The only thing worse was when I said yes.' Bolton were 3-1 up with just 22 minutes to go but their opponents, inspired by Stanley Matthews, stormed back to win 4-3. Even his nickname, the Lion of Vienna, is something you wouldn't dream of bestowing upon the modern player. A one-club man with a passionate love for his hometown and his club, his decision to remain at Burnden Park for his entire career was never truly in his hands, with no freedom of contract meaning the club had absolute power over their player. And so, Lofthouse had achieved his boyhood dream, to be a Bolton Wanderers player, at age 14. He said later; I never saw the ball enter the Austrian net for the best goal of my life. He is third in the Premier League (old Division 1) list behind Jimmy Greaves (357) and Alan Shearer (283). The Lion of Vienna, Fifty Years a Legend (Edinburgh, 1989); Billy Wright, The Worlds My Football Pitch (London, 1953); Percy M Young, Bolton Wanderers (London, 1961); England Beat Austria, Path Film; Dave Russell, Deeply Honoured: The Rise and Significance of the British Sporting Award. Viennas Soviet Zone is home to the Praterstadion, where the match was played. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. He is still Bolton's top scorer of all time. Indeed, he did little to dissuade attention from Spurs early on in his career, and readily admitted that had Fiorentina made good on their interest in the early 1950s, the money they were offering would have been too good to turn down. The award was given in recognition of his great skill with the ball at a time when English football was not known for its aesthetic beauty. It was a friendly against the old Yugoslavia, with Nat scoring both England goals in a 2-all draw. As far as Englands league goalscorers are concerned, Nat Lofthouse is 37th all-time. Too young for military service, Nat was determined to work hard on and off the field. A typical Saturday for Lofthouse involved getting up at 3.30am, catching the 4.30am tram to work, and working down the pit for 8 hours before the team bus took him to the match. Stanley Mathewshad his last chance to earn a winners medal. It was no more than Nat Lofthouse deserved. [3], On 26 November 1958, Lofthouse made his final England appearance, against Wales, at the age of 33, and he officially retired from the game in January 1960 because of an ankle injury, although his final league game was not until 17 December of that year, when he suffered a knee injury against Birmingham City. Nat Lofthouse was everything you will not find in a footballer today. After failing to score in the win over Scotland at Hampden the centre forward went on Englands 1952 summer tour. Instead of scarring him, the experience seemed to instill a sense of purpose when it came to scoring goals which was reflected throughout his career. He later served as chief scout, caretaker manager, executive manager and as the clubs president from 1986. It happened a lot in our day as it were, of course. Several players in the match played below their level, with Nat Lofthouse one of those.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'historyofsoccer_info-banner-1','ezslot_10',184,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofsoccer_info-banner-1-0'); In the Daily Telegraph, Frank Coles wrote, One of the question marks is against Lofthouse. They could not receive service medals and were not guaranteed a return to their old jobs, unlike those serving in the armed forces. From an early age, Nat was a Bolton Wanderers supporter. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Indeed, many of the stereotypes we now associate with players from the sepia-tinged era of the 1950s have their roots in Lofthouses own story. Nat was discovered by James Entwistle, the Mayor of Bolton at the time. Nathaniel Lofthouse OBE (27 August 1925 15 January 2011) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Bolton Wanderers for his entire career. A forceful player, he combined physical strength with a powerful shot in either foot or a strong header. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. A) 20 B) 30 C) 40 Overcrowding resulted in spectators spilling over onto the touchline. The new forward scored twice but Lawton matched his feat and Chelsea scraped to a 4-3 win. In the swing of things and in its heyday, the stadium could hold up to 70,000 people (albeit in close quarters) so one boy without a ticket would not be easily noticed. The crowd in the stands cheered Lofthouse on.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'historyofsoccer_info-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_14',187,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofsoccer_info-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); As Lofthouse recalls, I heard the hounds running after me. Musil began running but stopped before he reached me. After the game for Castle Hill, Nat asked the school side's manager for more games. Throughout the opening 20 minutes, Austria dominated, but England responded. I could hear the hounds setting off after me but I knew it was basically down to me and [Austrian goalkeeper Josef] Musil. The sickening collision between striker and keeper left Lofthouse knocked out cold. He was a pivotal figure in one of the true golden ages of the beautiful game, ending his career as the leading goal scorer for both his club and his country, with a reputation as one of the game's true greats. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. For England he scored a phenomenal 30 goals in 33 games. Lofthouse was witness to a Bolton Wanderers golden age of top flight success throughout the 1930s and although the Trotters won three FA Cups in Nat's life time, he was too young to witness the 1926 and 1929 wins over Manchester City and Portsmouth. In his autobiography Goals Galore Lofthouse was fulsome in his praise of Hunt, whose nickname was The Chesterfield Tough. The 1958-59 campaign provided a final high point in Lofthouses international career. He also topped the list of Division 1 scorers with an impressive tally of 30 goals. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The military nature of this event was further underscored by the presence of so many British soldiers in uniform. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information. Lofthouse Lofthouse was dubbed the "Lion of Vienna" after scoring the second goal in England's 3-2 triumph over Austria on May 25, 1952. . What made Lofthouses feats all the more remarkable was the manner in which he shrugged them off. During the war, he was one of 48,000 men who were sent to work in the coal mines rather than the armed services with a . He was the club's top scorer in 11 out of the 13 seasons between 1946-47 and 1958-59, with his highest tally in a season resting at 35 goals, attained in that final season of 1958-59. The Lion Of Vienna. Only two players from Manchester United's side that lost to Aston Villa in the previous year's final took the field on May 3, 1958, Bill Foulkes and Bobby Charlton, and a further two were survivors of the disaster. As a result, Nat Lofthouse was nicknamed the Lion of Vienna. [6], Tributes were paid to Lofthouse as he celebrated his 80th birthday, including a party at the Reebok. He featured in the 1954 World Cup side. Quick off the mark, an ability to shoot with either foot, with strength and agility in the air an innate ability to be in the right place at the right time. Nat Lofthouse. Our vision is to provide everyone in the world with a free and open-access education about the history of soccer with our online content compilation. It was much like the story told about the war that had now ended they were battered and bruised but had come out on top. On foreign soil, the English brave and plucky had triumphed over technologically superior opponents against all odds. However, theres little doubt that financial pragmatism aside, his heart was always in Bolton and with Wanderers. Drawing 2-2 and with the Austrians pressing for a famous win, an England counter-attack saw Lofthouse put through on goal. On this occasion, he relieved himself of day-to-day duties at the club but remained on board as an ambassador for the Trotters, attending matches and club events for years to come. Nat was always a big boy and because of that, often found himself in goal, acting as the last line of defense for whatever ragtag side he found himself playing on. Lofthouse was consistently self-deprecating about his abilities his favourite maxim, borrowed from one of his coaches at Bolton, was that all he could do was run, shoot, and head but it slowly became apparent that by doing all three with a sort of relentless, irresistible energy, he needed little else. The Lion of Vienna's impact to Bolton Wanderers was just as important off the pitch as it was on. Quite possibly the best football magazine in the World, 2023 All Rights Reserved - Read The League Built by B[]X, RIDE TO HELL. Mr Lofthouse, known as the Lion of Vienna, died on 15 January aged 85. The total number of free kicks might seem insignificant today, but for soccer in the 1950s was significant. Nat Lofthouse was Bolton in a way that the modern day equivalent of Kevin Davies, however loved by the fans, could never be. [18], list of English football's top division all time goalscorers, "Nathaniel Lofthouse - Goals in International Matches", "Bolton Wanderers and England legend Nat Lofthouse dies aged 85", "This is Your Life (1969 - 1993) @ EOFFTV", "11 football greats who have suffered with dementia", "Bolton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 4: match report", "Mourners hail Nat Lofthouse as 'credit to Bolton', "1953 - The Matthews. Nat Lofthouse had endured well against a battering from the Italian defenders, despite these suggestions of poor performance. Although the England players have not yet abandoned hope, the home team was 2-1 favorites to win this match. His most memorable performance,. Half a century after Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), they were finally recognized as contributors to the war effort by Queen Elizabeth II. He slid the ball past the keeper but was knocked cold in the challenge as he did. Italy had already won the World Cup twice, and football had returned to its former glory following the war. Towards the end of the 1956-57 season there was some doubt over whether Lofthouse would remain at Bolton and it was all because of a pub. Lofthouse was at his imperious best, plundering goals at a rate that even the sportswriters who had grown up watching the likes of, The England camp was tense as dawn broke in Vienna, Austria, on the morning of 25 May 1952. In 1952-53, he was named FWA Footballer of the Year. Discover Nat Lofthouse's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Nat Lofthouse was a 'Bevin Boy', one of thousands of young men conscripted to work in Britain's mines by Ernest Bevin, the coalition government's Minister of Labour and National Service during. But you always associate Nat with Bolton. Playing career [ edit] Lofthouses story wasnt as black and white as many modern accounts would have readers believe. On 22 March 1941, he made his debut for Bolton, scoring two goals in a 5-1 victory over Bury. [7] A campaign, backed by Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association and former Bolton player, was started, aiming to get Lofthouse knighted. In 1952-53, he was named FWA Footballer of the Year. To prove it, they battered England with arms, legs and heads. The match in question was a 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Nat scored 2 of Bolton's goals. With him passed away a piece of Bolton Wanderers Football Club that will never return. Thread starter leefer; Start date 16 January 2011; leefer Loyal Member. He signed as a 14-year-old for the club in September 1939, making wartime appearances before becoming an established league star in peacetime. It was taken from 40 yards and swerved like a mad thing past the astonished Robertson in the Chelsea goal.. The great Nat Lofthouse was born to humble beginnings on the 27th of August, 1925 to Richard and Sarah Lofthouse. Speaking at Nat's "This Is Your Life" show, Bolton Wanderers' commercial manager at the time, Alf Davies shared just how crucial Nat Lofthouse's presence at the club was: "In 1982, we hit on some hard times and in 1982, we had just six weeks to live before the bank called time on our activities. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'historyofsoccer_info-leader-1','ezslot_12',186,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofsoccer_info-leader-1-0');White shirts were worn by Austria and red by England. He was forced to retire at the age of 35 because of his persistent injuries. Eulogies were offered by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside and Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor, a boyhood Bolton fan and former Wanderers player. In 1943, Nat Lofthouse was called upon to serve as a Bevin Boy at the Mosley Common coal mine. There was a tense atmosphere in both countries in 1952 when memories of recent misfortunes were mixed with a present sense of injustice and a zeal for spiritual and national renewal. Lofthouse was one of the inaugural inductees to the National Football Museum Hall Of Fame in 2002, attending the event to collect his award alongside other greats of the game, including his friend and former England team-mate Sir Tom Finney. Lofthouse earned full international recognition when he was called up to play for his country against Yugoslavia at Highbury in November 1950. Harry Gregg, a survivor of the crash who would go on to be one of United's best goalkeepers ever, could only manage to deflect the shot. It would have certainly resulted in a straight red card by today's standards, but was adjudged to be fair at the time. Richard Lofthouse brought up his family on a weekly wage of just 2 10s. His father, Robert, was a coal bagger and head horse keeper for the Bolton Corporation but once his footballing skills come to the fore it was quickly apparent that there was no way Nat would be following in Dads footsteps full time. Born in Bolton, Lancashire, in 1925, Lofthouse joined the town's main club on 4 September 1939 and made his debut in a wartime 51 win against Bury on 22 March 1941 when he scored two goals. Lofthouse found the step up in quality in First Division defences hard to cope with, and he briefly considered leaving the game, as well as entertaining an offer from Tottenham, then of the Second Division. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. He started his countrys next 12 internationals scoring 13 times.