Post by Jon on Feb 15, 2020 13:41:36 GMT
Torquay's trip to Wrexham for a game today called off due to severe weather warnings. An appropriate day to recall an incident in which a Torquay winger saw his captain die whilst returning from a football match in Wales in severe weather.
Fred Tregidgo was born in Plymouth in 1891. By 1912, he was just about the best winger in the Plymouth & District League.
This led the champions Torquay Town to pinch him from Tavistock and sign him as a professional.
During 1912/13, Town only paid professionals' wages to three men. Tregidgo, Harry Singlehust and Jimmy Cudlipp shared the princely sum of £20 6s 9d between them.
Signing Tregidgo as a pro meant that he could not be legally pinched from Torquay. But just before the end of the season, Ton Pentre illegally pinched him.
It is hard now to think of Ton Pentre as a bigger fish than Torquay, but back in 1913 they were a professional outfit operating in the second division of the Southern League (playing the likes of Stoke City, Luton, Brentford, Southend, Cardiff and Swansea) and in the Welsh League.
Before the start of the 1913/14 season, Ton Pentre signed up on a season-long-loan Frank "Corby" Woolford from Swindon who became club captain. Woolford was the proud possessor of a watch presented to him as a member of the Swindon squad which had won the Southern League in 1911. In 1912, he had toured Argentina with them.
On Monday October 27, 1913 Ton Pentre headed the short distance to Treharris for a Welsh League game. The weather was atrocious, but the game went ahead. Tregidgo scored in a 2-1 win with Woolford "playing a great game". The game finished in semi-darkness in a heavy downpour and a few minutes short of time.
As the weather worsened the players faced a treacherous walk to the railway station to catch the train home. Woolford, the captain linked arms with the club's trainer - the extremely inappropriately named Walter Breeze - to lead the men on.
The wind was strong enough to hurl the two men through the air. Breeze suffered fractured ribs on landing, but Woolford suffered head injuries when struck by falling slate as roofs were ripped off surrounding properties. The rest of the team threw themselves to ground by a wall to avoid being blown away. Tregidgo suffered injuries to his hand. Breeze, Tregidgo and Woolford were conveyed to Merthyr hospital but Woolford died of his injuries.
It seems that the Edwardsville area of Treharris where this took place was hit twice as the tornado passed over, hit the mountains behind and bounced back.
Ton Pentre's matches on the Wednesday and the Saturday were postponed The entire team attended Woolford's funeral in Swindon on the Saturday.
But on the Monday, one week after the tragedy, it was back to business as usual as Ton Pentre took on Swansea Town in a Welsh League fixture. Tregidgo, wearing a black crepe armband, scored in a 2-2 draw.
The case against Ton Pentre for poaching seemed to take a long time to resolve. Ton Pentre protested innocence but were found guilty. The Western Mail of 4 Deceber 1913 reports that Tregidgo and the club's secretary were supended sine die by the Welsh FA. The Western Morning News of 30 January 1914 confirms this and further reports that Tregidgo himself did not appear before the committee and his whereabouts were unknown to the club.
Fred Tregidgo was born in Plymouth in 1891. By 1912, he was just about the best winger in the Plymouth & District League.
This led the champions Torquay Town to pinch him from Tavistock and sign him as a professional.
During 1912/13, Town only paid professionals' wages to three men. Tregidgo, Harry Singlehust and Jimmy Cudlipp shared the princely sum of £20 6s 9d between them.
Signing Tregidgo as a pro meant that he could not be legally pinched from Torquay. But just before the end of the season, Ton Pentre illegally pinched him.
It is hard now to think of Ton Pentre as a bigger fish than Torquay, but back in 1913 they were a professional outfit operating in the second division of the Southern League (playing the likes of Stoke City, Luton, Brentford, Southend, Cardiff and Swansea) and in the Welsh League.
Before the start of the 1913/14 season, Ton Pentre signed up on a season-long-loan Frank "Corby" Woolford from Swindon who became club captain. Woolford was the proud possessor of a watch presented to him as a member of the Swindon squad which had won the Southern League in 1911. In 1912, he had toured Argentina with them.
On Monday October 27, 1913 Ton Pentre headed the short distance to Treharris for a Welsh League game. The weather was atrocious, but the game went ahead. Tregidgo scored in a 2-1 win with Woolford "playing a great game". The game finished in semi-darkness in a heavy downpour and a few minutes short of time.
As the weather worsened the players faced a treacherous walk to the railway station to catch the train home. Woolford, the captain linked arms with the club's trainer - the extremely inappropriately named Walter Breeze - to lead the men on.
The wind was strong enough to hurl the two men through the air. Breeze suffered fractured ribs on landing, but Woolford suffered head injuries when struck by falling slate as roofs were ripped off surrounding properties. The rest of the team threw themselves to ground by a wall to avoid being blown away. Tregidgo suffered injuries to his hand. Breeze, Tregidgo and Woolford were conveyed to Merthyr hospital but Woolford died of his injuries.
It seems that the Edwardsville area of Treharris where this took place was hit twice as the tornado passed over, hit the mountains behind and bounced back.
Ton Pentre's matches on the Wednesday and the Saturday were postponed The entire team attended Woolford's funeral in Swindon on the Saturday.
But on the Monday, one week after the tragedy, it was back to business as usual as Ton Pentre took on Swansea Town in a Welsh League fixture. Tregidgo, wearing a black crepe armband, scored in a 2-2 draw.
The case against Ton Pentre for poaching seemed to take a long time to resolve. Ton Pentre protested innocence but were found guilty. The Western Mail of 4 Deceber 1913 reports that Tregidgo and the club's secretary were supended sine die by the Welsh FA. The Western Morning News of 30 January 1914 confirms this and further reports that Tregidgo himself did not appear before the committee and his whereabouts were unknown to the club.