When the football stops:
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:10 am
When the football stops: The amazing Cardiff City stories, the heroes who emerged and what happened next
Here are the incredible stories of what happened to Cardiff City players when football had been stopped in the past
By Glen Williams
The UK is currently in lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
As such, it means all football in this country is suspended until at least April 30, but in reality that timescale will almost certainly be lengthened.
In these most unprecedented of times for the country, one wonders when the last time the football was put on hold, how Cardiff City coped and what happened afterwards.
Here, WalesOnline takes a look at the last three occasions football was stopped, the incredible individual stories which emerged and what happened next for the club.
World War I (suspended 1915-19)
Incredibly, in the first year of WWI, 1914, football was still played.
That plan was soon kiboshed the year after and Cardiff City, who were then playing in the Southern Division League One, like so many other clubs across the country, saw their players head off to war.
There are important tales in Cardiff’s history which happened during this war, but perhaps the most lasting legacy comes in the form of Lord Ninian Chrichton-Stuart.
His ties were firmly rooted in South Wales, though, his family's estate included Cardiff Castle, no less, and despite being Scottish he endeavoured to learn Welsh and moved to the Welsh capital in 1910.
That year, the Bluebirds had secured the plot of land to build a new stadium but funding fell through, that was until Lord Chrichton-Stuart, an MP, stepped in to fund the development. As such, the initial name of Sloper Park was banished and instead named Ninian Park.
The Scot took command of the 6th (Glamorgan) Battalion, The Welch Regiment, and volunteered to lead his men on the western front, where he was shot and killed following an 11-month battle in October 1915.
But the impact he made on the Welsh capital club will forever be remembered.
Fred Keenor, another colossal figure in Cardiff City's history, was also shipped off to war. Although he was revered as a defender on the pitch, with a gun in his hand, he was branded 'the worst shot he had ever seen' by his regiment leader.
He was right on the front line and was there for the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles in military history. Keenor later described he Battle of Delville Wood as "hellish" and remembers it "raining shells". He was wounded so severely - a piece of artillery shrapnel struck his left leg above the knee rendering him unable to walk - it was thought his football career would be over. There was even talk of amputating his leg.
City fans will be eternally grateful they decided against that and Keenor, somewhat miraculously, returned home and lifted that famous FA Cup trophy with the Bluebirds just 11 years after that horrific leg wound.
Billy Hardy was the Bluebirds' first ever professional footballer when manager Fred Stewart himself paid the £25 transfer fee to sign him from Stockport County in 1912.
He remains the Bluebirds' all-time record appearance holder with 590 outings for the club, leaving at the age of 41 in 1932 with an FA Cup title to his name. He also served during The Great War. He was demobilised for the 1919/20 season owing to injuries sustained in battle in 1918.
Jack Evans in 1912 was the first Cardiff City player ever to receive a call-up to the Wales national squad. The outside left’s shots were known to be so venomous one keeper broke his hand, while a Manchester City stopper was knocked out cold by an Evans strike. He served in the Royal Engineers.
An utterly tragic story is that of Tom Witts, the only Cardiff player to die in the war - and the fate befell him just two days before Armistice was signed.
Lyndon Sandoe, John Stevenson and Arthur Fish were all City players enlisted in the war effort. While former Bluebirds Billy Douglas and Billy Gaughan and Wally Stewart also served, the latter also tragically dying in action.
Here are the incredible stories of what happened to Cardiff City players when football had been stopped in the past
By Glen Williams
The UK is currently in lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
As such, it means all football in this country is suspended until at least April 30, but in reality that timescale will almost certainly be lengthened.
In these most unprecedented of times for the country, one wonders when the last time the football was put on hold, how Cardiff City coped and what happened afterwards.
Here, WalesOnline takes a look at the last three occasions football was stopped, the incredible individual stories which emerged and what happened next for the club.
World War I (suspended 1915-19)
Incredibly, in the first year of WWI, 1914, football was still played.
That plan was soon kiboshed the year after and Cardiff City, who were then playing in the Southern Division League One, like so many other clubs across the country, saw their players head off to war.
There are important tales in Cardiff’s history which happened during this war, but perhaps the most lasting legacy comes in the form of Lord Ninian Chrichton-Stuart.
His ties were firmly rooted in South Wales, though, his family's estate included Cardiff Castle, no less, and despite being Scottish he endeavoured to learn Welsh and moved to the Welsh capital in 1910.
That year, the Bluebirds had secured the plot of land to build a new stadium but funding fell through, that was until Lord Chrichton-Stuart, an MP, stepped in to fund the development. As such, the initial name of Sloper Park was banished and instead named Ninian Park.
The Scot took command of the 6th (Glamorgan) Battalion, The Welch Regiment, and volunteered to lead his men on the western front, where he was shot and killed following an 11-month battle in October 1915.
But the impact he made on the Welsh capital club will forever be remembered.
Fred Keenor, another colossal figure in Cardiff City's history, was also shipped off to war. Although he was revered as a defender on the pitch, with a gun in his hand, he was branded 'the worst shot he had ever seen' by his regiment leader.
He was right on the front line and was there for the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles in military history. Keenor later described he Battle of Delville Wood as "hellish" and remembers it "raining shells". He was wounded so severely - a piece of artillery shrapnel struck his left leg above the knee rendering him unable to walk - it was thought his football career would be over. There was even talk of amputating his leg.
City fans will be eternally grateful they decided against that and Keenor, somewhat miraculously, returned home and lifted that famous FA Cup trophy with the Bluebirds just 11 years after that horrific leg wound.
Billy Hardy was the Bluebirds' first ever professional footballer when manager Fred Stewart himself paid the £25 transfer fee to sign him from Stockport County in 1912.
He remains the Bluebirds' all-time record appearance holder with 590 outings for the club, leaving at the age of 41 in 1932 with an FA Cup title to his name. He also served during The Great War. He was demobilised for the 1919/20 season owing to injuries sustained in battle in 1918.
Jack Evans in 1912 was the first Cardiff City player ever to receive a call-up to the Wales national squad. The outside left’s shots were known to be so venomous one keeper broke his hand, while a Manchester City stopper was knocked out cold by an Evans strike. He served in the Royal Engineers.
An utterly tragic story is that of Tom Witts, the only Cardiff player to die in the war - and the fate befell him just two days before Armistice was signed.
Lyndon Sandoe, John Stevenson and Arthur Fish were all City players enlisted in the war effort. While former Bluebirds Billy Douglas and Billy Gaughan and Wally Stewart also served, the latter also tragically dying in action.