Honours:1 FA Cup In doing so he was elbowed in the face, tackled from behind, and finally brought down by the goalkeeper. On 1 January 1994, he was appointed an OBE and on 18 January 1997, Bolton decided to name their East Stand at their new Reebok Stadium after him. During World War II, nearly 48,000 men served in the coal mines, the majority of which were chosen at random during the conscription process, with that number including volunteers. "He was probably one of the best centre forwards England ever had, very aggressive and combative with great speed. Entwistle, like Lofthouse, was an avid Wanderers fan and was named to the club's board in 1937. Six years later, he was promoted to the head coach position, and the following year, he took to managing the club. The title came from a prestigious match against Austria in 1952. . On 22 March 1941, he made his debut for Bolton, scoring two goals in a 5-1 victory over Bury. Sculptor Sean Hedges Quinn will depict the captain leading his team onto the pitch and will be emblazoned with Nat's final words: "I've got the ball now, it's a bit worn, but I've got it.". Returning on the bus after the game he was shocked to find Tommy Lawton waiting for him. That is, a sane person that wasn't scared of facing the Lion of Vienna on the pitch. A year ago today, Bolton Wanderers announced plans to immortalize the Lion of Vienna with a statue in front of the Reebok Stadium. That was the last moment of real glory for Lofthouse's playing career, and for Bolton as well. Bolton finished in the top half of the table for 6 of those 13 seasons. Mr Lofthouse, known as the Lion of Vienna, died on 15 January aged 85. He would later serve as the Chairman of the Board on two occasions: in 1952-1953 and again from 1961-1963. Retiring from playing in 1960, he was made a President of Bolton Wanderers in 1986, a post he held until his death in 2011. To prove it, they battered England with arms, legs and heads. Around 200 fans stormed the pitch after the final whistle sounded, creating a fantastic scene. Two players were so injured they were never able to take to the football pitch again, and the final player, goalkeeper Ray Wood, was still recovering from injuries sustained. Between 1950 and 1958, he played 33 times for the England national football team. In his 1999 book, Bolton Wanderers, Dean Hayes illustrated what a typical day looked like for Lofthouse: "Bevin Boy Lofthouse's Saturdays went like this: up at 3.30 a.m., catching the 4.30 tram to work; eight hours down the pit pushing tubs; collected by the team coach; playing for Bolton. [3] Lofthouse went into a challenge with the United keeper Harry Gregg and barged him into the net to score. As it turned out, the England team ended up on the receiving end of a brutal match. Disappointing loss aside, Lofthouse scored the first goal of the match just 75 seconds in, meaning he scored in every round of the competition that season. He was forced to retire at the age of 35 because of his persistent injuries. by ReadTheLeague | May 24, 2021 | The Big Feature. Nat was the youngest of four boys. RIP Nat Lofthouse. 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. In the second half, the Wanderers looked the better team, as the thrown-together nature of Manchester United began to show. 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. For the recognition of club and country, a statue stands outside Bolton's stadium. Billy Wright had defensive prowess; Tom Finney, pinpoint crossing accuracy; Stan Matthews, a mesmeric array of tricks. Even his nickname, the Lion of Vienna, is something you wouldn't dream of bestowing upon the modern player. 16 January 2011 #1. That didn't last long though, as soon as Lofthouse was placed up front and the goals flowed. The Bolton boys launched another attack, ending with a Ray Parry shot on goal. When he awoke several moments later, groggy and with a good deal more pain than even he was used to, he was informed that he had just scored one of the defining goals of his career. The tour began with a 1-1 draw between England and Italy in Florence. On 25 May 1952, Lofthouse earned the title 'Lion of Vienna' after scoring his second goal in England's 3-2 victory over Austria . Find him, you got a winner. Bill Ridding, the man that had managed Wanderers for 18 seasons, had left the club just before the start of the 1968-1969 season. Nat was discovered by James Entwistle, the Mayor of Bolton at the time. We had to do something quickly and we had no identity at that time. On the domestic front Lofthouse enjoyed an outstanding 1952-53 season. 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. From an early age, Nat was a Bolton Wanderers supporter. Ultimately, the Hungarians cruelly exposed Englands insecurities in May 1954 and November 1953 against Continental opposition. With him passed away a piece of Bolton Wanderers Football Club that will never return. Bolton born and bred, Lofthouse was signed by Bolton Wanderers as a 14 year old apprentice in 1939. Posts 7,107 Likes 2 Location swindon wilts. Bolton were 3-1 up with just 22 minutes to go but their opponents, inspired by Stanley Matthews, stormed back to win 4-3. Sign up to our fortnightly newsletter below. This was a one-off and Bolton came from behind to get the better of Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge with goals from Hunt and Lol Hamlett. It didnt take long for Lofthouse to start getting attention from professional clubs and in 1939 at the age of just 14 he was persuaded by Bolton Wanderers manager Charles Foweraker to sign for his local club with a little help from another important man in the city. Lofthouse would go on to play 33 games for England, but his debut on 22 November 1950 made him 25 when he finally broke into the team. Nat charged forward with the ball, in typical Lofthouse fashion receiving an elbow in the face and a tackle from behind. I hit it when he was right on top of me. As he regretted later, I never saw the ball enter the Austrian net for the goal of my life.. Despite this, England won the game in a hostile country despite suffering physical battering. He featured in the 1954 World Cup side. For England he scored a phenomenal 30 goals in 33 games. England travelled to to meet an Austria side that at the time were considered among the best in Europe and who had the better of the 2-2 draw at Wembley six months before. Despite that flirtation with a move to Spurs (they came back in for him a second time in 1954 but were again rebuffed) and an audacious attempt by Fiorentina to take him to Italy, Lofthouse remained a one-club man. That's the two words that go together and the thing about Nat was, as well, that you don't need to put his surname there, do you? During Lofthouses career, Vienna played a crucial role. Lofthouse returned to Burnden Park full-time in 1968 spending a mostly nondescript three-year spell as manager. He wasn't part of an illustrious academy early on, like those you see in the modern game. As though fate declared it, Nat's debut for Bolton's first team also came against a Bury side, on March 22, 1941. In doing so he was elbowed in the face, tackled from behind, and finally brought down by the goalkeeper. In a football match bearing the weight of sport, politics, and differing ideologies, Lofthouse approached the pitch as though it were a battlefield, sacrificing his body (and probably a few brain cells) to win an important, poignant, and unexpected, victory for England. It was important not to strike the ball too soon. Bolton Wanderers Beat Manchester United at Wembley: Bolton players chair their Captain and hero Nat Lofthouse with the cup, at the end of the match. It was impossible for Bolton fans to feel this way for long however, he was the club's top scorer that first season after the war, with 21 goals in all competitions. Sir Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse together at the National Football Museum Hall Of Fame awards in 2002. It was there that the conversation that would change his life forever took place. Had Lofthouse not been a Bolton Wanderers player, life would have been extremely difficult for him. His goals-per-game ratio was among the highest among all England players between 1950 and 1958, during which he won 33 caps for England. Soon after Lofthouse's death a swell of support for a statue to be built in his memory started. In the following Sundays game with Austria, England was widely considered as an underdog. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Please enter the following information to sign up. 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. However, given his family's financial stance and the need to care for four boys, the young Lofthouse could not afford to pay for entry into Burnden Park to watch his beloved Whites. His strength and power were again prominent when he won the single honour of his career. Due to hostilities, Lofthouse didnt make his league debut for Wanderers until the 1946-47 season. In response to penalty appeals, the referee awarded a corner. He earned the nickname by leading England to victory over Austria in Vienna on 25 May 1952. ], On 3 May 1958, almost five years to the day after losing the 1953 final, Lofthouse captained Bolton in the 1958 FA Cup Final against Manchester United. Football was also a significant sport for the two nations. He was made the club's Vice President for life in 1969. 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. In 1952-53, he was named FWA Footballer of the Year. When he came to, he was the Lion of Vienna, an epithet that stuck for the rest of his life. Wanderers gave the then 15-year-old his debut on 14 March 1941 in a wartime match with Bury again providing the opposition. Nat Lofthouse, the battering ram with a shrewd brain and heart of lion A one-club man to his boots, the Bolton and England striker dubbed the Tank by the Austrians, was a giant of the game. At the age of 11 in 1936, Lofthouse tagged along with one of his brothers to watch his older sibling play for the school that they both attended, Castle Hill. When he wasnt on form, neither was the team. Thankfully for Bolton, the games in which Lofthouse wasnt on song were becoming fewer and fewer. A one-club man, he played over 400 games for Bolton Wanderers and earned 33 caps for England (as well as his famous nickname). He hesitated before he emerged at my side. Lofthouse, chased by the Austrian defence, carried the ball into the area and placed it past goalie Musil for the winner. The next season, on Dec. 6, 1947 Nat Lofthouse married the love of his life, Alma Foster, to whom he would remain married until her death in 1986. His father was a coal-bagger for the community's co-operative before becoming the head horse keeper for Bolton Corporation. Unfortunately, Bolton were not able to right their sinking ship under the Lion of Vienna and at the end of the 1970-71 season (after Lofthouse had left the post), Bolton were in 22nd place and relegated to the Third Division (an all-time low until the 1987-1988 season). 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. Bolton as a team were struggling to reassert themselves with their pre-war team dismantled and Foweraker retiring, and that process was made considerably more difficult by the shadow both psychological and financial cast by the Burnden Disaster, a crush that killed 33, in 1946. I learnt to take hard knocks without feeling them. However, theres little doubt that financial pragmatism aside, his heart was always in Bolton and with Wanderers. A year to the day after his death, Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside announced plans for one to be built and for the statue to be situated outside the Reebok Stadium. Many would travel more than a mile down into the earth for around eight hours per day of very hard, physical work. [3] Shoulder charging the goalkeeper was a legitimate tactic at the time, but Lofthouse later admitted that his challenge was a foul. The funeral was held 11 days later with 500 invited guests and members of the public inside Bolton Parish Church. Back from national team duty, he then scored six goals in a game for the Football League against the Irish League on 24 September 1952. How many goals in total did Lofthouse score in the 33 matches he played for England? Outside the church, it was former Bolton manager Jimmy Armfield (1971-1974) who perhaps summed it all up best: "It's the fact that he was a one-club man. He netted in every round of the FA Cup in 1953, including the final, only to be thwarted by the wizardry of Stanley Matthews and a hat-trick from Stan Mortensen in one of the most famous finals of all time. It would have certainly resulted in a straight red card by today's standards, but was adjudged to be fair at the time. In his autobiography Goals Galore Lofthouse was fulsome in his praise of Hunt, whose nickname was The Chesterfield Tough. NAT Lofthouse, one of the most famous of all Boltonians and the town's best-loved sporting son, has died at the age of 85. England conceded 24 free kicks, while Austria conceded 19. Prisoner Of A Dubious Peace. In a rare show of off-field bullishness, Lofthouse later remembered that he made it his sole purpose to make one particular writer eat his words even if he choked.

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