The Wands of Grassmeade 1967-1973. Part 1: Goalkeepers

The fact that I can only qualify to write about players who donned the amber and black of Cray Wanderers, who entertained the crowds at Grassmeade between these years, is because 1967 was when I first started watching them at Grassmeade. 1973 was when we had to vacate the ground, by way of what is today referred to as a 'no fault' eviction, for pastures new and the delights that we never knew awaited us at Oxford Road in Sidcup.

Yet, in that short period of time, man had allegedly walked on the Moon and Watergate was still fresh in the minds of everyone. Here in Blighty, Harold Wilson (Labour) and Edward Heath (Conservative) couldn't make up their minds between them who wanted to run the country. Russia had invaded Czechoslovakia, the war in Vietnam raged on and everybody went to San Francisco wearing flowers in their hair while listening to Scott McKenzie on their tinny little transistor radios. It was a time of Woodstock, the Northern Ireland troubles and decimalisation in Britain. And, we also had the oil crisis which resulted in very long queues at the fuel stations so that the panicky ones in our midst could top their tanks up with a thimbleful of travel juice.

But one thing remained constant. Cray Wanderers played and, for the most part, entertained us at Grassmeade. There were games there most weeks because, when the First XI were playing away from home, the Reserves took over the changing rooms and the pitch for their Kent Amateur League matches. For most weeks, during those six years, we were not only enthralled by the outfield players but by the goalkeepers and their fabulous saves as well.

The first goalkeeper that I watched at Grassmeade was John Walker. He was very much a 'stop the ball going in at any cost' type of goalie. He save with his legs and feet, he saved with his hands and arms and, I recall, he even saved the team's blushes a couple of times with his head. Walker played until the end of the 1967-68 season, when he departed for Southall of the Athenian League. Back in those days, moving from the Metropolitan League was considered a major move upwards to the Athenian League.

For the start of the following season, 1968-69, the Wands called upon the ageing Cyril Hill to man the posts. He had previously stood in on a number of occasions, prior to me first watching Cray but, he had a disastrous return and lasted all of five games into the new campaign before the club introduced Ian Hook to the side. Hill's downfall was the almighty cock-up he made to ensure Cray lost to a last gasp winning goal that he presented to Stevenage Athletic (now Stevenage of the EFL). Until Hill's air kick in injury time, Cray had looked good to earn a point in a game that should have definitely ended in a 1-1 draw.

Hook's presence quickly instilled confidence and Cray soon started grabbing vital league points. Ian also starred in the now infamous 5-2 win against Lewes in the FA Amateur Cup and the two matches against the holders Leytonstone. During a match against a TV All Stars XI at Grassmeade on a rain-soaked Sunday afternoon, he played outfield and managed to score a goal against 'all-rounder' (TV star, film star and pop singer) Jess Conrad, who was the custodian of the sticks for the All Stars team. During Hook's tenure of the Cray goal, he was occasionally deputised by a 'keeper called Ray Monks. Apart from letting a lorry load of goals in, mainly in the dreaded Autumn Shield, Monks was finally kippered from playing for the Wands ever again when he tried to head the ball away during a late attack on the Mungo Park Way end goal in a Metropolitan League match — and gifted the visitors the winning goal. He was inside his penalty area and had time to safely collect the ball with his hands.

After Ian Hook moved to greener pastures after a couple of seasons, the club signed Keith Beerling and Terry Smith, both exceptional goalkeepers in their own way. Beerling was the more noticeable of the two, being in excess of six foot tall and quite 'burly', but neither goalie commanded that number one spot. Both players left the club in what is now referred to as the 'exodus' season in January 1972. They were replaced temporarily when interim manager Jimmy Paris signed Malcolm Elliott.

A new season and a new dawn when the arrival of John Biddle's 279 Chislehurst players to Grassmeade also brought Kenny Baker. Although he played in a few pre-season friendlies, Baker never played in a competitive game for the Wands until Mal Sutton incurred a broken leg at Oxford Road three seasons later. Kenny also featured in the Wands' European glory when the club picked up the Mayor of Uden trophy in the Netherlands in 1975.

Kenny Baker paved the way for the arrival Dave Jackson. Many of us know Dave as a club icon and legend who introduced Gary Hillman to the club when they were still playing at Oxford Road but, back at Grassmeade, he excelled at keeping the opposition out. During one game I fondly remember, against East Ham United at Grassmeade, Dave faced a penalty kick against a player who had boasted he had never missed a spot-kick. The ball was driven high to Jackson's left, towards the 'postage stamp' area of the goal and somehow he launched himself towards the ball and pushed it over the bar with both hands. How on earth he managed to get to the ball remains a mystery to me. Cray won that game 1-0. Dave was very occasionally deputised by Andrew Stanley, who competently kept goal during his handful of games.

Yes, there have since been a number of excellent goalkeepers who have stood between the Wands' uprights since we left Grassmeade, but maybe they are better left for someone else to write about in the coming years.

In Part Two of this mini-series, I will be writing about the defenders of the Grassmeade goalmouths.