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#Post#: 7074--------------------------------------------------
Re: Final Games
By: Left Field Date: April 22, 2019, 1:12 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Another final match:
Gwyn Owen - Wolves v West Ham, 15.5.1982.
I'm not sure if Mr. Owen is still with us but if he is his 85th
birthday would have been recently (17 April). It's a sobering
thought that all those referees who retired in the 1980s would
now be in their late seventies and eighties while many who
retired in the 1970s would now be in their nineties. I wonder if
any referees who reached retirement age in the 1960s are still
around? I suspect there may be one or two and that at least one
former FL referee has reached his century.
#Post#: 7097--------------------------------------------------
Re: Final Games
By: reflector Date: April 23, 2019, 3:45 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Left Field link=topic=718.msg7074#msg7074
date=1555956762]
Another final match:
Gwyn Owen - Wolves v West Ham, 15.5.1982.
I'm not sure if Mr. Owen is still with us but if he is his 85th
birthday would have been recently (17 April). It's a sobering
thought that all those referees who retired in the 1980s would
now be in their late seventies and eighties while many who
retired in the 1970s would now be in their nineties. I wonder if
any referees who reached retirement age in the 1960s are still
around? I suspect there may be one or two and that at least one
former FL referee has reached his century.
[/quote]
A referee I always enjoyed watching. Diminutive in height but
an excellent official who must have been kept exceptionally busy
as the programme notes used to record, he was also the
proprietor of a coach firm and the head teacher of a local
Anglesey school, as well as his national and FIFA list
refereeing duties. I wonder how todays 'full timers' would cope
with that lot!
#Post#: 7146--------------------------------------------------
Re: Final Games
By: Hendo Date: April 24, 2019, 1:03 am
---------------------------------------------------------
The Bangor City FC website, last updated on 6th March, shows
Gwyn Pierce Owen as being Honorary President so the good news is
that he is still with us.
#Post#: 7168--------------------------------------------------
Re: Final Games
By: TheThingFromLewes Date: April 24, 2019, 3:25 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Left Field link=topic=718.msg7052#msg7052
date=1555866635]
Some more final games - an assortment of well-known names and
lesser-known officials:
David Axcell - Millwall v Bristol Rovers, May 1993;
John Ball - Wrexham v Stockport, May 1986;
Les Burden - Chelsea v Norwich. May 1985 (amendment);
Alan Crickmore - Bristol Rovers v Millwall, May 1984;
Bob Hamer - Portsmouth v Grimsby, May 1993;
Ian Hendrick - Watford v Oxford, May 1993;
Mike James - Bristol City v Brentford, May 1993;
John Martin - Birmingham v Charlton, May 1993;
Jim Parker - Birmingham v Bradford City, May 1995;
Pat Partridge - Nottingham Forest v Coventry, May 1981;
Ken Redfern, Manchester City v Everton, May 1993;
Ffrancgon Roberts - Coventry v Liverpool (Liverpool won 6-1,
final game of their last Title win);
Dave Shadwell - Rochdale v York, April 1993;
Clive Thomas - Stoke v Wolves, May 1984;
Peter Willis - Everton v Southampton, May 1986 (6-1 win);
[/quote]
How many reds did that infamous card shark Parker from Preston
dish out in his career?
#Post#: 7174--------------------------------------------------
Re: Final Games
By: Acme Thunderer Date: April 25, 2019, 4:44 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Many thanks for all your hard work in helping me to compile this
list, which I have wanted to do for some time. I have
incorporated the amendments and updates on the database and will
publish a revised list at the end of the season to take account
of any further updates or amendments before then.
A couple of queries:
I always understood that Philip Don bowed out after refereeing
Palace v Spurs in April 1995 but World Football shows that he
refereed two further matches including Blackburn v Newcastle in
May 1995 as his last:
Did Roger Gifford retire a season early? Upton's shows him on
the list for 1995/6 but I can find no matches for him after the
Arsenal v Wimbledon game in May 1995 and a Welsh FA website
seems to confirm that he left the list in 1995. I had a feeling
that his final game was as 4O at a Playoff Final at Wembley but
cannot be sure of any details.
I don't recall attending any of the final games listed despite
the presence of the Palace and Crewe. I wanted to see the Crewe
v Coventry game in May 2005 which was Alan Kaye's last but
failed to get a ticket for a game which Crewe had to win to stay
in the Championship - and did, 2-1
Thanks again, AT [emoji2]
#Post#: 7175--------------------------------------------------
Re: Final Games
By: SuffolkRef Date: April 25, 2019, 5:03 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Acme Thunderer link=topic=718.msg7174#msg7174
date=1556185469]
I always understood that Philip Don bowed out after refereeing
Palace v Spurs in April 1995 but World Football shows that he
refereed two further matches including Blackburn v Newcastle in
May 1995 as his last
[/quote]
I remember that Philip Don finished his domestic career at
Blackburn because it was a Monday Night Football match and they
interviewed him before or after the match. He had an
international appointment following that to end his FIFA career.
Also I’m sure that Graham Poll’s final match was a Championship
play off final at Wembley ?
#Post#: 7178--------------------------------------------------
Re: Final Games
By: Acme Thunderer Date: April 25, 2019, 7:53 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=SuffolkRef link=topic=718.msg7175#msg7175
date=1556186587]
[quote author=Acme Thunderer link=topic=718.msg7174#msg7174
date=1556185469]
I always understood that Philip Don bowed out after refereeing
Palace v Spurs in April 1995 but World Football shows that he
refereed two further matches including Blackburn v Newcastle in
May 1995 as his last
[/quote]
I remember that Philip Don finished his domestic career at
Blackburn because it was a Monday Night Football match and they
interviewed him before or after the match. He had an
international appointment following that to end his FIFA career.
Also I’m sure that Graham Poll’s final match was a Championship
play off final at Wembley ?
[/quote]
Thanks Suffolkref and well spotted. Graham Poll did indeed
referee the Championship Playoff Final on 28th May 2007 when
Derby beat WBA 1-0. I have amended the database. Poll was one of
a few refs to have refereed more than one Championship Playoff
Final. He was also in charge in 2003/4 at Cardiff when Palace
beat West Ham 1-0, a game at which I was present. Following the
end of his PL career at Portsmouth, Graham also refereed a L1
semi-final when Yeovil won 5-2 at Nottingham Forest. How
fortunes have changed!
Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of George McCabe's final game
at Wembley.
Update: I Hemley, Brighton v York, May 1996. This was played on
a Thursday morning in front of an 'all-ticket' crowd of just
over 2,000 after the previous game, also refereed by Ian, had to
be abandoned due to a crowd invasion. A sad end to Ian's career
on the FL.
#Post#: 7190--------------------------------------------------
Re: Final Games
By: Left Field Date: April 25, 2019, 12:15 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Acme Thunderer link=topic=718.msg7174#msg7174
date=1556185469]
Many thanks for all your hard work in helping me to compile this
list, which I have wanted to do for some time. I have
incorporated the amendments and updates on the database and will
publish a revised list at the end of the season to take account
of any further updates or amendments before then.
A couple of queries:
I always understood that Philip Don bowed out after refereeing
Palace v Spurs in April 1995 but World Football shows that he
refereed two further matches including Blackburn v Newcastle in
May 1995 as his last:
Did Roger Gifford retire a season early? Upton's shows him on
the list for 1995/6 but I can find no matches for him after the
Arsenal v Wimbledon game in May 1995 and a Welsh FA website
seems to confirm that he left the list in 1995. I had a feeling
that his final game was as 4O at a Playoff Final at Wembley but
cannot be sure of any details.
I don't recall attending any of the final games listed despite
the presence of the Palace and Crewe. I wanted to see the Crewe
v Coventry game in May 2005 which was Alan Kaye's last but
failed to get a ticket for a game which Crewe had to win to stay
in the Championship - and did, 2-1
Thanks again, AT [emoji2]
[/quote]
Philip Don's last domestic match was indeed Blackburn v
Newcastle in May 1995 preceded by Coventry v Man Utd so he
refereed the two Title contenders of the time in those final
games. He departed years before the former retirement age,
apparently to concentrate on his teaching career. I'm not sure
if he knew he was standing down when taking charge of his final
match or whether the decision came later - SuffolkRef may be
able to shed light on that matter. Most referees will take
charge of their last game knowing they are departing, e.g. due
to retirement or scheduled resignation, but in some cases the
departure is not anticipated at the time, e.g. linked to injury
or change in circumstances.
As regards Rodger Gifford he did referee throughout the
1995-1996 season but all his games were outside the Premier
League which isn't covered so much by Soccerbase before the
2000s. His final game in the middle was Plymouth v Hartlepool in
May 1996 although he was fourth official for the
Leicester-Palace play-off later that month.
#Post#: 7191--------------------------------------------------
Re: Final Games
By: Whistleblower Date: April 25, 2019, 12:54 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Indeed, the circumstances of referees' final games are so
various. It can be a major Cup Final, a title decider or
seemingly just an ordinary run of the mill end of season match.
Some years ago I know that League referees were asked if there
was a particular ground where they would like to make their
final appearance, perhaps sentiment or I believe one or two
referees chose the ground where they made their League debut (
shades of T S Eliot "arrive where we started and know the place
for the first time" and all that )
Two of Hertfordshire's finest Grant Hegley and Mick Russell had
most unusual final matches as noted elsewhere on RTR. The former
limping off injured at Portman Road ( so often a place for
referee injuries through the ages ) and the latter an
abandonment at Blackpool due to a crowd protest. Abandoning; an
irony not lost on Mick Russell I suspect.
#Post#: 7196--------------------------------------------------
Re: Final Games
By: Left Field Date: April 25, 2019, 2:20 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Whistleblower link=topic=718.msg7191#msg7191
date=1556214842]
Indeed, the circumstances of referees' final games are so
various. It can be a major Cup Final, a title decider or
seemingly just an ordinary run of the mill end of season match.
Some years ago I know that League referees were asked if there
was a particular ground where they would like to make their
final appearance, perhaps sentiment or I believe one or two
referees chose the ground where they made their League debut (
shades of T S Eliot "arrive where we started and know the place
for the first time" and all that )
Two of Hertfordshire's finest Grant Hegley and Mick Russell had
most unusual final matches as noted elsewhere on RTR. The former
limping off injured at Portman Road ( so often a place for
referee injuries through the ages ) and the latter an
abandonment at Blackpool due to a crowd protest. Abandoning; an
irony not lost on Mick Russell I suspect.
[/quote]
In the 1980s and up to the onset of the Premier League referees
scheduled to retire were often given a top Division game to end
their career, sometimes a "low-stakes", mid-table encounter but
occasionally a match with significance at the top or bottom of
the table. When the Premier League came into being Football
League referees often got a Championship game on which to
sign-off but that's become less common in more recent times and
with the advent of SG2 not an option for most FL referees so
returning to where they started their career or to some other
significant venue has become popular. I think retiring referees
may also be able to request specific assistants in some cases.
Clearly when a referee knows he is departing the occasion is
going to be charged in a very different way to the unscheduled
departure. Often it will be a emotional occasion which can be an
argument against the game being a "high-stakes" encounter like a
Cup Final or vital promotion or relegation encounter. However
there may even be occasions where a referee is glad to reach the
end, perhaps finding refereeing less satisfying or too pressured
and maybe having carried on more out of a sense of duty than
enjoyment.
By contrast the referees making unscheduled departures go into
their final games unaware of their later significance. What
seemed like a routine game can then take on much greater import.
Sometimes it is that actual game that prompts the departure as
in the case of injury or some unsettling event that leads to
them calling it a day. Often the game passes without incident
but later events cause it to be the final outing.
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