WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
We catch up with Oldham Athletic’s 1973-74 Division Three champions
KEITH HICKS’ over- riding memory of the Latics being crowned Third Division champions was turning up in the car park at Plymouth and seeing his mum waiting.
Oldham needed a point from their final game of the season against Argyle and his mother made the long trip on the supporters’ coach on a Friday night to cheer him on.
Jimmy Frizzell’s side were level on 61 points with both Bristol Rovers and York City the highest point in club history and Mrs Hicks didn’t want to miss out.
Oldham, who had missed out on promotion a season earlier, had already claimed their place in the Second Division for the first time in 21 years.
A run of ten successive wins between January 12 and March 16 helped them claim promotion just after the Easter period when they hammered Huddersfield.
A stutter, as they failed to win any of their last four games, didn’t matter as the 0-0 draw at Home Park was enough for them to claim the title.
“We got beaten 4-1 at home in the FA Cup by Burnley just after Christmas,” said Hicks. “Jimmy Frizzell made some changes and we went on a ten game unbeaten run. When your confidence is high like that, it is just such a pleasure to go into training.
“Over Easter, when we played three times in four days, we beat Southport at home 6-0 on Good Friday, then the next day we went down to Bristol Rovers.
“That was the big game because they were three or four games ahead of us and we were a few points behind.We won 2-1.
“Then, on the Easter Monday, we beat Southport 2-0 in the return game and Huddersfield the following weekend to win promotion.
Waiting
“Then, instead of kicking on and winning the title conformably, as we should have done, we had a couple of iffy results towards the end of the season.
“But we wanted to win the league as champions and ended up having to go to Plymouth on a Friday night before the Newcastle-Liverpool FA Cup final.
“We needed to get a point, but the thing I remember most is that, unknown to me at the time, my mum had decided to go on the supporters’ coach.
“I got to the ground at Plymouth at about 6.30 and my mum was stood in the car park waiting for me. My parents didn’t have alot of money and worked hard.
“My dad couldn’t afford to take the time off work, so my mum had decided to make the long trip down on the coach. I got the shock of my life. It’s the thing I remember most,” he said. 1. Ian Buckley: The left-back is now a self-employed builder in Manchester. 2. Mike Lester: Now lives in Openshaw, Manchester, and runs his own soccer schools in the North West. He has coached at the Man City academy. 3. Dick Mulvaney: The central defender returned to Sunderland to work in the dockyards until retirement. 4. Andy Lochhead: A striker who coached and then scouted, before going into the licensed trade in Burnley. He became a match host at Turf Moor. 5. Graham Bell: Midfielder whose father, Tommy, also played for the Latics. He went into the insurance industry and has also worked for security firm Group 4. 6. Jim Branagan: The full-back and son of former Oldham player Ken spent 23 years working in insurance, before going to work for Tesco in Pendleton. 7. Jimmy Frizzell: Now lives in Oldham in retirement. Went on to manage Manchester City, where he later became chief scout. 8. Jimmy McGregor: Worked as a physio at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson until his retirement in 1999. 9. Alan McNeill: The midfielder joined Kirklees Council as a sports centre supervisor, progressing to become operations manager. 10. Ian Wood: A full-back who holds the Latics’ appearance record. He became a selfemployed butcher and was also chairman of Radcliffe Borough. 11. Paul Edwards: An England Under-23 central defender worked in the parts department of a Manchester motor company. 12. Chris Ogden: A goalkeeper, like his father Fred, who also played for Oldham. Chris became depot manager for a wine and spirits company. 13. Harry Dowd: A goalkeeper and former plumber who became a rep for JW Lees brewery. He died in April 2015, aged 76. 14. John Platt: A goalkeeper, who became stadium manager at Boundary Park and worked in the community scheme. Now coaches in schools. 15. George Jones: The forward became a British Rail maintenance engineer until his retirement. 16. Keith Hicks: Central defender who is now the long-serving community officer at Rochdale, where he has also been director of coaching in the club’s centre of excellence. 17. Maurice Whittle: A full-back who opened a sports shop and then went on to work for the Snack Factory and Hotter Shoes in Skelmersdale. 18. Bobby Collins: Scotland international who managed Huddersfield, Hull and Barnsley. He later worked in wholesale fashion and as a driver for Leeds University. Collins died in January 2014, aged 82. 19. Steven Cox: Thought to be living and working in Manchester. 20. Leslie McCartney: Also living and working in the Greater Manchester area. 21. Dave Ryan: Now living in Manchester, where he is a delivery driver for a national supermarket chain. 22. Geoff Harris: Forward who settled in the North Wales area. 23. George McVitie: Winger who became a milkman in his home town of Carlisle before running a sub post-office. 24. Ronnie Blair: Full-back who went into the printing business and became managing director of Jones & Brooks in Oldham. 25. Tony Hateley: A centre forward, like his son and England international Mark. Tony became a drinks firm rep and was a market trader. He died in February 2014, aged 72 26. Colin Garwood: Striker who has worked for a transport company in Wisbech and was a director and the press officer of Wisbech Town. 27. Ian Robins: A striker who worked for a petroleum company before becoming a licensee in Wigan, latterly running Bentley’s pub. 28. Kevin Taylor: The former apprentice is living and working locally. 29. John Duddy: A midfielder who is now living and working in the Manchester area. 30. Phil Mullington: A midfielder who had a spell working as a showbiz agent for singer Wayne Fontana.