Fame at last: the front and back covers of the dinner programme
Described without challenge as “truly incredible”, the life story of Jack Greenwell – the former Crook miner who became Barcelona’s longest serving manager – was celebrated this evening at his posthumous induction into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame.
Little less incredible is the story of Harold Stephenson – below – the Crook pensioner who for 15 years tirelessly campaigned for this moment.
“There have been many hours of research, plenty of lobbying, plenty of paper work, plenty of conversations” said Prof John Brewer, the Museum’s chair.
Conversations? Harold – top, top man – could not just talk for Crook he could talk for England. There are plenty of two-legged cuddies in south-west Durham.
He was right, though, that in Jack’s time – early 20th century – if folk travelled the five miles from Crook to Bishop Auckland every six months it was considered an adventure. “Jack ended up in Colombia.”
*Jack was a miner’s son, born in 1884. He himself went down the pit at 13, joined Crook Town as a 17-year-old wing half and in 1908 moved to West Auckland in time to feature in the first of their World Cup wins the following season.
The final was in Turin, Jack invited afterwards to join Barcelona. It took him three years to agree, but then the global adventure began.
In January 1913, still just 28, he effectively became Barca’s player/manager, holding that office for ten years and again from 1931-33 – a visionary tenure that embraced 492 games and brought five Catalan championships and twice victory in the Copa del Rey.
He’d also coached other Spanish sides before fleeing Civil War in 1936. Approached on behalf of the Peruvian national team, he became tactical adviser for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin before coaching both the Peruvian national team and of Universatario de Deportes, the latter winning the Peruvin national title and the former the Copa America for the first time in their history.
In Colombia he also successfully coached national and club sides, bringing his trophies total to 17, before his sudden death in 1942.
*Harold – not to be confused with the former Billingham Synthonia player of the same name who became a legendary wicket keeper and captain of Somerset Cricket Club – set out to gain greater acknowledgment of his fellow Crook lad.
“It nearly cost me a divorce” he says,”but there’s a corner of Barcelona that is forever England.”
Other family members are there, too, his grandson a professional boxer and the lad’s girlfriend a recent winner of The Voice.
He researched worldwide, paid for a memorial stone in Crook in Greenwell’s honour, travelled often to Manchester where the National Football Museum is based. A turning point came when he approached Gordon Taylor, then the chief exec of the Professional Footballers’ Association. ” He was absolutely fantastic” said Harold.
Latterly he has been much helped by Stewart Regan, another Crook lad, who became chief executive of both the English Football League and the Scottish FA.
“One of those stories you just can’t wait to go out and tell” said Stewart. “Harold has done a truly amazing job.”
Greenwell becomes the Hall of Fame’s 196th inductee, might have been the 197th had my strenuous efforts to persuade the Museum to include the Northern League at the time of its 125th anniversary in 2013-14 been as successful as Harold’s.
*This evening’s excellent dinner is held at St Mary’s College, a chandeliered part of Durham University, who’ve been greatly supportive. The West Auckland lads have brought the World Cup, the Crook lads the Barcelona Cup. Surprisingly how well they scrub up.
Some of the Bishop boys are there, too. Goodness knows what they had to do with anything, but those blokes would get where draughts can’t.
Much of the design work for the event has been done by former West Allotment Celtic programme editor Craig Dobson, who did such a fantastic design job in the last couple of years of the Northern League magazine and who now works for the Football Museum.
“I thought if I was successful there might be a little buffet” says Harold. “I never in a thousand years thought that there’s be anything like this. I’m so proud.”
Video tributes from around the world include a salute from former Spurs man Steve Archibald who has links with Barca. There are presentations, too, to both Crook and West, Crook chairman Vince Kirkup anxious to emphasise that latter day horizons extended beyond Bishop.
“We used to go to Blackpool” he says.
Harold seems almost bemused. “Beyond my wildest dreams” he says “but I’m awfully glad that I did it.”
*The evening ends with a question and answer with Jimmy Montgomery and Dennis Tueart, heroes of Sunderland’s 1973 FA Cup winning side. Dennis has brought copies of his autobiography, a reminder that I now – at last — have taken delivery of No-brainer, my book about Bill Gates and the campaign for safer football. Do plerase all rush at once.
Talk of the Town: Harold Stephenson
Grass Routes 