Post by Jon on Jan 10, 2011 21:05:22 GMT
Last Thursday’s Herald included a brilliantly researched and written piece – by TFF member Conrad Sutcliffe – on Torquay cricketer Stanley Reed:
www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/TRAGIC-TALE-UNFOLDS-DEVON-RECORD-FALLS/article-3069457-detail/article.html
I had not realised that Stanley was a cricketer of such repute but he was known to me as the young left winger of the highly successful Torquay Town team between 1910 and 1912.
What came as a shock to me was just how young Stanley was when he became a regular for Town – three months before his sixteenth birthday. This glowing report is of the Devon Senior Cup tie against RN Barracks at Keyham on 29 October 1910 – Reed was born on 23 January 1895.
Of course, these were exciting times for Town and young Stanley played in the FA Cup ties with Boscombe (i.e. the current Bournemouth club), recent FA Amateur Cup winners Oxford City and then the tremendous journey up North to Accrington Stanley (Stanley goes to Stanley!) where Town finally fell one game short of a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the last 64.
Stanley was part of the team that won the Devon Senior Cup that season and you can see him in this team picture. Ironically, he is sat right in front of Gerry Deane who was also an excellent cricketer (36 first class games for Somerset) and was also killed during the Great War.
Reed was a regular throughout the following season when Town won the Plymouth & District League – scoring five goals in thirty appearances. He had scored three goals in seven appearances in 1912/13 before he was snapped up by Plymouth Argyle.
Reed made his Argyle debut at home to West Ham United on 8 February 1913 – he was still barely 18 years old. Reed would make only three Southern League appearances for Argyle before War broke out. How many might he have played if World events had not taken such a tragic turn? It is staggering to think that he would still only have been 32 years old when Torquay were elected to the League in 1927.
www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/TRAGIC-TALE-UNFOLDS-DEVON-RECORD-FALLS/article-3069457-detail/article.html
I had not realised that Stanley was a cricketer of such repute but he was known to me as the young left winger of the highly successful Torquay Town team between 1910 and 1912.
What came as a shock to me was just how young Stanley was when he became a regular for Town – three months before his sixteenth birthday. This glowing report is of the Devon Senior Cup tie against RN Barracks at Keyham on 29 October 1910 – Reed was born on 23 January 1895.
Of course, these were exciting times for Town and young Stanley played in the FA Cup ties with Boscombe (i.e. the current Bournemouth club), recent FA Amateur Cup winners Oxford City and then the tremendous journey up North to Accrington Stanley (Stanley goes to Stanley!) where Town finally fell one game short of a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the last 64.
Stanley was part of the team that won the Devon Senior Cup that season and you can see him in this team picture. Ironically, he is sat right in front of Gerry Deane who was also an excellent cricketer (36 first class games for Somerset) and was also killed during the Great War.
Reed was a regular throughout the following season when Town won the Plymouth & District League – scoring five goals in thirty appearances. He had scored three goals in seven appearances in 1912/13 before he was snapped up by Plymouth Argyle.
Reed made his Argyle debut at home to West Ham United on 8 February 1913 – he was still barely 18 years old. Reed would make only three Southern League appearances for Argyle before War broke out. How many might he have played if World events had not taken such a tragic turn? It is staggering to think that he would still only have been 32 years old when Torquay were elected to the League in 1927.
