men, shipping 24 straight points.

The Press' man Dave Fletcher said: "They stopped tackling, stopped thinking and made several crucial errors which allowed the home side to run away with the game".

Former England rugby union manager Geoff Cooke was a spectator at last Saturday's Yorkshire Division One clash between Bradford & Bingley and Malton & Norton at Wagon Lane, which the Bees won 23-8, but in 1996 he had just opened Malton & Norton's new £530,000 ground at The Gannock.

Former Scotland and British & Irish Lion John Jeffrey was the star name in the Invitation XV that won 53-52 against a Malton & Norton first XV.