The day a 16-year-old boy was needed for a Shrewsbury Town league match - and held his own

A fortnight previously goalkeeper Alan had been playing for the Town's colts side. The following Saturday he made his debut in the Birmingham League team.

But on Friday, October 5, he got a shock. Because of injuries to Town's first choice goalies, manager Walter Rowley told him they needed him to turn out for the next day's match, a home Football League game against Reading at the Gay Meadow.

It was a dizzying fairytale ascent of the footballing ladder for the six-footer from Chester and unsurprisingly his performance on the day came in for close scrutiny.

The verdict was that the boy did well.

Our match reporter wrote: "He had no reason to be ashamed of his performance – rather the reverse. I echo manager Mr Walter Rowley, who told me after the match: 'I am very happy about the boy.'

"An additional comment from the manager was: 'It has not been a game where he has been in the match a great deal, but that is the worst type of game for a youngster. I think if he had had a peppering he would have been better still.'"

Alan himself was also pleased with his first league outing.

"I think it was very good. I felt a bit nervous at first, but after I had once got hold of the ball that all left me."

He finished the game with a splitting headache, caused by being struck full in the face by the ball in the second half.

Alan was beaten late in the encounter, but that was blamed on a wayward back pass by Alex Simpson, and the match result of a draw was seen as a lost point for Town – in those days it was just two points for a win.

It was to be no flash in the pan for the young keeper, who went on to make 32 league appearances for Town, and was good enough to be called up for England's under-23 squad for a match against Hungary in September 1959, but did not actually play.

He was part of the Town outfit as Shrewsbury won promotion back to the old Third Division in May 1959, after a single season in the Fourth. Shrewsbury were in the promotion mix the following season but Alan was on the move – to Leeds United.

His debut for them in February 1960 was memorable for the wrong reasons, as Fulham scored five without reply, and his time at Elland Road was to prove unhappy.

Later clubs were Gravesend & Northfleet, Mansfield, and finally Chesterfield, with whom his playing career ended in 1970.

Alan was a few weeks short of his 17th birthday when he made his debut. As to whether his record as the Town's youngest ever player in a league match still stands, we'll have to look for help from knowledgeable Shrews fans, but we do know that the record for the youngest player ever to turn out for the Town in a competitive match is now held by Simba Nyamwanza.

Simba was introduced from the bench in the final 10 minutes against Walsall in the EFL Trophy on November 14, 2023, which was his 16th birthday.