Hardwick enjoys an emotional return to scene of 10-0 win

"England played steady football," observed the Echo, a little unenthusiastically.

There'd been a couple of 13s in the 1880s, both against the unlucky Irish, and 11 in 1908 against Austria. Portugal, it was believed, would provide stouter opposition.

"I think their goalkeeper was a bit nervous, we should probably only have had seven," recalls the former Middlesbrough and Great Britain captain, now living in Yarm.

The return to the National Stadium in Lisbon was arranged by former Northern Echo photographer Ian Wright - who took the pictures - as part of a cruise holiday for George and his wife Jennifer.

Jesus Correia, the Portugeuse outside right, presented George with a national team shirt and a watch. Like his old opponent, Carreia is now 80.

"I had a fair few tears. Most of the lads who played that day are now dead," says George.

"I think I cried more than he did. It was all so emotional," says Jennifer.

Thanks to the wicked winter of 1947, football was also being played in England that late May weekend. Around 3500 watched Bank Head (from Chilton Moor) beat Brandon Welfare 4-2 in the Durham Amateur Cup final; another 1700 paid a total of £71 to see New Brancepeth beat Quarrington Hill in the Durham Hospitals Cup.

Elsewhere, Sunderland's annual report showed transfer expenditure of £13,269 and a players' wage bill of £10,950, Richmond Cyclists' Meet celebrated its golden jubilee, Hutton (88.28) topped the batting averages and Edrich (27 at 12.40) the bowling and Sir Fowler Harrison, 48-year-old vice-president of the Durham County Lawn Tennis Association, died during a doubles game in Darlington.

In Lisbon, England's defence was said to have performed magnificently in front of the outstanding Frank Swift. Lawton and Mortenson hit four apiece, Matthews and Finney the others. Wilf Mannion failed for once to find the net.

The Hardwicks even revisited the team hotel. "Like the national stadium it had hardly changed," says George.

"It's only Portuguese football that seems to be a little bit better."

Alan Murray, now happily in Yarm as well, has more mixed memories of Portugal. His spell at Benfica now over, Alan - ex-Middlesbrough, York City, Brentford and Doncaster Rovers - has rejoined his old friend Graeme Souness at Blackburn. Much more of that next Friday.

Whilst the rest of the region's media insisted that Jonathan Edwards had won the North-East's first athletics gold - and him only an adopted Geordie - Tuesday's column recorded Guisborough lad Willie Applegarth's triumph in the 1912 4x100m in Stockholm.

Thanks to a call from Pat Woodward in Durham, it may prove simply to have been the 1912 overture.

Thirty or more years ago, Pat used to drink in the Shakespeare - near the Cathedral - in the occasional company of a then-elderly chap ("lovely old man") who told a remarkable tale.

He, too, had contested the Stockholm Olympics - boat to Norway from the Tyne Commission Quay, train from Bergen to Stockholm. "I even think he had to pay his own entrance fee. Things were a bit different in those days," says Pat.

His companion, at any rate, had reached the final - "middle distance, I think" - but was only allowed two weeks off work and had to catch the boat back home before it could be run.

It's an extraordinary story, better still were Pat able to recall the unfortunate athlete's name.

We have consulted Tom Dobbin, retired Durham journalist and, at 73, still golfing off seven. Tom recalls a 1950s interview - "charming old gentleman" - with a chap who lived near the Cathedral, might have been a University carpenter and still had his Olympic running shoes.

Tom can't remember his name, either, though Lee rings distant bells. Brian Mackay of Durham City Harriers is also on the case, and running round like a good 'un.

Meantime and mucky, the column has mounted an archaeological dig amongst the back numbers.

A H S Johnson of Great Britain won the Stockholm 1500m ("the Britisher was loudly cheered"), Middlesbrough swimmer Jack Hatfield took silver in the 1500m freestyle and on July 10 1912 we reported that Hibbins of Great Britain had been third in his 5000m heat.

The final was the following day. "Hibbins of Britain did not run," said the Echo, succinctly but somewhat unhelpfully.

Could it have been our poor old friend in the front bar of the Shakespeare, who when the tough got going, simply had to go back to work? This one has legs on it yet.

Not even among the small print, the world double decathlon championship took place in Hexham at the weekend....and our Olympians thought they had a hard shift.

This one encompasses within two days every Olympic track and field event except the marathon. "If they could fit it in, I except they'd have one of those as well," says Peter Coates.

Our twenty-men scored. Peter, a 32-year-old civil servant from Consett, won bronze. Michael O'Donovan from Tudhoe, Spennymoor - a fellow Durham City Harrier - finds himself world over 50s champion and 18-year-old Dan Brooks from Richmond and Zetland Harriers becomes British junior champion after his first attempt at the event.

"He's really a steeplechaser," says Mike Brooks, his father and fellow athlete.

Michael O'Donovan was a debutant, too. "I'd never even done a decathlon, so I thought I might as well do a double and make up for lost time," he says.

They began at 10am on Saturday, ended day one almost 12 hours later, and in incessant rain finally crossed the 10,000m line (what a way to finish) around 10pm on Sunday.

"I had absolutely nothing left at all," says Peter. "I was so exhausted, I hadn't even the energy to put my equipment in the car. I had to go back for it next day."

For Michael O'Donovan, 51 in November, it was his first competitive 10k, 3,000m steeplechase and pole vault.

Though the double decathlon world is small - teams from England, USA, Germany, Finland and a Welshman - he remains perplexed by his success. "It's quite amazing to be honest. The only drawback is that I'll probably have to defend my title next year."

Uninspiring title, esoteric subject, but - honestly - you ought to read the review.

Richard Scruton from East Cowton, near Northallerton, has helped write Fifty Years of Service, a history (the good bit's coming in a minute) of English table tennis's national umpires and referees committee.

It's reviewed thus in the Association of Sports Historians October newsletter:

"I'm afraid this review isn't all it should be as one of the senior figures on these pages had for nearly a quarter of a century had my late mother as his mistress.

"After reading this book I now know where she spent all those exotic 'holidays' on which I was never invited, being farmed off to relatives for the duration.

"Therefore I found the text fascinating."

Knowing the column's roots, Martin Birtle in Billingham draws attention to Harold Archer Brown, a Shildon lad (says the book) who scored for Sunderland against Manchester United in 1922.

At Dean Street on Wednesday night they still remembered him, scored a club record 61 goals in a season but belonged Witton Park, they reckoned

- "a terrible lot of good footballers belonged Witton Park" - and was kin of present Whitby Town manager Harry Dunn.

We've dusted this one down in the archives, too. Sunderland, eighth in the old first division, beat bottom club Manchester United 2-1, Brown laying on the first for Buchan and scoring the second himself.

"Brown makes promising debut," said the headline, though he played just five more first team games and never scored again.

Really this one's for Martin's colleague John Lynas, from Cockfield, who fancies himself as a David Seaman lookalike and is Archie Brown's grandson. Now he has it confirmed - his grandad really did score the winner against Manchester United.

Maurice Flint and friends from the Masons Arms at Middlestone Moor raised £3000 at a golf day for the family of murdered Coundon man Gary Walton.

The tournament at Bishop Auckland - "the club was absolutely fantastic" says Maurice - was won by Carl Hartman, Jim Booth, Mal Hughes and Gary Longstaff.

Maurice, it may be recalled, is serving a life ban from the Over 40s football league for over zealously promoting a youth policy. "Those four," he insists, "were ringers, an' all."

Last Friday's piece on goings on at Philadelphia Cricket Club - and on David Tindale's restored village police station - has aroused much interest thereabouts.

A lady of about 90, sister of former Sunderland and Philly captain Lt Col Jack McCall, even visited David to relive childhood memories.

"Her family were friends with the sergeant. There was a cell where they used to lock her up," says David. "It was only fun, of course."

the batsman who has recorded the highest Benson and Hedges Cup score both for and against Durham (Backtrack, September 26) is John Morris.

Alf Hutchinson, meanwhile, invites readers to name the Olympic field event in which the women invariably do better than the men.

Thrown? More of that on Tuesday.