BoroHistorian
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An adapted extract from my forthcoming book (promise it will be out in 2023)...As Boro prepare for a sell-out Riverside Stadium clash with Wigan Athletic on Boxing Day, author and Boro historian Dr Tosh Warwick looks back at a magical few days in 1926 and the time of Christmas Day football, record-breaking results and the club’s most remarkable goalscorer…
Flying high in the second-tier and with their young talisman George Camsell topping the Second Division’s goalscoring charts, Boro had every reason to be optimistic as they crossed the Pennines to take on Manchester City at Maine Road on Christmas Day 1926, not least with Camsell in fine form having hit four against Swansea City the previous week. Yet, visits to the blue side of the Cottonopolis had proven fruitless for Boro who had not recorded an away win at City in their league history.
With Boro going a goal down in the opening minute, it looked like the bleak run was going to continue until Camsell sprang into action. The former Durham City forward grabbed the equaliser with a goal that appeared offside to equalise, before giving the visitors a 2-1 half-time lead after Goodchild in the home goal spilled Billy Pease’s effort. A topsy-turvy second half followed as the Citizens equalised before Camsell’s daringly headed his hat-trick goal from a Pease cross to restore Boro’s lead until Man City once again drew level. Not satisfied with a point and with Camsell wanting to add to his hat-trick, the Boro forward converted Williams’ assist to put Boro ahead once more before getting his ‘reward for a purely individual dash between the backs’ to give the visitors a 5-3 win.
The excitement around Camsell’s five goal haul for the table-topping Teessiders clearly whet the appetite of Boro fans. In fact, the 27 December festive fixture brought a record attendance and extraordinary scenes at Ayresome Park. For those unable to find space on the terraces, the roof of the old stand at Ayresome Park – relocated from the club’s former Linthorpe Road Ground in 1903 – endured the strain of dozens of supporters keen to see the great Camsell in action for themselves, with the local press describing fans as ‘on the roof of the world at Ayresome Park’ and how ‘human beings appeared to alight on the tiles like birds’. The North Eastern Daily Gazette captured the record breaking moment:
“The history of the Middlesbrough Football Club affords no precedent to the scenes at Ayresome Park yesterday. A holiday crowd of 44,000 was admitted – 6,000 more than the previous record – any many more were turned away. So great was the crush that probably 8,000 or 10,000 swarmed over the barriers, but controlled only by a handful of police they were perfectly orderly.”
The fans were not left disappointed as, quite remarkably, Camsell bagged a brace to make it seven goals in 72 hours and, despite the visitors grabbing a goal and pushing for an equaliser, securing a significant win for Middlesbrough. At the full-time whistle, many of those crowded along the touchline flooded onto the pitch to greet their heroes. As the hero of the hour, Camsell was chaired on the shoulders of supporters from the hallowed Ayresome pitch to the dressing room as the Boro faithful hailed Framwellgate Moor’s finest. The amazing scenes at Ayresome Park were not lost on the local journalists who readily embraced the popularity of the Boro and Camsell that would help sell the following day’s newspapers! It was rare that Boro featured on the front pages but on this occasion, part of the North Eastern Daily Gazette’s editorial was dedicated to the extraordinary scenes, whilst press photographs of the record crowd were duly published – since recreated in fantastic colour artwork by Richard Piers Rayner.
The win signified one of the high points of a phenomenal turnaround in the season that had begun so bleakly before Camsell entered the fray:
“Local football fans have every reason to be jubilant over the wonderful success of the Middlesbrough team…the team which began so inauspiciously that, after the first four games of the season, they were at the foot of the League ladder with but one point…has valiantly stemmed the tide of misfortune and has finished the first half of the season as League leaders and first favourites for promotion.”
The consecutive victories over Manchester City that Christmas would not only secure four vital points in the club’s pursuit of promotion to the top-flight but Camsell’s seven goals added to what would prove to be a record haul for the former Tow Law man. Ultimately, Boro would go on to secure promotion to Division 1 as champions with Camsell notching a record-breaking haul of 59 league goals – a record quite remarkably bettered by just one goal by Everton’s Dixie Dean in the following campaign and which remains a record today. Hopefully, Boro’s festive footballers of 2022 can take inspiration from the side of 1926 and Camsell can inspire Chuba to continue his own fine goalscoring spell and help Boro to unlikely promotion success!
