December 26, 1939
Match: Red Cross Charity for the St. John Ambulance Fund, at Molineux.
Football League XI – All British XI 3-2 (0-1).
Attendance: 18,000.
Referee: Mr. F.S. Milner (Wolverhampton).
Football League XI (2-3-5): Alex Scott (Wolverhampton Wanderers); Bill Hayes (Huddersfield Town), Eddie Hapgood (Arsenal); Tommy Gardner (Burnley), Dickie Rhodes (Rochdale, sub. Stan Cullis ‘Wolverhampton Wanderers, 15 min.’), Joe Gardiner (Wolverhampton Wanderers); Stanley Matthews (Stoke City), Jack Martin (Aston Villa), Tommy Lawton (Everton), Len Butt (Blackburn Rovers), Cliff Bastin (Arsenal).
All British XI (2-3-5): Arthur Riley (Liverpool); Billy Cook (Everton), George Cummings (Aston Villa); Don Dearson (Birmingham), Bernard Harper (Barnsley), Doug Witcomb (West Bromwich Albion); Frank Broome (Aston Villa), George Mutch (Preston North End), Ephraim Dodds (Blackpool), Peter Doherty (Manchester City), Pat Beasley (Huddersfield Town).
The goals: 0-1 Doherty, 1-1 Butt (69 min.), 1-2 Beasley (71 min.), 2-2 Lawton (75 min.), 3-2 Butt (82 min.).
Spectacular soccer.
18,000 see memorable Red Cross game.
Unique experience of substitute.
The Football League XI and the All British XI in their British Red Cross and St. John Ambulance Fund match at Wolverhampton played classic football. A memorable match ended in a deserved 3-2 victory for the Football League.
The winners had to start without Cullis, who arrived a quarter of an hour late through missing a train connection. His place during this time was taken by Rhodes, formerly a Wolverhampton player and now with Rochdale. Rhodes’s experience of playing for only the first 15 minutes is without parallel in representative football, but all kinds of curious things are being done in the war emergency. The officials undoubtedly acted in the best interest of the 18,000 spectators.
The All-British XI were superior in attack in the first half, Mutch and Broome providing some splendid movements and deservedly held the lead at half time, given then by Doherty. Doherty headed in after Scott had pushed away a centre from Broome.
Quick Scoring.
Butt, the former Huddersfield player, who deputised for Bryn Jones, put the Football League side level in 69 minutes, racing on with a pass from Gardiner, but two minutes later Beasley had given the All British side the lead once more. Within four minutes, Lawton headed a splendid goal for the League side, which now dominated the game, and time and again the ground rang with cheers for Riley’s goalkeeping. Eight minutes from the end, Butt, who had an excellent game, got the winning goal for the League team, racing on from Bastin’s pass while the All British defence vainly appealed for offside.
(Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 27-12-1939)
Len Butt, Huddersfield Town F.C.
"Play Up, Liverpool" 