Richard Watmough

Richard Watmough was born in Idle in 1912. An outside-right he played non-league football before joining Bradford City in 1931. Over the next three years he scored 25 goals in 94 league games for the Second Division side.

In October 1934 Watmough was transferred to Blackpool. He was a regular scorer of goals but his greatest skill was in creating chances for others. In the 1936-37 season Watmough helped Blackpool get promotion to the First Division.

The following season he moved to Preston North End. It was a complex deal that involved Watmough and Jimmy McIntosh being exchanged for Frank O''Donnell.

In the 1937-38 season Preston North End challenged Arsenal for the First Division title. In the final match of the season the two teams played each other. During the game Jimmy Milne broke his collarbone in a collision with Alf Kirchen. Ten man Preston lost 3-1 and Arsenal won the championship.

Preston North End also got to the 1938 FA Cup Final against Huddersfield Town. This was the first time that a whole match was shown live on television. Even so, far more people watched the game in the stadium as only around 10,000 people at the time owned television sets. No goals were scored during the first 90 minutes and so extra-time was played. In the last minute of extra-time, Bill Shankly put George Mutch through on goal. Alf Young, Huddersfield's centre-half, brought him down from behind and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Mutch was injured in the tackle but after receiving treatment he got up and scored via the crossbar. It was the only goal in the game and Watmough won a cup winner's medal.

As a result of injuries Watmough did not make the first team during the 1938-39 season. He retired from football at the outbreak of the Second World War.

Richard Watmough died in 1962.