The magnificent 1961/62 promotion season

At last we were up and running. It was astonishing to see players who we had previously thought of as average journeymen move onto a higher level largely through the example set by the two signings and the new training regime which Shankly had introduced. The template had been set. Eight players appeared in 40 or more league games (42 games in the season) and of the 17 who appeared during the season Molyneux, Arrowsmith and Wheeler totalled 6 appearances between them, so he used only more or less 14 players. 

The season got off to a fantastic start. After 11 games we had won 10 and drawn the other and conceded only 4 goals in the process. Roger Hunt was proving to be a striker who might one day play for England and St John was outstanding. Standing only 5ft 8” he was extremely small for a striker but he had a remarkable ability in the air and was capable of outjumping defenders who were 6” and taller than him.

At the back Yeats seemed to be impassable. It should be remembered that this was before the advent of the flat back four that was subsequently introduced with great success by Alf Ramsey. The centre half was protected by his two full backs and, when the going got tough, by a defensive wing half. Yeats was simply magnificent. A huge man (by the standards of the time) he was supreme in the air and a devastating tackler. He often headed the ball from inside his own penalty area beyond the halfway line. 

The first hiccup arrived, as it often did in our second division days, against Middlesborough at Ayresome Park and there were to be 4 more defeats, all away from home, before the turn of the year. These days the press would be writing you off after 5 defeats but the reds picked up the momentum after Christmas and the bandwagon rolled on.

The FA Cup brought its share of drama in the middle of the promotion race. Chelsea were beaten in the 3rd round after a nail biter (4-3) and we then got the better of Oldham away thanks to two late goals from St John. I remember that game extremely well as Boundary Park (in fact the whole of the North West) was almost fog-bound and, although the game was never in danger of being called off, I recall a nightmare trip back along the East Lancs Road with visibility no more than 20 yards in places.

The 5th round saw us drawn against Preston North End, Shanks' old club, and the first game at Anfield ended scoreless. In those days, of course, cup ties were played to a finish and so, after the draw at Deepdale, a second replay had to take place at a neutral ground. Old Trafford was the venue on another bitterly cold night and the game was decided by a goal from a player who was to become a Liverpool player shortly afterwards. Peter Thompson, Preston's left winger, picked up the ball out on the touchline just inside our half and loped forward before cutting in and hitting a speculative shot from all of 30 yards which sailed over the head of our diminutive goalkeeper Bert Slater. We were out of the Cup and Slater never played for Liverpool again! Another horrendous journey back resulted in me getting home at about 1.00am the following morning. From Manchester!  

In some ways it was probably a good thing to have been eliminated from the Cup as all resources could then be applied to the main objective of promotion. After we had beaten Chelsea 4-3 in the 3rd round we played Norwich City the following week and won 5-4 so we had scored an impressive 9 goals in 2 consecutive games but, ominously, we had conceded 7. Shankly realised that this was not good enough and over the next few weeks he experimented with his full backs. 

John Molyneux, who had been a reliable right back for several years was the one who paid the price for the avalanche of goals that had interrupted what had been an almost unstoppable march to glory. Dick White, a long standing team-mate of Molyneux was tried at right back but, having played all of his career at centre half, it was no surprise that he was unable to plug the gap and after a couple of games Shankly converted Gerry Byrne from the left side to the right and reintroduced Ronnie Moran who had been at the club for 10 years (and who was to remain on the staff for another 34 years) at left back.

In those days team line-ups were always quoted in the formation of the day: Goalkeeper – Right Full-back, Left Full-back – Right-half, Centre-half, Left-half: and for the remainder of that season the line-up at the back was: Slater, Byrne, Moran, Milne, Yeats, and Leishman except that, as mentioned earlier, Bert Slater (at 5ft 8” surely the smallest goalkeeper ever to represent Liverpool) was jettisoned after the Cup defeat against Preston and replaced by Jim Furnell. 

John Molyneux, Bert Slater and Louis Bimpson

Solidarity had returned and, although clean sheets were in short supply, no more than one goal was conceded in any game bar one until promotion had been achieved. The fact that promotion was confirmed by victory over Southampton at Anfield with 5 games still to play illustrates how dominant we were that season. Two first half goals from Kevin Lewis sealed the win and it was ironic that Lewis should score the vital goals as he was only playing because Ian St John, who had been sensational in his first season at Anfield, was suspended.

The team did a lap of honour after the final whistle, the first time that it had happened in my experience of attending Anfield since 1948. In those days when a player was suspended he was not allowed to even attend the ground during his suspension and we were all mortified that St John was unable to enjoy the fruits of his prodigious performances during the season. Or at least we were until, who should join the team on the lap of honour but the Saint! 

At a distance of 44 years the thing that sticks in my memory more than anything about the lap of honour was that the pitch was an absolute quagmire and St John wore a very expensive looking pair of shoes which must have been ruined. I suspect that he was probably able to afford to buy a new pair! 

A home game against Stoke City took place the following Monday evening at which the Second Division Trophy was presented. I had never seen Liverpool pick up anything and I set off for Anfield that night with huge anticipation. We were half way through the tunnel when the fuel pump on my mate’s Mini packed up and we had to be towed out at enormous expense so I never did see the presentation. I only had to wait 2 years and the prize was an even greater one but that is a story for another day.

Copyright - John Martin - written for LFChistory.net