At the time of his father’s death a couple of years ago, Roger Dainty and his father Len had been watching the fortunes of Northampton Town together for the past six decades. Roger tells the story of how his father became such an avid Cobblers fan, as well as his own experiences of supporting the club.
Born in Kettering in 1925, Len Dainty became a Northampton Town fan at the age of ten. That’s when he and his mates decided to cycle the ten miles from Broughton, Northamptonshire to the County Ground to see Northampton Town playing in the old Third Division. A local garage in Abington was used as a bike storage unit for the afternoon, making sure the transport back to Broughton was secured.
During the second world war Len volunteered for the RAF. Being a Cobblers fan had to take a backseat during the war, but he managed to stay close to football. Len and an evacuee friend were able to get tickets for the 1943 Southern FA Cup final between Arsenal and Charlton. 75,000 people were at Wembley for that game, witnessing a one sided final Arsenal won 7-1. Being stationed near Blackpool while in the RAF, Len was fortunate enough to have England international Sir Stanley Matthews as a PT instructor. He went to Bloomfield Road many a time to see Blackpool and Matthews in action, although he repeatedly admitted to Roger that he thought Stan Mortensen was the better player out of the two Blackpool household names.
Len was on active service in Burma before being demobbed, and on returning to his native Northamptonshire he worked most of his life in the boot and shoe industry. He once again became a regular at the County Ground, the venue Northampton Town shared with Northamptonshire Cricket Club, until the Cobblers moved to the new all-seater stadium Sixfields in October 1994. Along with a group of friends he often went to away games, by then having swapped his bike for buses and trains. He was present when Northampton lost 3-2 to Arsenal in the 1951 FA Cup, in front of a record crowd of 72,408 at Highbury, and he also travelled to Anfield for Northampton’s 3-1 defeat in the same competition in 1958. Standing in the Kop at Anfield was a surreal experience, but also quite a painful one as his ribs were crushed on the barrier every time the crowd swayed behind him.
Roger believes his father’s fondest memory of Northampton Town would have been in the early 1960s, when the team completed a remarkable climb from the old Fourth Division to the First. Unfortunately they only lasted the one season in the top flight, as Len and 24,523 others witnessed the 4-2 home defeat against Fulham confirming their relegation. It was a memorable season nonetheless, with Len watching his club beat Aston Villa twice as well as home victories against the likes of Leeds, Newcastle and West Ham. The club have yet to reach those spectacular heights in English league football again.
Roger was 9 years old when his father took him to his first game. It was December 1968 and a brace from Luton Town forward, and future Arsenal manager, Bruce Rioch settled the game in a 2-0 win to the visitors. But Roger was immediately hooked and went to see all the home games plus any away games that were contested locally. When Northampton Town moved to Sixfields, both Len and Roger became season ticket holders. They travelled to the games together until Len’s death two years ago at the age of 88. At the time of his death, Roger, who is still a season ticket holder, estimates his father would have seen the Cobblers play over 1,300 times. And he definitely suspects that they lost more of those games than they won.
Roger Dainty shared his story via GuardianWitness. You can see all the contributions or share your own football experience or memory, via GuardianWitness.
This article was amended on 24 February to correct the place of the local garage.
