South Yorkshire Times, April 5, 1969
Pit Closure Means Blow to Wombwell Sport
Wombwell Main, which for almost a century has been a stronghold of sport in the town, is to lose its cricket and football teams because of the N.C.B’s announcement that they are to close the colliery next month. The N.U.M. are fighting the shutdown decision, but in the meantime the club trustees cannot afford to take chances, and because the greater part of the Athletic financial resources come from that pit they have had no alternative but to withdraw their teams from all Leagues.
“We have withdrawn due to circumstances beyond our control,” said Harold Bannister, Secretary of Wombwell Main Welfare Athletic Club for the past 20 years.
The colliery was sunk 116 years ago, and for most of that time it has prided itself on its sporting activities. It has built up a proud tradition, and its disappearance from the sporting scene will cause great regret.
Says Harold: “The suddenness of all this has come as a great shock, but as any club’s activities are strongly governed by finance, we are faced with no alternative. I am extremely sorry that the club has had to fold up in this way. Everything was arranged for the coming cricket season, and all the Yorkshire Council and Minor League fixtures had been made. We were raring ‘o go, but then came this bombshell and I have had to withdraw from the Leagues and get into touch with club secretaries to tell them to cancel games booked with us.
What is to happen to the well-laid-out sports ground is not known. Almost completed is a new brick pavilion with changing rooms, showers, lounge, and refreshment room. This is being erected at the Hough Lane end of the ground between the existing scorebox and the Veteran Miners’ Institute, and was to have been ready for use for the start of the cricket season in a few week’s time.
Since joining the Yorkshire Council in 1951, Wombwell Main has enjoyed notable success. They were Council championship runners-up and Minor League winners in 1963, and the same season won the Barnsley Shaw Lane knock-out tournament. The following year they reached the quarter-finals of the Yorkshire Council, and in 1965 won the Thorncliffe six-a-side tournament, In 1967 they were Council over-all champions and were also in the quarter-finals. Last year they reached the final of the Yorkshire Council.
Harold says because of the high Calibre of the team lined up for the coming season, players have had no difficulty in finding alternative clubs. It is understood that skipper for the past few seasons, David Garner, together with Keith Donkin, has gone to Hanging Heaton, Cyril Taylor and Archie Wootton have gone to Rockingham, David Haigh, Arthur Pearson, Geoff Stanley and Peter Myers have gone to Ossett, and Terry Wroe is to join Hickleton. There is a possibility that Brian Ivill whose family has been associated with Wombwell Main sport for generations, will join Barnsley.
Wombwell Main Welfare’s soccer team is to finish the current season in the Barnsley Junior League, and then make an exit from the sports scene.