1960s cold snap meant no action for two months

FRUSTRATING as it undoubtedly is for players and supporters, the recent postponement of matches at St James's Park pales into insignificance when you compare it to the great freeze of 1963.

It must be a very long time since two successive fixtures have been called off at the Park due to a frozen pitch, but in 1963 a far more severe cold snap led to a much longer hiatus.

There was also a similar, but not as lengthy, lull in playing matches during the 1946-47 season as the winter months brought havoc in the country — not just with the football programme.

Easterly winds persisted throughout February, with only brief breaks in the cold snowy weather.

On no day did the temperature at Kew Observatory top 5C and only twice in the month was the minimum temperature at night above freezing.

It was the coldest February on record in many places and, for its combination of low temperatures and heavy snow, it bore comparison with January 1814, when it was equally as bad.

Amazingly Exeter City did manage to play two of their Third Division South fixtures and both were away — at Norwich City and Crystal Palace.

The Grecians beat Norwich 3-1 with a couple of goals from Dick 'Digger' Ebdon and one from winger Doug Regan, but a week later they went down 1-0 at the Palace.

But 1947 was nothing in comparison to what happened in the winter of 1963, as City only managed to play one game between the end of December and March 2.

Game after game was called off throughout the country. Exeter's last fixture before the enforced break was at Stockport County on December 29, 1962, as they narrowly lost 4-3 despite goals from Arnold Mitchell, Graham Rees and Eric Welsh.

New Year's Eve was one of the quietest anyone could remember, with few people wanting to brave the freezing weather and temperatures that remained close to or below zero until March.

Road and rail transport was severely disrupted, the airports closed and the River Thames was frozen over.

Football was a major victim, with the FA Cup draw becoming a farce — 'the winners of A or B will play the winners of C or D' etc.

Exeter City desperately tried to organise training sessions for their players, some of which simply involved running up and down the terracing under the Cowshed.

The players even helped out on the pitch as they attempted to break up the solid ice that covered St James's Park.

Hopes were high of a game taking place, only for the weather to close in again. Although with the playing surface frozen solid, it would have been foolhardy to try to play a game of football.

As a 12-year-old I was happy to stay at home as we were unable to go to school, many of which were closed due to the adverse weather. But like so many others, it was the thought of not being able to watch any football that was the real problem.

Getting food supplies delivered was a logistical nightmare and to actually trudge through deep snow to and from the nearest corner shop was really hard work.

Eventually after just over two months of inactivity, the Grecians finally got back to playing and they could not have travelled much further to fulfil a fixture as they headed to Barrow. Their long trip was rewarded though, as Barry Pierce and Ray Carter gave them a 2-0 win.

With such a backlog of fixtures to be played, not surprisingly the Football League season was extended to the end of May.

City's last match of the campaign was as late as May 22, 1963, when they lost 1-0 at Crewe Alexandra to end the season in 17th place in the Fourth Division.