The seven-year glitch: When Leicester City won at West Ham United
In early September 1939, Leicester City won 2-0 at West Ham United with the first goal coming after a mistake from Hammers goalkeeper Harry Medhurst. 24 hours later, war was declared and the result was soon expunged from the records.
Seven years and five days later, the Foxes returned to Upton Park for the third game since Football League action resumed and there was a sense of deja vu about what happened.
On the first weekend of September 1939, Britain was on the verge of war. The football fixture calendar continued, but there were signs even before war was declared that things weren’t quite normal.
The Leicester Evening Mail reported that Leicester had to make an early start by road on the day of their trip to London due to “the situation”:
“City had quite an eventful journey by charabanc to West Ham this morning, completing the journey in just over five and a half hours, including a stoppage for lunch. The crowd was very thin at the start and there was not a great deal of interest.”
The hosts were even more affected by the impending war. The South Essex Mail reported:
“West Ham were doubtful about their team right up to the day of the match, but Medhurst, Macaulay and Wood managed to scrape back from Territorial duty to complete the team which defeated Fulham last week.”
West Ham made an official statement on the morning of the game that said “We shall raise a team somehow”.
This brilliant photo of the game shows British soldiers watching from the Upton Park terraces as Leicester attack down the left wing.
Colin Barr’s poetic report in the Sunday Express was certainly worth a read:
“A game without a heart at Upton Park. But there was plenty of art in it and because Leicester City had the lion’s share they were too much for the Hammers.
Bowers, who had gone to centre forward after twenty minutes, began the goal when he lifted in a long shot from the right and Medhurst let it drop out of his hands. Dewis was waiting a yard off, and he merely walked the ball through without giving the impression he had any say in the matter.
At the eighty-second minute Leicester added another, but it was a dainty afterthought. Septimus Smith gave the lead, Liddle passed smartly to Stubbs and from his dapper centre Griffiths scored easily.”
The Leicester Evening Mail corroborated that report, stating:
“A “gift” goal came Leicester’s way fifteen minutes from the end of the game. A centre by Liddle was dropped by Medhurst and Dewis had little to do, but tap the ball over the line on which he was standing.
A few minutes from the final whistle, the City scored a second goal when Stubbs rounded off a fine run on the left with an accurate pass across goal to the unmarked Griffiths, who made no mistake with his drive.”
The South Essex Mail gave credit to goalkeeper Sandy MacLaren: “From the summing up of the play it can be seen that it was the grand goal-keeping of McLaren that was responsible for the City’s victory.”
Meanwhile, a small section titled ‘Late News’ was added at the last minute before the Leicester Evening Mail went to print:
“Football Association to-day issued the following statement: “In accordance with proclamation by His Majesty’s Government, under Rule 27, of rules of Association, all football under jurisdiction of Football Association is entirely suspended until official notification is given to contrary.”
But football did go on, even if leagues were suspended. With squads suddenly missing so many men called up for service, the interim measure involved lots of guest players.
In June 1940, West Ham won the Wartime Cup - beating Leicester on their way to the final - with captain Charlie Bicknell lifting the cup at Wembley, despite the threat of Luftwaffe bombing in London that night.
The West Ham United website’s history of the Hammers during wartime reads:
“West Ham’s fine 1944/45 campaign was all the more impressive when you consider the team played their first 14 fixtures away from home after the Boleyn Ground was hit by a German V-1 flying bomb in August 1944.
The bomb landed on the south-west corner of the pitch, causing major damage and a fire that destroyed the offices and a number of important records and archives.”
The FA Cup was reinstated for the 1945/46 season but the FA decided to continue without league football for another year. This meant the cup was lengthened with two-legged ties from round one to the quarter-final stage to compensate for the lack of league action.
For the 1946/47 Football League season, anticipation was high. Leicester travelled to Upton Park for the third game of the season.
The West Ham programme read:
“Last Saturday’s attendances throughout the country emphasises the soccer fans flare for real competition. For six long years the Britisher’s love for our grand old game has kept the flag flying, but there has throughout that period been something missing. Even the institution of a two-legged FA Cup competition last season failed to wholly appease with a dead-end League still operating.
With the restoration of promotion and relegation has come the full appreciation that we are back where we were in 1939, so far as competition is concerned, but one mustn’t forget that in the interim, circumstances, over which clubs have had no control, have wrought havoc with team work, and, therefore, those who anticipate queer results should, for a time at least, not be disappointed.
To our visitors today we extend a cordial welcome. Like ours, their opening has not been too auspicious, but, “horses for courses”. Leicester are generally at the best at Upton Park. We therefore look forward to good entertainment.”
It also contained a stark warning:
“Boys are sitting on the fence which surrounds the playing field, thereby seriously impairing the view of patrons immediately to their rear. Police officials and stewards have instructions regarding the stoppage of this practice, which they will rigidly enforce.”
Leicester had conceded a total of seven goals without reply across the first two games of the 1946/47 season, following up an opening day 3-0 defeat at home to Manchester City with a 4-0 defeat at Birmingham City.
The 1939 team had been: McLaren, Reeday, Jones, Coutts, Sep Smith, Sharman, Griffiths, Bowers, Liddle, Stubbs, Dewis
Seven years later, the Leicester side taking on West Ham was: Calvert, Jones, Howe, Eric Smith, Eggleston, Harrison, King, Griffiths, Dewis, Anderson, Revie
There were three players who featured in both Leicester lineups: the Welsh internationals Dai Jones and Mal Griffiths, and Leicestershire’s own George Dewis.
West Ham fielded five players in both 1939 and 1946: goalkeeper Harry Medhurst, defenders Charlie Bicknell and Dick Walker, and attackers Archie Macaulay and Jackie Wood.
Although there were no substitutes in those days, you could effectively have injury timeouts. Macaulay caused an eye injury to Leicester defender Maurice Reeday in a heading duel and Reeday went off the pitch for ten minutes before reappearing, stitched up and ready to compete again.
Coventry Evening Telegraph’s brief half-time report covered both goals in Leicester’s 2-0 win:
“An error by Medhurst enabled Leicester to score through a free-kick by Jones after three minutes. Afterwards Leicester were the cleverer side, but West Ham showed fire in front of goal, and Macaulay and Hall were unlucky with shots.
Two minutes from the interval, Anderson ran half the length of the field to add brilliantly for Leicester.”
The scorer of the second goal was Bobbie Anderson, about whom you can read a fascinating account by our own Kushiro.
Harry Medhurst, the goalkeeper who had made errors in both 1939 and 1946 to give Leicester the lead in a 2-0 win over West Ham, had joined the Hammers from Woking, playing 29 games before the war. He then served as a sergeant in the British Army, and played only 3 more games for West Ham when football resumed.
Medhurst signed for Chelsea and played 157 times, before taking on several roles at Stamford Bridge when his playing career ended, including coaching and physiotherapy. He earned a joint testimonial with fellow Chelsea legend Dick Spence in 1976 against his former team West Ham.
His playing days for Chelsea were followed by a short spell at Brighton, but he never faced Leicester at either club. But he was probably sick of the sight of us after those two games seven years apart.
