REBUILDING 1952‑1969

By Alan West

There was a certain historical symmetry about Settle, the very first champions in 1893, being the first champions in the new era. The fact that their 2nd XI won the Junior League made it a vintage year for them. They finished six points clear of' Read, helped perhaps a little by the absence of Read's professional Jack Dyson from the Settle match because of Z‑training, which for the younger readers was a calling up of' the army reserve for short spells supplementing the National Service which took two years out of the lives of most 18 year olds at the time. Clitheroe came third after a lean few years, their professional the newly recruited Alan Entwistle who had impressed the previous season as an amateur at Blackburn Northern with 600 runs and 53 wickets. Padiham were only a point behind and could have pipped Clitheroe but for being involved in two ties: at Read where Jack Dyson had 9‑62 and caught the other batsman to make it 130 runs each, and even more excitingly at Clitheroe where the home side chasing Padiham's 181‑7 declared, found themselves with one ball left of the last over and the last man at the wicket. A young Malcolm Blackburn, later to captain Clitheroe and to open their innings, was bowled by Norman Cowpe to make it 2 points each. Whalley for the first time in their long history finished bottom with the 64 year old Ernest Smith still taking his share of the bowling and a new young off‑spinner professional Bill Holt. One less remembered Whalley bowler is A.K. Higham who had the misfortune to concede 29 runs in one over: 4444441 (from Shuttleworth) and 4 (from Etheridge). In the last match of the season at Earby, the Ribblesdale Wanderers sub‑professional Bill Johnson took 10‑35 in 16.1 overs.

SETTLE C.C. ‑ 19‑52 CHAMPIONS

Back Row: R. Moore (Pres.), F.B. Barrell (Treas.), Jack Wainwright (Pro.), Jack Buswell, D.F. Peacock (Chairman)

Ken Newhouse, Philip Robin8on, F. Grey (Secretary), George Brown (Scorer)

Middle Row: Eddie Kirk, Jimmy Lamb, Jack Greenwood (Capt.), Harry Robinson (Harbo), Erie Mitchell

Front Row: James (Punch) Foster & Roy Fairhurst.

At the October AGM numbers were brought up to twelve with the admission of Skipton, who had made a brief appearance in 1920, and Junior League side Baxenden. Their ground had been unused during the war and reverted almost to "moorland" with the buildings becoming dilapidated but the ground had been bought, a tremendous amount of work had been done to restore facilities, there was ambition and the team had been consistently successful in the Junior League. They were voted in by 8 votes to 2 for a two‑year probationary period and they have been members ever since. Within nine years they had won the championship. Skipton's 2nd XI replaced Lower Darwen in the Junior League. There was talk of reviving the Ramsbottom Cup now that the league was reduced in membership, though in the event nothing happened for the 1953 season.

There was another double in 1953. Clitheroe won the senior title for the first time since 1907, thanks largely to the bowling of professional Alan Entwistle and Maurice Pike. And the 2nd XI won the junior title in a play‑off against Read.

Clitheroe took the title again in 1954 clinching it with victory in the last match of the season over

the old rivals Whalley who finished joint runners‑up with Settle. Ted Hodgkinson, the Clitheroe skipper, later to become President of' the League, put Whalley in to bat. They were all out 78 (Alan Entwistle 6‑42, Maurice Pike 4‑29 still the bowling force) and Clitheroe just made it with a wicket to spare. It is amazing to see the huge debate which ensued about the decision to field first when in recent years before overs cricket was introduced in 1991; it was practically automatic for captains to insert the opposition. Letters were published in the local paper about the matter including eventually a lengthy one from Ted Hodgkinson himself which masterfully put his case. Whalley's rise up the table had not a little to do with professional Bill Holt who in his third season had no fewer than five hat tricks, one of them in a spell of' 8‑2‑18‑9 (the first 9 wickets to fall). And Eddie Paynter, who had played for Barrow 28 years earlier, appeared for Blackburn Northern at Whalley, causing great interest.

For 1955 it was back to the six‑ball over after 17 years. The President himself suggested it,

EARBY C.C. ‑ 1955 CHAMPIONS

Back Row: Harry Marsh (selector), Stanley Taylor, Jack Cross, Clifford Reid, Geoff Habill, David Cartwright,

Tom Driver, John Rishworth (Chairman)

Front Row: Walter Hogg, Leonard Duxbury, Bill Brown (Cp.), Jack Hudson (Pro.), Donald Moore, Keith Crabtree (scorer).

mostly to protect the younger bowlers who might have a better chance of being introduced for the shorter over. And when the President, by now in his 49th year in office, made suggestions they were usually heeded. Great Harwood had suggested at the autumn AGM that a league executive be formed of one representative from each club, the situation which was to come in a few years later and which still pertains today, but it was defeated in favour of the old system of a three‑man executive from Whalley, Clitheroe and Ribblesdale Wanderers which met whenever it seemed necessary. The present system finally came in 1958. Earby were easy winners of the title in 1955, becoming only the third team after Barrow (1923) and Blackpool (1933) to go through the season without losing a match. 14 wins and 8 draws gave them an 11 point lead over runners‑up, Barnoldswick. the old rivals.

1956 was a much closer contest. With four matches left, Clitheroe, Barnoldswick and Baxenden were level at the top with Settle one point behind. After two complete washouts there were only two Saturdays to sort matters out. Only Barnoldswick of the three front runners could win both matches and took their first title for 60 years. The other two faltered, leaving Settle to finish runners up. Baxenden with such high hopes in only their fourth season in the Senior League had to be content with fourth spot behind Clitheroe who just scraped in with a last ball win on the last day of the season against Read. It was Read who had helped foil Baxenden with 6‑9 for Jack Dyson, still the popular professional. The best individual match figures of the season went to Colin Hilton, the Ribblesdale Wanderers professional and later Lancashire opening bowler: 8‑11 in a Padiham all‑out total of 28.

The AGM of October 1956 marked the end of an era as J.H. Ramsbottom retired as President after 50 years in office to be made President Emeritus. Sadly he had only 18 months to enjoy the case of pipes with which he was presented, before dying in May 1957. His successor was Frank Dugdale, who had loyally served as League Secretary for 34 years and who was to have only 31/2 years in office before dying in June 1959.

1957 provided an even closer finish than the year before, Earby and Read finishing equal and sharing the title when the play‑off was a victim of the weather. The drama all came in the last day of the season when Read with a four point lead needing only to draw with Settle to take the title (for this season the four point win had been introduced to encourage yet again more positive cricket). Foolishly they opted to play for the draw and were all out for 73, losing by 3 wickets. Earby meanwhile had beaten Great Harwood by the convincing margin of 125 runs, declaring at 183‑7 and dismissing the opposition for 58 (Duxbury 5‑17). Earlier in the season Great Harwood who finished in the bottom four for the third season in four had been dismissed for an even lower total of 28 in a cliff‑hanger at Clitheroe when chasing only 31 for victory. Jim Brierley in his last year as Great Harwood professional before moving on to Read had taken 8‑21 in Clitheroe's 30 all out but could only watch the Clitheroe stalwarts Alan Entwistle (613) and Maurice Pike (3‑12) see their side narrowly home. But the lowest total of the season was the third lowest in the league's history: Padiham all out for 8 against Baxenden.

No close finish in 1958, Clitheroe taking their third post‑war title with a match to spare and an eventual 8‑point lead over Barnoldswick. But it was back to a last match decider again in 1959 in a three‑team race. Earby stayed one point ahead of Clitheroe by beating Read, who finished third, whilst Clitheroe made sure of runners‑up spot by beating Settle. By now it was back to the eight ball over but a proposal to introduce a bonus point for higher run rate had failed. 1959 had seen the league reduced again to eleven teams with the withdrawal of Skipton. An application from Rolls Royce to replace them had been narrowly defeated but succeeded at the AGM in October 1959 when they were admitted for a two‑year trial period. That meeting also began a new era in the league's history with the election as President of Mr. Ted Hodgkinson of Clitheroe, a position he was to hold with distinction for 25 years. The suggestion on the death of Frank Dugdale a few months earlier had been that Colonel Leonard Green be offered the post with Mr. Frank Hudson of Ribblesdale Wanderers appointed as a working Chairman but with the unanimous election of Ted Hodgkinson the tradition of an active working President was maintained.

Another trial instituted at the 1959 AGM which was to prove a great success was the five over rule, whereby the second innings could be continued for a further five overs beyond the normal finishing time (then 7.30 p.m.) if either side had a chance of victory (25 runs to score or 2 wickets to get). It lasted until the advent of the higher run rate system brought in in 1979 and still brings back fond memories for many former players who look back to the days of time cricket. Padiham won their first title for 48 years in 1960 with Ross Haworth as professional and Jack Horan claiming 130 wickets between them and Alec Stirling, who stood in for Jack Dutton as captain for part of the season, contributing 502 runs. It was Read's turn again in 1961 with Tommy Lowe now professional and Clitheroe only 2 points behind. And 1962 was Baxenden's year, a first championship in their tenth season in the Senior League. The professional was a 19 year old in his first professional engagement Jack Simmons ‑ and the captain was the legendary Tom Barnes. Clitheroe were runners-up again, jointly with their great rivals

Ribblesdale Wanderers, but could have pipped Baxenden but for a narrow defeat at the hands of lowly Rolls Royce on the last day of the season. All looked well when Billy Slinger's 7‑32 put Rolls Royce out for 10 1 after they had been 87‑3 at one stage. But Clitheroe could only manage 94 in reply, the last five wickets falling for 10 runs. Alan Entwistle top scored with 37 and the bowling heroes were R. Riley 5‑49 and J. Heap 5‑41. Earby in the middle of a lean spell for them nevertheless produced the all‑round performance of the season, or indeed of any season. Mike Chapple, later to be a professional and still going strong now as an amateur back at Earby, gave notice of his abilities with 105 in an Earby total of 217‑8 coming in at number 8 and smiting 7 sixes and 10 fours, the century coming Lip in 40 minutes, the second 50 taking only 14 minutes. And then in Whalley's all out 76 he took 5‑33 in 7 overs.

Ribblesdale Wanderers, after being in the top four in the table for all but two of the previous nine seasons, finally made it to the top in 1963 their second title after a gap of 43 years.              

BAXENDEN C. C. ‑ 1962 CHAMPIONS

Back Row: G.D. Lund(Sc), RX. Savage, D. Pilkington, J. Horabin, J. Ashworth, J. Simmons (Pro.), R. Power,

L. Pilkington

Front Row: A.D. Lund, J.R. Duckworth, T. Barnes, M. Suthers (Capt.), B. Fenwick, R. Warburton

Ten wins and a draw in their last eleven games left them a massive 13 points clear of their nearest rivals Clitheroe who for a third successive season were runners‑up. The battle for second place went to the final match with Clitheroe and Read both winning by one wicket which left Read one point behind Clitheroe in third place. Clitheroe beat Earby despite a typical 58 from Mike Chapple which included five sixes. Rupert Jackman the new West Indian professional at Read had 7‑47 in Baxenden's all out 124 but it took 27 not out from Ivan Wilkinson, batting at number 10, to see Read home.

It was Read back at the top in 1964 after a play‑off with Earby which turned out to be Richard Goodway's match. Having won the all-rounders' competition at Chatburn Road earlier in the season, he proved the point under match conditions with 5‑19 and two catches in Earby's all out 101 followed by 45 not out in Read's 103­5. He continues to give loyal service to this day. Earby's final tally of 50 points included one from the fixture at Settle which was never played. When Earby explained at the league meeting in August that they had been unable to fulfil the fixture because of the flooding of all roads out of Earby they were first of all excused a fine but awarded no points. An amendment proposed by their old rivals Barnoldswick won the day and they were awarded one point for a draw which turned out to be very important. No doubt Earby would argue that but for the floods they would have beaten Settle who that season finished bottom club (for only the second time in their history). Great Harwood had their best season since returning to the league during the war, finishing third only two points behind the leaders. A young Eddie Robinson, now the Accrington team manager in the Lancashire League, flighted his leg breaks to good effect claiming 6‑3 against Blackburn Northern. The best bowling performance of the season, though, was 9‑12 against the eventual champions by the new Padiham professional John Roberts, who was to spearhead their title challenge two years later.

1965 saw another new name on the championship trophy as Blackburn Northern began a golden spell which brought them in six seasons a trio of championships (1965, 1968 and 1970) and two Ramsbottom Cup triumphs (1966 and 1968).

It was another nail biting finish. Going into the last weekend, Read were leading with 48 points, Padiham were second with 46 and Blackburn Northern were third with 44 points but with a game in hand. Their match against Whalley earlier in the season had been postponed because of a polio outbreak and was to be played on the Sunday following the last full round of matches. Northern had come 4th in 1962 but otherwise had rarely come in the top half of the table during their 24 seasons in the Senior League. But Read could only draw in the rain, Padiham lost to Baxenden by 6 runs and with Blackburn Northern defying the rain to beat Rolls Royce, a win was required on the Sunday to take the title. Entwistle back at his old club took 6‑33 to engineer a seven wicket win and Terry Ibbotson, the Northern skipper, received the trophy.

The Ramsbottom Cup which began life as an evening knock‑out trophy for the four‑‑‑roadside" clubs in 1922, had had a chequered career, going into abeyance before the Second World War, being revived in 1954 again over evenings, first of all two evenings and then in 1956 down to one evening (21 six‑ball overs each side) and finally being discontinued after the 1959 season. Great Harwood proposed its re‑introduction for the 1965 season as a 30 over per side competition, matches to be played on Sunday, only amateurs to play and the trophy to be played for by the 12 Senior League teams and the four highest‑placed clubs in the Junior League who did not have a team in the Senior League. It is from this re‑start in 1965 that one can really talk of the double of league and cup being achieved. Clitheroe were the first winners of the new‑style Cup.

In 1966 Blackburn Northern beat Baxenden to become the second winners of the Ramsbottom Cup and were runners‑up in the league to Padiham who won their last major trophy so far, Professional John Roberts was again the mainstay equalling Ross Haworth's club record of 77 wickets and the new captain was John Devon.

The close season saw a number of significant changes in the officers of the league. Jonathan Brooks, who had been Treasurer for the past 36 years died in December and was replaced by Mr J.M. Reid of Oswaldtwistle. In the same month Mr. Crawford resigned after ten years as League Secretary and was followed by Mr. J. Ward of Great Harwood. At the Annual General Meeting at Clitheroe Town Hall, the traditional venue for the occasion since 1955, Arthur Shaw was elected the sole Vice‑President, a post he held until he succeeded Ted Hodgkinson as League President in 1984. The previous multiple Vice‑President positions were abolished. A full League Management Committee including representatives of all member clubs was formed and an Umpires Secretary (D. Speak), a Fixtures Secretary (P. Lassey) and a Press Officer (C. Carey‑Chatburn) were appointed. The organisational pattern which still exists today was set.

Earby in 1967 became the first club to achieve the double since the re‑introduction of the Ramsbottom Cup. Ribblesdale Wanderers, the eventual runners‑up in the league, were beaten in the next to last match to settle matters. Malcolm Dennett, who began his career with Ribblesdale Wanderers before going at the age of 20 to be professional at Knytersley, had joined Earby the year before and now formed a match‑winning partnership with the ball with Mike Chapple, as well as providing the runs which he provides to this day back as an amateur with Ribblesdale Wanderers. The skipper was Colin Madden, who had come from Nelson in 1960 to be professional at Earby for three years, returned to Nelson for the season of 1964 and has been serving Earby in every possible capacity since his return in 1965.

The double was achieved again in 1968, this time by Blackburn Northern. They beat Earby for the Cup with 5‑22 in the final for Ronnie Walton who went off to join the professional ranks the following season with Barnoldswick. And Earby were runners‑up too in the league with Settle a distant third. The picture of the double‑winning side shows a youthful Arthur Shaw on the front row and on the back row Peter Jones still purveying his deadly leg breaks and googlies in the Blackburn Northern 1st XI today.

Yet another double was achieved in 1969 for the third successive season, Earby repeating their triumph of two years before, this time under the captaincy of Donald Moore but still with Malcolm Dennett as professional. And the sixties ended with a bowling performance which cheered up a Whalley side which had finished 11th in the table. Jim Rudd took 10‑31 at home against Baxenden, the first time a Whalley player had achieved the feat and the best analysis since Stan Ellis's 10‑26 in 1924.

At the AGM in the autumn, Rolls Royce who had struggled for three seasons moved back into the 1st Division of the Junior League and was replaced by Cherry Tree. Oswaldtwistle Immanuel, who were not going to appoint a professional if elected, lost the vote for the vacant spot by 9‑5. So for the 1970 season the Senior League had the twelve teams which it still has today.