Dawdon CW Juniors 1961-1963

Dawdon CW Juniors played in the Hetton Junior League, which was for under 18's, and its home was at the Green Drive ground at Dawdon. It was of course the home ground of Dawdon CW which played in the Wearside League. It was owned by the one of the NCB's biggest collieries. The financial backing of the colliery meant the ground was always in tip top condition and the playing surface was second to none. In my early teens I spent quite a lot of weekends through at Dawdon because I was always welcome to stay at relatives in Embleton Street and I also had a lot of mates from the Ryhope Grammar School. I would often watch my cousin, Alan Deighton, play for Sunderland Boys at the Green Drive ground. Obviously, as he played for Sunderland Boys, he was the best schoolboy centre forward in the area. When he left school (Camden Square) he played for Dawdon CW Juniors and would often take me to watch them play. Occasionally the club seretary/manager, Charlie Roxby, allowed me into the dressing room and I loved the atmoshere and the banter and I couldn't wait for my chance to be there as a player. In 1961/62 season my wishes came true when I signed for Dawdon CW Juniors. I wasn't first choice for the inside forward positions but I still played quite a few games and I loved it. Some of the players were recent school mates and one, Tommy Haddon, was a school mate from my Ryhope Junior school days. We both played for the under 11's when we were just in the 2nd year which was quite an achievement. To be fair Tommy became a regular in the team that year whereas I wasn't but the following 2 years we both were. At the end of the 1961/62 season, which wasn't too successful, the players still legible to play the following season were convinced that if we stayed together we could win the league. So we all agreed to sign for the coming season. As it happened we didn't win the league as we were pipped by the excellent Hylton CW Juniors side. Being runners up was still a great achievment as it was a very strong league at that time. Personally I had a great season. I was the clubs leading goal scorer with 50 goals and represented the league that season. Some of the other players that played that season were :-

Ritson Corner	Goal Keeper	At times too brave. He only saw the ball. He was a great shot stopper with a safe pair of hands. He had a great sense of humour and seemed to play with a smile on his face.
Keith Davidson	Right Back	A solid defender who could link up well with Billy and his twin brother Ben. They had played together in the same school team for several years and therefore knew each others game well.
Keith Fox	Left Back	A tall and well made lad and very few players ever got past him. He was an out and out defensive player strong enough to hit good long through balls from deep defensive positions.
Billy Woods	Right Half	A strong player, full of energy and powerful in the air. Equally impressive defending or attacking.
Ted  Copeland	Centre Half	A very cool and classy player and, I know it's corny but, was in the style of Bobby Moore. He was a greater organiser and just a natural captain.
Dennis Hargreaves	Left Half	Always gave 100%. A powerful player and a great tackler. Kept things simple and used the ball well. Linked really well with Keith Fox and Tommy Haddon.
Ben  Davidson	Outside Right	A great right winger. He had great pace, kept wide and just seemed to glide past defenders. Along with Tommy they provided a great supply of crosses.
George Routledge Ray Bradbrook	Centre/Inside Forward	Both Ray and George competed with each other for the centre foward position and to be honest I don't know who played the most games. They had there own styles but both could score goals and whichever one played didn't seem to weaken the team in any way. We were just lucky to have both players available.
Walter Beadling	Inside Left	A naturally gifted player. Loads of pace and made goal scoring look easy. He was definitely in the Jimmy Greaves mould.
Tommy Haddon	Ouside Left	A very mature player. Had a great turn of speed, a great left foot and a very powerful shot. Unlike most wingers he was also a very hard tackler. All in all he was a fullbacks nightmare.

It's a great pity that, as far as I know, there was no team photograph taken that season. In addition I apologise to the players that have slipped my mind.