Bill Marshall recalls the T&A's sporting headlines during this week...

50 YEARS AGO

BRADFORD City and Bradford Northern both signed teenagers – Northern Tony Banham and the Bantams Jack Marsh.

Banham, a 5ft 11in, 13st Bradford-based 19-year-old London-born winger, was also wanted by Leeds and Wigan, and had junior experience with Wigan's Hindley Rovers.

Marsh, an 18-year-old goalkeeper, had played for New Farnley the previous season and had been trialling with Middlesbrough.

With a superb first Test victory in the bag after a 17-13 triumph over Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, Great Britain's rugby league team had a shock when they faced Northern Division at Tamworth in Queensland.

They had beer cans (definitely empty), beer bottles (presumably empty), orange peel, bread and apple cores thrown at them during a 15-13 defeat.

Much of the blame was laid at the door of referee Bob Johnson, who only called the teams together five minutes from time when he should have done it much earlier.

Tries were scored by second-row Terry Fogerty, Northern centre Ian Brooke and stand-off Willie Aspinall, but the casualty count was high – hooker Colin Clarke (strained knee ligaments), scrum half Carl Dooler (torn rib cartilage), centre Geoff Shelton (dislocated finger and six stitches) and wingers Bill Burgess (thigh) and Geoff Wrigglesworth (ricked ankle).

Arthur Keegan, only called into the team at full back because Ken Gowers dropped out at short notice, was one of the Test heroes in front of 40,000, as was scrum half Tommy Bishop, with tries in a switchback affair coming from Cliff Watson and stand-off Alan Hardisty.

The British Lions, meanwhile, were falling to a third defeat on their tour, Wellington beating them 20-6 at Dunedin in front of 30,000, Irish hooker Ken Kennedy suffering a broken jaw and Welsh winger Dewi Bebb getting their only try.

England took an 86-run lead in the second Test against the West Indies at Lord's but were back on the defensive after a partnership of 274 for the sixth wicket between skipper Garry Sobers (163no) and his cousin David Holford (105no), and ended up batting out for a draw at 197-4, Colin Milburn hitting 126 not out.

25 YEARS AGO

IN A reminder of Garry Sobers smacking Malcolm Nash for six sixes in 1968, Pudsey St Lawrence's Chris Gott meted out the same punishment to Undercliffe's teenage off-spinner Paul Whitaker (3-104 in 19 overs) at Intake Road in a Bradford League First Division match.

Gott's heart must have been in his mouth off the last ball, which only just cleared Howard Reeve at long-on.

The Saints star had previously hit five sixes in as many balls in an Evening League match for Pudsey at Jer Lane but rain prevented a finish after Gott's 154 not out at Undercliffe.

The odd player from outside the Broad Acres, such as Lord Hawke, had played for Yorkshire before, but they announced a see-change in policy when they signed 16-year-old batsman and off-spinner Michael Vaughan.

He had lived in Sheffield since he was eight but was born in Manchester, thus signalling an end to them only signing players from within the county.

However, there was a shock when hard-hitting 27-year-old Keighley-born batsman Phil Robinson made it be known that he wanted to talk to other counties. Second-team skipper Neil Hartley, 35, was awarded a benefit.

Leeds United and Bradford City would play in a West Riding Senior Cup tie at Valley Parade which doubled up as Maurice Lindley's testimonial. He was assistant manager under Don Revie at United and former chief scout with the Bantams.

Bradford Dukes fans among the 10,000 at Odsal for the Sunbrite Overseas speedway final at Odsal were stunned when their idol Gary Havelock only scored four points and was eliminated. Also out went Glenn Doyle but team-mates Paul Thorp and Andy Smith (on loan at Swindon) qualified for the next stage of the World Championship.

10 YEARS AGO

BRADFORD City were trying to sign Middlesbrough teenager Adam Johnson on a season-long loan as a replacement for Bobby Petta in a similar deal to that of young left back Andrew Taylor the year before.

The 18-year-old Johnson, who had already played in the Premiership and in Europe, was rated as better than Stewart Downing, but his career would come to a juddering halt in Bradford in 2016 after he was jailed at Crown Court for six years for sexual activity with a child.

The Bantams, did sign a Johnson, but that was 21-year-old former Manchester United junior Eddie, while former Darlington skipper and centre half Matt Clarke also put pen to paper on a two-year deal.

It was also a busy time at Odsal as Stuart Fielden left in a near-world record £440,000 deal for Wigan Warriors, while the club signed a £500,000 deal with Grattan to have their stadium named after the Bradford-based catalogue company.

Second-rower Matt Cook, 19, signed a three-year deal, while the club showed there was life after Fielden by defeating Huddersfield Giants 42-16 at Odsal, tries coming from Lesley Vainikolo (2), Ben Harris (2), Brett Ferres (2) and Brad Meyers, with Paul Deacon landing seven goals.

East Bierley, who were such a dominant second team that they wanted to test themselves against first teams within the Bradford League, broke a league record for a second-team total by scoring 435-7 against eight-man Bankfoot.

Terry Staniforth led the way with 152 (14 fours, five sixes) and he added 174 for the fourth wicket with Lee Abbott(122, 15 fours, six sixes) before Bierley declared five overs early on a hot day, and dismissed the Odsal club for 56 to win by a massive 379 runs.