Grey Horse romp to hat-trick

The Grey Horse from Bank Top, Darlington, had won the British 5s and 3s team singles knockout three times in the previous four years. Last month they took the national "team combination" title.

They'd prepared well for the singles hat-trick bid, in bed by 1.30am the night before - "we like to be early before a big match," says Tony White, the captain - and strictly one to a bed. "A Grey Horse rule," says Tony.

Next morning only three of the ten-man team could manage breakfast - nerves, of course. "We watched the first half of the rugby at the hotel in Bridlington, but then left and forgot about it," says Derrick White, Tony's brother.

Play began at 10.30am. Ten and a half hours later the Grey Horse were British singles champions for the third successive year - sweeping the board as a dominoes man might say. "Everyone just rose to give us a standing ovation," says Tony. "In our own way it was as emotional as Sydney."

The team was Tony, Derrick and Mark White, Colin and Alan Stainsby - "Colin's our Jonny Wilkinson" says Derrick - Wilf Parkinson, Mick McMain, Tommy Corrie, Paul Ramshaw and our old friend Stormin' Norman Kent.

More than ever, it puts to bed the notion that 5s and 3s is simply a matter of what you pick up. Derrick has addressed the debate before.

"It's being able to play a bad hand, that's the secret," he says. "Anyone can play a hand full of fives and sixes."

Tony supposes that their strength is in playing safe. "Other teams will always give you points. We never play a domino unless it's safe, never take chances.

"People say our luck will run out but it can't, because we don't play on luck."

A bit less than the rugby boys might expect, they won £1,600 between them. "Even England," says Derrick, "would have been pushed to have a better Saturday night than us."

The Local Heroes night went tremendously, often emotionally, almost dramatically. That was when someone inadvertently left their "dream team" sheet too close to the candle on the table and when Brooks Mileson proved local hero indeed.

Whilst others dithered, Brooks - later given a real Local Heroes award for his unparalleled support of North-East sport and of the Northern League in particular - grabbed the blazing paper and extinguished it bare handed.

"It's what you learn on the back streets of Sunderland," said the former four-minute miler, now chairman of the Albany Group and chief benefactor of Gretna FC, where this weekend he opens the parish church Christmas fair.

Does it mean that local suspicions over his motives have been allayed? "Most of them still think I'm going to plough up the field and build houses on it," says Brooks.

"They're just hedging their bets, that's all."

Several award winners are well known to Backtrack regulars, not least Spennymoor Boxing Academy chief coach Robert Ellis, ecstatically honoured in the "Leading Light" category. Paul Hodgson, the club's ever-enterprising secretary, was no less delighted. "He's Tin-Tin, I'm Captain Haddick," said Hodgy. Readers will doubtless understand.

The following evening to Sedgefield Cricket Club's annual do, guest speaker Derek Randall - but not, it must be said, for more than a quarter of an hour.

Among many familiar faces at a highly convivial evening was the indomitable Margaret Horn MBE, once fourth team coach at Darlington Rugby Club and now a cricket club committee member.

"There's always a space either side of me at meetings," said Margaret. "I think they try to keep out of reach."

Her age is a fiercely-guarded secret. Derek Randall is 52.

Having been about his accustomed solemn business on Saturday morning, undertaker John Storey had an altogether happier afternoon.

Chosen because of injury to make his first team debut in Guisborough Town's goal, John had a funeral before being rushed the 120 miles to the FA Carlsberg Vase match at Bacup Borough.

Bacup's just on the red rose side of the Lancashire/Yorkshire border, the club sponsored - as might be imagined in those Pennine parts - by Warburton's, the bread winners.

Home since 1889, the sloping ground is surrounded by hills - possibly mused Sixer, also in attendance, the only hillsfor 20 miles in any direction without a statue of Sir Robert Peel on them.

Bacup included Rhodri Giggs, unmistakable sibling of a more celebrated scorer. On the bench, the Bacup back-up, sat Martin Peters, whose old feller was reckoned ten years ahead of his time.

The younger Peters, on for the injured Giggs, looked a couple of yards behind his.

Guisborough deservedly won 3-0 on an excellent Vase day for the Albany Northern League, the keeper immaculate in all that he did. His dad's an undertaker, too, but that's another Storey.

Saturday, it may be recalled, was also the day a group of benevolent Norwegians from a company making underwear for the over 40s was due to drink to Willington FC's renewed prosperity. It became a case of knickers in a twist.

First they were coming, then they weren't, then on Friday night six thirsty travellers duly turned up. "It turns out there were two different groups," says club chairman John Phelan. "The underwear manufacturers were the other one."

These were called Standal Il, alerted by Norwegian television to the brewery's promise to shave the football club's debt if the clubhouse sold more ale. Like the Magi, they came bearing gifts and, for all sorts of reasons, proved fjord popular.

"They came in at two o'clock, left at six and had drunk us out of draught beer," says John.

Thereafter they went with team manager Alan Shoulder for a night of traditional English merriment in Coundon Conservative Club and were last seen at 10.15pm heading purposefully back into the Market Tavern in Willington.

John's properly grateful. "They were an excellent set of lads. We reckon to have reduced the brewery debt by 0.1 per cent."

Alan Fenwick, chairman of Durham County Council, has added from experience to the tributes to super-scout Owen Willoughby, whose passing we reported on Friday.

Alan's the father of Terry Fenwick, signed via Owen by Crystal Palace before an illustrious career that brought him 20 England caps. John, Terry's elder brother, was a promising goalkeeper.

"You name the clubs and we'd been there, but it was Owen who persuaded us to go to Palace for a week," says the chairman.

Southbound on Durham railway station, escorted by the watchful Willoughby, they bumped into Sunderland manager Bob Stokoe but said little.

A week later, both boys duly signed - "I think they'd taken two to get one," says Alan - they returned to Seaham Harbour.

"Little Charlie Ferguson, the Sunderland chief scout, looked like he was braying the door down. It was too late and it was down to Owen. He was just one hell of a guy."

l Owen's funeral is at noon on Thursday at St William's RC church, Trimdon Village.

George Molloy, another familiar sporting figure in the Trimdon area, has also died. George, 71, was a right arm medium fast bowler who spent his cricket career with Norton and made two Durham County appearances in 1956-57, without taking a wicket. His funeral was yesterday at St Mary Magdalene's in Trimdon.

the North-East referees who officiated in the 1960, 1975, 1980 and 1985 FA Cup finals (Backtrack, November 21) were respectively Kevin Howley, Pat Partridge, George Courtney and Peter Willis.

Brian Shaw in Shildon today seeks the identity of the Premiership club ground which, in 1995, became the first England home venue other than Wembley for 29 years.

Home from home, the column returns on Friday.