The 1928–29 Torquay United F.C. season was Torquay United's second season in the Football League and their second consecutive season in Third Division South. The season runs from 1 July 1928 to 30 June 1929.
Overview Having finished bottom of the table for the 1927–28 season in only their first year in the Football League, Torquay United needed to apply for re-election in order to remain in the Third Division South.Edwards, Leigh; Gibbes, Jon; Lovis, John (1999). Torquay United, The Official Centenary History, 1899–1999. Yore Publications. Fortunately, for the Magpies, the League members voted in their favour and manager Percy Mackrill set about rebuilding the team in an attempt to make a more competitive showing in their second League campaign. Mackrill made wholesale changes which meant an entirely new first eleven took to the field at Plainmoor on the first day of the season.Edwards, Leigh (1997). The Definitive Torquay United F.C.. The Association of Football Statisticians. . Despite losing their opening game 4–3 to Queens Park Rangers, it wasn't long before Torquay began producing a much more attacking style of football, demonstrated by high scoring victories over Brighton & Hove Albion and Merthyr Town.
Perhaps the most impressive of all the new signings was the former Morton centre forward Bill Henderson who scored 10 goals in 15 games before his season was ended by injury in the home defeat to Coventry City in November. Also coming up with the goals were Cyril Hemingway and Bill Gardner, with Hemingway ending the season as top scorer with 12 in all competitions. Two other strong additions to the team were ex-England goalkeeper Harold Gough and full-back Jack Fowler who would become a crucial part of the Torquay defence for several seasons to come.Holgate, Mike (1999). Torquay United Football Club 1899–1999. Tempus Publishing. Mackrill also managed to discover some local talent in the form of Babbacombe born Sid Cann. The promising young defender was only 16 when he made his League debut against Crystal Palace in September and made an impressive 17 appearances in his first season at United.
Despite some encouraging performances at the start season (including a 5–1 demolition of Gillingham in the FA Cup), Torquay's form took a serious dip in the New Year. February and March saw the Magpies lose 9 out of their 10 League games and only a late rally towards the end of the season steered the club away from the need for re-election for a second consecutive year. Although an 18th-place finish represented some kind of progress for United, with Percy Mackrill leaving the club before the end of the season, another fresh start would be required for Torquay's third year in the Football League.
League statistics
Third Division South
Results summary
Results by round
Match of the season FULHAM 2–1 TORQUAY UNITEDThird Division SouthCraven Cottage, 25 December 1928
TORQUAY UNITED:GK1 Harold GoughRB2 Jack FowlerLB3 Willie BrownRH4 Arthur ChamberlainCH5 Charlie DavisLH6 Arthur SmeatonOR7 Jim MackeyIR8 Alwyn Thomas CF9 Bill GardnerIL10 Cyril HemingwayOL11 Harry Waller
With an attendance of 20,327, this Christmas Day meeting at Craven Cottage was the largest crowd that a Torquay United team had yet to play in front of. This was Fulham's first season in Third Division South after having been in the Second Division since 1907 and this would have been viewed as one of toughest fixtures of the season by the Magpies, who had been beaten 3–0 away to Southend just three days previously. However, Torquay did not disgrace themselves in front of the huge crowd and came away from the Cottage with a fairly respectable 2–1 defeat, United's goal coming from the Welsh inside forward Alwyn Thomas.
Playing in the heart of defence that day in front of ex-England goalkeeper Harold Gough was Willie Brown (who had earlier in the season lost his place to teenage sensation Sid Cann) and the so-called 'Rock of Gibraltar' Jack Fowler, who played in all but four matches for Torquay during the season. Reliable marksman Cyril Hemingway did not make the scoresheet that day, while goalscorer Alwyn Thomas was playing only his third game of the season after coming in for Dan Kelly. Bill Gardner, meanwhile, had only recently returned to the side due to Bill Henderson's unfortunate injury in November.
The two teams met again at Plainmoor the following day for the Boxing Day fixture (with Jim Carrick replacing Arthur Smeaton at left half). Jim Mackey scored Torquay's goal in a game which ended in a 1–1 draw.
Results
Third Division South
FA Cup
Club statistics
First team appearances NatPosPlayerTotalThird Division SouthFA CupAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals GKHarold Gough42039030GKLaurie Millsom303000DFJack Fowler41038030DFWillie Brown19016030DFSid Cann17017000DFJames Mellon10010000DFJack Price505000DFEric Price313100MFJim Carrick32229230MFBob Smith32129130MFArthur Smeaton30427430MFBob Preston15015000MFArthur Chamberlain11011000MFCharlie Davis10010000MFBill Clitheroe505000FWCyril Hemingway4112381131FWDan Kelly37934831FWJim Mackey30327330FWHarry Waller30827731FWBill Gardner261023832FWJoe Hill17617600FWBill Henderson1510151000FWAlwyn Thomas10210200FWAlec Edmunds606000FWEric Humphrey626200FWHerbert Budd202000 Source:
Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameThird Division SouthFA CupTotal1 FW Cyril Hemingway 11 1 122 FW Bill Henderson 10 0 10= FW Bill Gardner 8 2 104 FW Dan Kelly 8 1 95 FW Harry Waller 7 1 86 FW Joe Hill 6 0 67 MF Arthur Smeaton 4 0 48 MF Jim Mackey 3 0 39 MF Jim Carrick 2 0 2= FW Eric Humphrey 2 0 2= FW Alwyn Thomas 2 0 212 DF Eric Price 1 0 1= MF Bob Smith 1 0 1 Own goals 1 0 1 TOTAL 66 5 71 Source:
Transfers
In First appearanceNat.Pos.NameFrom25 August 1928DFWillie BrownRochdale25 August 1928MFJim CarrickAccrington Stanley25 August 1928FWAlec EdmundsPlymouth Argyle25 August 1928DFJack FowlerBradford City25 August 1928FWBill GardnerDarlington25 August 1928GKHarold GoughBolton Wanderers25 August 1928FWCyril HemingwayRotherham United25 August 1928FWBill HendersonMorton25 August 1928FWDan KellyDerby County25 August 1928MFBob PrestonPlymouth Argyle25 August 1928MFArthur SmeatonHalifax Town1 September 1928FWEric PriceNorthampton Town8 September 1928DFJames MellonDarlington22 September 1928MFBob SmithPlymouth Argyle29 September 1928DFSid CannUnattached29 September 1928MFArthur ChamberlainNotts County29 September 1928FWHarry WallerBury19 January 1929MFBill ClitheroeLeeds United19 January 1929FWJoe HillLeeds United19 January 1929FWEric HumphreyLeeds United
Out Last appearanceNat.Pos.NameTo17 November 1929FWBill HendersonExeter City17 November 1929MFBob PrestonReleased5 January 1929FWEric PriceReleased23 February 1929FWHerbert BuddKettering Town23 February 1929MFArthur ChamberlainWorksop Town9 March 1929MFCharlie DavisYork City9 March 1929DFJack PriceReleased29 March 1929DFWillie BrownDundalk13 April 1929FWBill GardnerYork City27 April 1929FWCyril HemingwayExeter City27 April 1929FWJim MackeyDartford27 April 1929DFJames MellonJarrow27 April 1929FWAlwyn ThomasExeter City4 May 1929MFJim CarrickAccrington Stanley4 May 1929FWAlec EdmundsReleased4 May 1929FWEric HumphreyReleased4 May 1929MFArthur SmeatonLuton Town Source:
References
External links