Middle row (l-r);
Front row (l-r);
By Jim Brown
In the factories and pubs around Coventry in the summer of 1935 the main subject of discussion was promotion and the talk was of third time lucky. The board of directors backed manager Harry Storer’s judgement by rejecting a £6,000 bid from Spurs for Les Jones but also signing two experienced wingers, George McNestry from Bristol Rovers and Arthur Fitton from Preston.
After losing at Reading on the opening day City went nine games unbeaten and were the early leaders along with Reading and Luton Town. Bourton continued to knock the goals in but not at quite the prolific rate as the past but the whole forward line was capable of goals. Crystal Palace were hit for eight, Newport for seven and QPR for six, all at home where City notched a record equalling 75 goals. Of 21 home games, 19 were won, one drawn and only lowly Aldershot, with a shock 2-0 win on Christmas Day lowered the colours in a game watched by over 23,000.
That defeat did not dampen the fans enthusiasm and three days later over 26,000 saw City bounce back with a win over nearest challengers Reading. In the last two months of the season it became a two-horse race between City and Luton for the one promotion place and the two teams met each other home and away in the space of three days at the end of April. City went into first game, at Luton, leading the Hatters on goal average.
A nervous game ended in a 1-1 draw watched by a record Kenilworth Road crowd of 23,142 and the titanic struggle moved to Highfield Road two days later. The game kicked –off at 6.15, and a crowd of 42,809, over 11,000 more than the record crammed into the ground to watch another tense game end 0-0.
It was reported that a large number of people ‘gate-crashed’ one of the entrances but amazingly no one was hurt despite some crazy antics by some spectators to get a better view. Spectators climbed advertising hoardings, the old wooden scoreboard on the Kop and onto the roof of the covered end as well as being forced from uncomfortably packed terraces onto the perimeter of the pitch.
The draw left City with what looked like the easy task of beating Torquay in their final game five days later to clinch promotion but they would be without captain George Mason, injured in the first Luton game.
The Torquay result hinged on two penalties. In a nervous and dour game City were awarded a penalty twenty minutes from time. McNestry, normally deadly from the spot, drove it straight at the goalkeeper and minutes later the visitors broke away and scored. With news filtering through that Luton were drawing the dream of promotion was slipping away. City piled on the pressure and were awarded a second penalty. This time stand-in skipper Ernie Curtis coolly slotted home and with three minutes remaining Fred Liddle set up Clarrie Bourton, who else, to tap in the winning goal.
At the final whistle the jubilant City fans in the 30,614 crowd stormed onto the pitch and the City players were swallowed up in the avalanche of fans who wanted to touch their heroes. Their heroes were hoisted onto shoulders and chaired from the pitch and City were promoted as champions, one point ahead of Luton.
The massive crowds for the last two games pushed the average crowd up to 19,232 the highest in the club’s history and the best in the Third Division again. Bourton finished as top scorer with 23 goals but McNestry (20) and Jones (19) were close behind.
