Gridball History & Records
Record Scores
Kent Maids 0-10 Middlesex Saxons April 24th 1954
Durham Lasses 0-10 Middlesex Saxons October 31st 1953
Glasgow Claymores 0-10 Liverpool Liverbirds November 3rd 1951
Durham Lasses 5-5 Glasgow Claymores - March 1st 1952
Liverpool Liverbirds 2-7 Middlesex Saxons - March 17th 1951
Glasgow Claymores 4-5 West Yorkshire Terriers - March 15th 1952
West Yorkshire Terriers 7-2 Essex Blades - May 10th 1952
Total matches played to April 30th 1954 - 211
Team Records
Most wins in a season: Middlesex 12 {1953}
Most points in a season: Middlesex 28 {1953}
Most Bonus points in a season: Birmingham & Middlesex 2 each {1952}, Middlesex {1953}
Most Goals scored in a season: Middlesex 51 {1953}
Most defeats in a season: Durham 11 {1953}
Most penalty points in a season: Leeds - 2 {1952}
Player Records
Most Career goals: 44 - Ellen McKeown - Middlesex {1951-1953}
33 - Sylvia Felgate - Birmingham {1951-1953}
33 - Susan McCrossan - Glasgow {1951-1953}
31 Geraldine Gaunt - Middlesex {1951-1953}
Most goals in a season: 21 - Ellen McKeown - Middlesex {1953]
Most goals in a game: 7 - Janet Camara - Liverpool 10-0 vs Glasgow 3rd November 1953
7 - Ellen McKeown - Middlesex vs Durham 10-0 31st October 1953
Hat Tricks - When Ellen McKeown completed a hat-trick in Middlesex's 10-0 win in Durham on 31st October 1953 it was her record seventh time scoring three or more times in a game.
Other Hat-Trick regulars - Susan Mccrossan {4 Glasgow 1952-1953}
Joan Wallis {3 London 1952-1954}
Geraldine Gaunt {3 Middlesex 1952-1954}
Sylvia Felgate {3 Birmingham 1952-1953}
Eira Cordell {3 Essex 1952-1953}
Mary Broomfield {2 West Yorkshire 1952-1953}
Enid Gleadle {2 Durham 1952}
Most Career Appearances - 41: Norma Blower - Liverpool {1951}, Middlesex {1952-1953}
41: Geraldine Gaunt - Middlesex {1951-1953}
39: Heather Wallace - Middlesex {1951-1953}
38: Mona Bertolino - Birmingham {1951-1953}
38: Sylvia Felgate - Birmingham {1951-1953}
37: Julie Hulatt - Glasgow {1951-1953}
37: Susan McCrossan - Glasgow {1951-1953}
36: Deborah Sellars - Glasgow {1951-1953}
35: Valerie Cutts - West Yorkshire {1952-1953}
35:Vivien Ireland - West Yorkshire {1952-1953}
35: Mary Broomfield - West Yorkshire {1952-1953}
35: Mary Hilton - Birmingham {1951-1953}
Oldest player: Celia McCarthy - Nottingham - Age 46 {1954}
Youngest player: Linda Burroughs - Lancashire - 13 years 180 days {vs Birmingham 7th March 1953}
Oldest Goal scorer: Celia McCarthy - Nottingham - Age 46 - At Tamar {11th September 1954]
Youngest scorer: Linda Burroughs - Lancashire - 14 years, 13 days {2-2 vs West Yorkshire 19th September 1953}
Fastest Goal: Margot Gislingham scored after 11 seconds for Sussex against Hull on 22nd March 1954.
Sin Bin - On 18th April 1953, Nita Leighton of Essex became the first player in Gridball history to be sin binned for a second time, having been sin binned once the previous season. Nita also became the first goalie to successfully defend two penalties when Susan Schwiers effort hit her goal frame in Essex's game in Sheffield on June 26th 1954. Leighton had previously seen Enid Gleadle's effort for Durham fly off target in April 1952
Missed Penalties - Only nine penalties have ever been missed in Gridball history. Schwiers' effort against Leighton was half of the first time two penalties had been missed in one month.
Own Goals - On September 19th 1953, Kent goalie, Betty Page had a nightmare day, diverting the ball into her own goal twice as Middlesex ran out 8-1 winners. It's the only time a player has scored two own goals in a game, and matches the overall total of two career own goals scored by Durham's Kathy Lansbury in two games.
Fightbacks: Only twice has a team ever recovered from being three goals down avoid defeat
Glasgow from 0-3 to 3-3 at Durham {1st March 1952} Finals score 5-5
Durham from 0-3 to 3-3 at Birmingham {1st October 1952} Final score 3-3
Sequences
Supergrid
Most consecutive wins - 6 - Middlesex {15th August 1953 - 31st October 1953}
Most games unbeaten - 11 - Essex 12th December 1953 to 17th July 1954
Most consecutive Championship defeats - 7 - Kent {7th November 1953 - 12th June 1954 - They did win a cup tie during the sequence}
6 - Durham 26th September 1953 - ongoing
Most games without a win - 11 - Leeds {12th April 1952 - Demoted at the end of the season}
Most played fixture Birmingham vs Middlesex {Six} B-4 T-0 M-2 B-9 M-8 {Includes Supergrid 1951 & 1952}
Record Attendance: 3,075 Supergrid 1952
1,364 Middlesex vs Glasgow 5th June 1954 {Regular Season}
Record score - Middlesex 4-3 Birmingham {1951}
Most winners Brooches - 2 - Heather Wallace, Janice Lothian, Audrey Pertwee {Nee Handy} Geraldine Gaunt {Middlesex 1951 & 1952}
Most Supergrid Appearances - 2 - Heather Wallace, Janice Lothian, Audrey Pertwee {Nee Handy} & Geraldine Gaunt { Middlesex 1951 & 1952} Mona Bertolino, Rhoda Shipton, Helen Annis, & Sylvia Felgate {Birmingham 1951 & 1952}
Most Supergrid Goals - Ellen McKeown {3 - Middlesex - 1951} Geraldine Gaunt {3 - Middlesex - 1952}
Fastest Goal - Yootha Feldman - 4th Minute - {London 1953}
Latest Goal - Yootha Feldman - 69th minute {overtime} - {London 1953}
Oldest player - Peggy Heath - 36 - {Birmingham 1951}
Pamela Van Earps - 36 - London {1953}
Oldest Winner - Pamela Van Earps - 36 - {London 1953}
Youngest Player - Asa Martin - 15 - {Birmingham 1951}
Youngest Winner - Heather Wallace - 15 Years, 170 Days - {Middlesex 1951}
Oldest Scorer - Audrey Denbigh - 26 - {West Yorkshire 1953}
Yootha Feldman - 26 - {London 1953}
Youngest Scorer - Asa Martin - 15 - {Birmingham 1951}
Youngest Winning Scorer - Ellen McKeown - 19 {Middlesex 1951}
Honours
Champions
1953 - London
1952 - Middlesex
1951 - Middlesex
Player of the Year -
1953 - Geraldine Gaunt - Middlesex
1952 - Zena Hall - Birmingham
1951 - Ellen McKeown - Middlesex
Golden Bat
1953 - Ellen McKeown - Middlesex {21 Goals}
1952 - Syvlia Felgate - Birmingham {17 Goals}
1951 - Ellen McKeown - Middlesex {12 Goals}
Middlesex - Winners 2 {most recent 1952}
London - Winners 1 {Current}
Birmingham - Winners 0, Runners Up 2
West Yorkshire - Winners 0, Runners Up 1, Third 1
Essex - Winners 0, Runners Up 0, Third 1
Glasgow - Winners 0, Runners Up 0, Third 1
Multiple winners
Ellen McKeown - Golden Bat & Player of the Year 1951, Golden Bat 1953
Contracts
Highest paid player - Valerie Cutts, Yootha Feldman, Patricia Dowie, Deborah Sellars & Geraldine Gaunt £40 a week {1954}
Joan Wallis - £20 a week {1953} First £10+ player
Honor Whitfield - Middlesex - £8 per week 1952 - First Full Time Gridballer
{Gridball salaries are set based on appearances, rating and age}
Quirky
Two goals in the first minute: Susannah Eggar became the first player to score twice in the first two minutes on April 17th 1954 when playing for London against Sussex. Her second goal came after just 71 seconds of the game to set the Champions on the way to a 7-0 victory. Lightening struck twice for the unfortunate Martlets two months later on June 26th when Eugenie Lee got her first two goals on the way to her first ever hat-trick after just 91 seconds, though on this occasion the Martlets avoided a penalty point, going down just 0-3.
Two players sin binned in one game: On 1st March 1952 both netminders were sin binned in separate incidents in the 2-2 tie between London and Essex
Lights Out: On 22nd March 1952 Birmingham were beating Essex 3-0 when the lights in the arena failed and power couldn't be restored. The game had to be abandoned. Rather than replaying the fixture, both teams returned the following day and, in an empty arena, played out the remaining twenty-two minutes with no further scoring.
Opposing sisters: On 8th May 1954 when Sheila Biles' Glasgow visited Wiltshire for an Open Cup tie, her TV actress sister, Dorothy was playing for the opposition. It was the only senior game the TV hostess and model ever played and she scored Wiltshire's goal in a 3-1 defeat.
Spread the goals: Nottingham became the first team to have five different goalscorers in a match on July 31st 1954 when they won 6-0 at Sheffield. Claire Tyzack put them in front and June Morgan added a second before the break. Mary Sellars made it three in the third quarter before Sheffield's Jennifer Charlton diverted the ball past her own netminder. Wendy Redmond added number five in the dying minutes before Morgan completed the scoring with her second of the game.
The defeat for the Cutlers was also record breaking as they became the first team to suffer three penalty points in a season, and the first to suffer back to back maulings after losing their previous game 2-8 at the London Limeys.