50 YEARS AGO

BRADFORD Park Avenue were having a difficult time in the wake of selling Kevin Hector to Derby County.

Avenue chairman Joe Murphy resigned, they lost 6-0 at Wrexham and attracted record low crowds in successive matches – 4,878 in the 1-0 defeat to Stockport County and 3,889 in the 1-1 draw against Aldershot Town.

It was only a few weeks earlier that Avenue's unbeaten away record had gone for the season in a 3-1 setback against York City.

Bradford City, meanwhile, were giving youth their chance, five teenagers playing in the 0-0 draw at Luton Town.

The Bantams, inspired by Ken Leek, also hammered Barrow 5-2 at Valley Parade with goals from John Hall (2), Cuthbertson, Leek and James McAnearney.

City also broke new ground by playing in the Northern Floodlit League, 1,067 watching their 3-1 home defeat against Oldham that was notable for the performance of 17-year-old apprentice welder Jim Kinsella from Baildon, who looked a fine prospect.

Leeds United defeated DWS 3-1 in the first leg in Amsterdam to take control of their Inter-Cities Fairs Cup tie, with the goals coming from Billy Bremner, Albert Johanneson and Jimmy Greenhoff.

An experimental play-the-ball rule was tried in Bradford Northern's 19-10 home win over Bramley and it did not seem to slow the game's movement, although the overall handling could have been better.

Winger Lionel Williamson was the star of Northern's 19-15 home win over Swinton, scoring three tries, while Keighley wasted no time in making scrum half Colin Evans, just signed from York, their skipper.

Meanwhile, a Brian Jefferson drop goal gave Keighley a last-gasp 16-14 victory over Hunslet.

The Bradford Cricket League made the controversial decision to take the Priestley Cup final away from Park Avenue – where it had been held for over 40 years, apart from the 1939-45 War.

25 YEARS AGO

RUGBY union was very much on the agenda with the 1991 World Cup being staged in Great Britain.

England defeated France 19-10 in Paris to set up a semi-final against Scotland at Murrayfield, with the 1990 Grand Slam shoot-out – which Scotland won 13-7 there – still fresh in the memory.

Bradford Salem won 21-3 at Sheffield Oaks in the third round of the Provincial Insurance Cup in front of the steel city club's biggest-ever crowd.

The match was notable for a remarkable drop goal by Salem's Steve Durn when he almost had his back to the posts.

Baildon lost their tie 15-6 at Leeds Corinthians, losing prop Les Bray-Jones and vice-captain Steve Morley to broken legs, with fellow centre Chris Killip suffering a badly injured hip.

Meanwhile, in the ADT County Championship, Jason Georgiou-inspired Yorkshire lost 19-9 away to Lancashire, meaning that the white rose faced a daunting semi-final in Cornwall – a repeat of the 1991 final at Twickenham.

Bradford Dukes' Gary Havelock had four speedway meetings in 24 hours, three of them for his club and one in the Division One Riders' Championship at Belle Vue, where he scored nine points.

However, he generally fared better for the Dukes at Odsal, bagging ten in the first leg of the Speedway Star Cup final against Cradley, which the hosts won 50-40, nine in the 59-30 victory over Swinton – which pushed his club up to second in the Sunbrite League table – and 12 in the first leg of the BSPA Cup final against Poole, which the home side won 59-31.

Bradford City manager John Docherty abandoned the sweeper system for a more attacking formation – and it worked as bottom club Torquay United were beaten 2-0 at Valley Parade, although the margin should have been bigger.

Leeds United got their midfield blend of David Batty, Gordon Strachan, Steve Hodge and Gary McAllister spot-on as Notts County were defeated 4-1, with goals from Lee Chapman, Hodge, Chris Whyte and a 30-yarder from McAllister.

Castleford won the Yorkshire Cup final 28-6 against Bradford Northern, who failed to turn pressure into points but did manage a fine team try by Daio Powell after a dazzling break by Roger Simpson.

West Bowling's Carol Greenwood, out for three years with a back injury, won the West Yorkshire Women's League cross-country fixture at Thornes Park in Wakefield with a time of 21min 30sec.

TEN YEARS AGO

COMPETITION must have been intense, bearing in mind how successful they had been over the first decade, but James Lowes was named Bradford Bulls' Super League Legend, defeating the likes of Paul Deacon, Stuart Fielden and Steve McNamara.

The Bulls signed David Solomona from Wakefield Trinity Wildcats for a five-figure fee and announced a £1million kit deal with KooGa, but they lost 20-year-old Karl Pryce to Gloucester RU.

Odsal duo Brett Ferres and Matt Cook made their England debuts in the 26-10 Federation Shield victory over France at Headingley, with Mark Calderwood scoring two tries.

Bradford City longed for a striker such as Billy Sharp, who scored the only goal in Scunthorpe United's 1-0 victory at Valley Parade, while 27-year-old former Manchester United midfielder Mark Wilson was hoping to forge a career with the Bantams.

Leeds United, second from bottom in the Championship, lost 5-1 at Luton Town, while Yorkshire County Cricket Club were doing their utmost to keep Bradford's Anthony McGrath, who did not like the way the club were being run.