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davieG

Howard Riley

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Posted

Foxestalk History Link:- http://www.foxestalk.co.uk/forums/page/playerdetails.php?pid=621

OS:- http://www.lcfc.com/news/article/140213-new-display-highlights-golden-era-656495.aspx?&pageView=full#anchored

Posted: Thu 14 Feb 2013

Author: John Hutchinson

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Howard Riley DisplayImage by: Plumb Images

This week, Club Historian John Hutchinson takes a break from his “The Week In History” blogs, in order to highlight a very impressive new display at King Power Stadium.

Last week an impressive new display was installed at King Power Stadium. It is situated on the second floor landing near to the Lineker Suite. The items in the display recall one of the Club’s golden ages, from a time when, as an established top-flight side, Leicester City were in contention for a League and Cup Double, played in two FA Cup Finals, won the League Cup and played in European Competition.

The memorabilia on display has been kindly loaned to the Club by a key member of those sides, outside-right Howard Riley.

Howard was a local player, born in Wigston. He comes from a sporting family. His father and his grandfather both played first class cricket for Leicestershire and his brothers were also on City’s books.

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By the time that Howard made his first team debut against Nottingham Forest in the old First Division, four days after his 17th birthday, he had already been capped at England Youth level three times (in 1954-55). One of these caps is included in the display.

His first team career was interrupted early on because he had to do his National Service in the Royal Leicestershire Regiment. While serving as a soldier, he was selected to play for the Army and for the England Under-23 side on the same day! The display includes one of Howard’s England Under-23 shirts as well as the Official Programme for his England Under-23 debut, which was against Wales at Wrexham in 1958. Playing in the same England team as Howard that day were Jimmy Greaves, Johnny Haynes and Brian Clough.

Other display items recall some of Howard’s highlights as a Leicester City player.

His blue shirt and tracksuit top from the 1961 FA Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur form the centre-piece of the display. Also on show, in the top right hand corner, is Howard’s Leicester City shirt from the 1963 FA Cup Final against Manchester United. United wore red shirts that day so Leicester City wore white ones to prevent confusing the millions of viewers who were watching the final on black-and-white television.

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Other FA Cup Final-related items on show include the official Matchday Programmes from both finals and a Leicester City rosette from 1963. The most impressive and valuable mementoes are Howard’s two FA Cup Final runners-up medals, which are gleamingly displayed at the front of the display cabinet.

The two team photographs on show relate to this time.

The colour one shows the team for the 1963 final. In addition to Howard, it includes Gordon Banks, John Sjoberg, Richie Norman, Frank McLintock, Ian King, Colin Appleton, Graham Cross, Ken Keyworth, Davie Gibson and Mike Stringfellow. What a team!

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The black-and-white photograph was taken at West Ham United towards the end of the same season when Leicester City, wearing their white shirts, were top of the old First Division table, having recently established a Club record of ten successive wins.

The following year, Leicester City won the League Cup for the first time in their history when they beat Stoke City in a two-legged final. In those days, the winners were awarded tankards rather than medals and Howard’s is on show here, suitably engraved to mark the occasion.

The final item on display is a framed poster on the wall to the right of the display case. This was produced in Spain in November 1961 to advertise the European Cup Winners’ Cup tie between Atletico Madrid (the eventual winners of that season’s competition, which was a forerunner of the current Europa League) and Leicester City. It is a game which Howard still vividly remembers.

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The display was installed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Museum Service under the direction of Caroline Lockwood. It is constructed to the highest professional standards. The board at the back of the display is covered with a special acid-free fabric to safeguard the shirts, and the items have been ingeniously installed to ensure that there is no damage to them whatsoever.

Leicester City Football Club is very privileged to be entrusted with these valuable and historic artefacts and is truly grateful to Howard for loaning them to the Club so that fans can relive some of the glory days of the past.

As a footnote, the Heritage Section of the next two Matchday Magazines for the Charlton Athletic and Blackburn Rovers games, will carry interviews with Howard Riley and his team mate Frank McLintock, in which they reminisce about the times recalled by this display.

Posted

So many heroes during that time

Gordon Banks, John Sjoberg, Richie Norman, Frank McLintock, Ian King, Colin Appleton, Graham Cross, Ken Keyworth, Davie Gibson and Mike Stringfellow.

Posted

Too right :thumbup: I really don't know what has happened but i can't feel anything much for players anymore .

Dunno if I've changed or the game's changed , or maybe a bit of both

Posted

Too right :thumbup: I really don't know what has happened but i can't feel anything much for players anymore .

Dunno if I've changed or the game's changed , or maybe a bit of both

They were better players than we've had for the last 10 years or more, the last time I felt anything like admiration and awe for an LCFC player was the likes of Muzzy, Lennon and Parker and maybe it's because we aspired to be like them and now we know we wont/can't :(

Posted

They were better players than we've had for the last 10 years or more, the last time I felt anything like admiration and awe for an LCFC player was the likes of Muzzy, Lennon and Parker and maybe it's because we aspired to be like them and now we know we wont/can't :(

Yes , it’s difficult to put into words and possibly it is just an emotional, hopeful, aspiration thing.

But it’s not just about the quality of the players, as I really think we have had some truly great players even recently.

But somehow they don’t feel part of “Leicester†anymore. It’s like a travelling circus now and all the smiles and emotions on the player’s faces seem just painted there , there doesn’t seem to be any real feeling and bonding for the fans or team they play for ( I don’t just mean Leicester City of course)

The end days of real player/fan bonding for me were around the mid 80’s. Whatever anyone thinks of the likes of Alan Young etc he seemed to have ( and still has ) a genuine affection for the crowd . Something has gone since then IMO.

It could all be the result of rose coloured specs though. :)

Posted

So many heroes during that time

Gordon Banks, John Sjoberg, Richie Norman, Frank McLintock, Ian King, Colin Appleton, Graham Cross, Ken Keyworth, Davie Gibson and Mike Stringfellow.

Frank McLintock is no hero the worst manager ever had and left the club in a dreadful position
  • 2 months later...
Posted

So many heroes during that time

Gordon Banks, John Sjoberg, Richie Norman, Frank McLintock, Ian King, Colin Appleton, Graham Cross, Ken Keyworth, Davie Gibson and Mike Stringfellow.

And Peter Rodrigues

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