http://www.hattersheritage.co.uk/

Hatters' Heritage, Maple Road East, Luton (2026)

15/06/2026

MICK HARFORD IN YOUR LIVING ROOM!

DO you fancy watching a World Cup match in the comfort of your own home, cheering England on with Luton Town legend Mick Harford seated alongside you?

Ella Preece (daughter of ex-Luton midfielder David) has been in touch with Hatters Heritage to publicise a great competition on behalf of the charity CHUMS. The lucky winner will host Mick for an unforgettable night of football, stories, laughs and matchday atmosphere - and you won’t even have to leave your house!

You can club together with friends or family and enter as many times as you like to increase your chances! Your home address must be in Bedfordshire and there should be a maximum of 10 guests (plus Mick). It will be a knockout-stage game with all arrangements to be announced on June 26. If England don’t get through, another match will be selected.

For details of how to enter, simply click this link:

http://bit.ly/4e4UbxJ

Ella Preece - whose dad David is fondly remembered by Luton fans for his 395 appearances between 1985 and 1995 - represents CHUMS Charity. Your entry fee will help them fund vital mental health and emotional well-being services in Beds, Herts and Kent, providing early intervention and targeted therapeutic support for people experiencing mild to moderate mental health challenges.

12/06/2026

CANNONBALL TED – FORMIDABLE, FEROCIOUS & FUN-LOVING!

A lot of ‘noise’ always surrounded Ted Phillips during his playing career. The big attacker became well known throughout football as a devil-may-care type who loved playing practical jokes on teammates - and anybody else who came into his orbit.

Predictably, Ted made a noisy impact after joining Luton Town in early 1965. Relegation to Division Four for the first time was staring the club in the face, but newcomer Ted disregarded the negativity, playing in 12 of the final 13 games that season and rattling home eight goals in the process.

It helped the Hatters chalk up five victories during the run-in, but, alas, was too late to save us from plunging through the trapdoor. That summer beleaguered manager George Martin began making serious changes for the forthcoming 1965-66 campaign, only to find Ted raising heat levels by creating another major fuss! More on that episode later.

First, let’s look back. Big Ted was born in summer 1933 in the tiny Suffolk hamlet of Gromford, not far from the seaside fishing village of Aldeburgh. A lively lad who got into a fair share of trouble, Ted played for local side Leiston before joining the Army. After being demobbed he was recommended to Ipswich Town, who gave him a trial and liked what they saw. They offered terms but Ted wasn’t going to be treated like a country bumpkin and boldly turned them down flat. He claimed he could earn better money by continuing as a gardener in the sleepy village of Tunstall.

Club officials were stunned but by 1953 had persuaded him to change his mind. Trouble was never far away however, and by the time a certain Alf Ramsey took over as manager Ted had twice found himself in seriously deep water with local police. Two separate incidents saw him arrested and appearing in court. The full story would remain hushed up for decades but has recently emerged in a superbly researched new book (‘The Unseen Alf Ramsey’ by Grant Bage).

Future England boss Ramsey and his eccentric chairman John Cobbold showed compassion by not sacking miscreant Ted, instead slapping a high sale price on him (to deter other clubs) and quietly loaning him to local club Stowmarket. Ramsey believed young Ted’s talent would eventually outshine his tendency for trouble. It was a show of faith that would pay big dividends.

Ted returned to Portman Road in 1956 and in his first full season netted an astonishing 46 goals. He became an Ipswich legend, amassing a total of 181 goals as the little club from the sticks rose from football’s third tier to become champions of England in 1962. Ted’s cannonball shooting was a remarkable thing to witness, and tales abound of the damage it did to goalkeepers, goal-frames and nets.

He moved to Leyton Orient for 1964-5 season, but before long Luton’s new manager Martin paid £4,000 to make Ted his first signing in February 1965. Plunged into a struggling side Ted made a nightmare start, his first three Hatters’ games ending in defeat. His home debut was a particularly dark day – a 7-2 hammering at Kenilworth Road by mid-table Shrewsbury. Ted must have wondered what he’d walked into, although he did notch a consolation goal, heading home a David Pleat cross.

Things swiftly improved after this, and Ted slammed in seven goals over the next eight games. Highlight was a 5-1 trouncing of Barnsley in April when he bagged a brace, an early strike followed by a truly memorable solo effort, regarded as Luton’s goal of the season. Picking up the ball in midfield he beat two men before lashing home a 25-yard left-footer. His purple patch ended with the horrendous 8-1 collapse at Scunthorpe which confirmed relegation.

Throughout his time at Luton Ted was chauffeured to matches and training sessions from his Colchester home by second wife Diane. This arrangement displeased the manager, but Ted seemed happy for it to continue into the following season. (Story to be continued in Part 2).

(Article by ROB HADGRAFT)

• For more on Ted Phillips, click this link: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/players/ted-phillips-p703

• For more on the disastrous 1964-65 season, click this link: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/matches?season=70

05/06/2026

‘THE FLYING FLEA’ SPARKS A LUTON CRISIS!

Back in autumn 1975 the nation’s sports pages assured us ex-Celtic superstar Jimmy Johnstone was about to join Second Division Luton Town. This gossip kick-started one of the most torrid periods in the history of the Hatters.

Wee Jimmy travelled down from Scotland for talks, blissfully unaware of the fuss that was about to unfold at Kenilworth Road. Unbeknown to him (and most other people) Luton’s finances were in a complete mess and within a few days of Jimmy showing his face no fewer than FOUR directors of the club had resigned!

The tricky winger – whose nicknames included ‘Jinky’ and ‘the Flying Flea’ - was famous throughout Europe, but having just hit 32 was probably past his peak. Nevertheless many had been surprised when Celtic boss Jock Stein gave him a free transfer after 500-plus games in 12 glorious years. The writing was on the wall on the final weekend of 1974-5 season when big Jock unceremoniously hauled Jimmy off the pitch during a miserable defeat at St.Johnstone.

Jimmy decided to spend the summer playing in the USA where he managed to upset two NASL clubs (San Antonio Thunder and Rochester Lancers) by forsaking them in favour of San Jose Earthquake’s last-minute offer of better money. As the hit song goes, Jimmy certainly did “Know the way to San Jose”!

However, after playing in fewer than half of SJE’s 22 summer games, he returned to Scotland. He sold the pub he’d run for many years in Hamilton (The Double J Bar), turned down an offer to join Arbroath, and put the word out he wanted to play in England.

Interested managers included Bill McGarry at Wolves and Luton’s Harry Haslam. Jimmy was invited to Bedfordshire for talks on a Wednesday afternoon in late October 1975. Luton were struggling for goals at the time - only six netted in a run of 10 games - so the idea of a big-name signing excited Hatters fans. We waited with bated breath.

Things looked good when Jimmy told the Daily Mirror: “I’ve always wanted to play in England and am really looking forward to joining an ambitious club like Luton.” Haslam added: “I don’t expect any hitches. He’s a world class player who can do a terrific job and thrill our fans.”

Mysteriously, though, the paperwork remained unsigned, even after a smiling Jimmy attended Town’s goalless home game with Bristol City, watching from the Director’s box and said: “I think I’ll sign for Luton. I liked what I saw and think I could do a good job for this club.”

The delay in putting pen to paper was apparently due to the size of signing-on fee he wanted. Luton’s directors at that point were already wrestling with weekly losses and a huge, six-figure bank overdraft. In the circumstances several directors felt Jimmy was far too expensive, but others wanted him signed up.

The boardroom was in turmoil and soon the full extent of the shenanigans became public knowledge, largely due to the investigations of Brian Swain (Luton News). The first shock was the resignation as a director of our biggest celebrity fan – comedian Eric Morecambe. Eric blamed pressure of work at the BBC, but the boardroom crisis presumably also played a part. Next came the exit of fellow director Reggie Burr, followed by chairman Len Hawkins and director Richard Banks. Four directors had quit in just eight days.

It was also alleged that Harry Haslam had been threatened by another director that his job would be under threat if he continued trying to sign Jimmy Johnstone. Consequently the little winger ended up joining Sheffield United, where his stay would prove short and unhappy.

During the next few weeks of mayhem and talk of impending doom, one piece of good news was Haslam getting assurances from new chief executive Denis Mortimer that his job was safe. Amazingly the man known as ‘Happy Harry’ even managed to lead the team on a run of seven successive wins - despite being forced to sell key player Peter Anderson to Antwerp to raise urgently needed funds.

As we always say: Life is never dull at Luton Town!

(Article by ROB HADGRAFT)

For more on Luton legend Harry Haslam, read Will Foster's feature via this link: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/5-min-reads/Harry-Haslam-The-Boss

For more on the 1975 visit of Bristol City & Jimmy Johnstone, click this link: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/matches/luton-town-fc-vs-bristol-city-1-nov-1975

30/05/2026

WITHOUT THE SCOREBOARD WE’D HAVE LOST COUNT!

‘Luton Town 7 Oxford United 4’ is not the sort of scoreline you come across very often. According to one stats website there are 81 different scorelines that occur more frequently in men’s football than a 7-4. And it is widely thought only four games have ever ended 7-4 in the long history of the Football League.

The historic occurrence at Luton occurred during our memorable 1987-8 season, on a chilly February afternoon when only 8,036 went through the turnstiles. However, many more witnessed the fun because live TV pictures were beamed out of Kenilworth Road to homes spread across Scandinavia, with recorded highlights shown in a further 55 countries around the globe. The broadcasters certainly hit the jackpot. If, for example, they’d chosen Norwich versus Watford that day viewers would have witnessed a 0-0 draw!

Brian Swain, in the Luton News, said the Luton game being chosen wasn’t just a happy fluke for the TV people – for a few months earlier the big vans and their satellite transmitters had trundled up the M40 to the Manor Ground for a meeting of the same two sides. That day a fun-packed game ended 2-5, Luton’s first three-pointer of 1987-8.

The 7-4 return game gave even better value for money: the Hatters and the U’s went completely gung-ho and conjured up ELEVEN goals in a period of 65 minutes’ play – plus three strikes of the woodwork. I’m pleased to say I was in the ground that day, meaning I missed the score going up on the BBC’s teleprinter - no doubt spelled out ‘SEVEN-FOUR’ as was often done when a freak score arose.

Four meetings between Luton and Oxford sides that season produced a bumper 31 goals, with Luton winning all four games – the senior teams managing 18 in their two First Division tussles, and the two reserve and youth team games adding another 13. The two-legged Littlewoods (League) Cup semi-final meetings (also staged in February) were rather more cagey affairs, yielding a mere four goals.

After referee Butler brought the 7-4 bonanza to a breathless finish just before 5pm on that chilly Saturday 6 February 1988, the two managers emerged from their dressing rooms looking rather shell-shocked by what they’d witnessed. Neither had seen anything quite like it before.

Oxford’s Maurice Evans reckoned the score could easily have been 10-10, which is the sort of thing managers quite often say – but this time it was perfectly true. Luton’s Ray Harford said he believed the outcome had been largely down to attacking full-backs Tim Breacker and Peter Rhoades-Brown being allowed to roar up and down their respective flanks in far too much space. Bottom-of-the-table Oxford had fielded a back three with a sweeper, a tactic which allowed them to push men forward and grab four goals themselves, but proved very unhelpful against Luton’s lethal forward line of Mick Harford and the Stein brothers, Brian and Mark. Inevitably both teams accepted accusations of sloppy defending, but Luton fans weren’t complaining.

Harford, who would win his first full England cap a few days later (0-0 away to Israel), grabbed two cracking goals, the first and last of Town’s seven. Brian Stein made it 2-0, Darron McDonough whacked home the third and Mark Stein snaffled a second-half hat-trick in just 11 crazy minutes. The win made us overwhelming favourites for the upcoming two-legged Littlewoods Cup semi-finals, and also kept us in eighth place in the league.

This was the season of 18 cup-ties for Luton – including both victory and defeat in Wembley cup finals and defeat in a White Hart Lane semi-final. In a 40-game Division One programme we finished 9th to cap a brilliantly entertaining campaign, arguably the best in the club’s long history.

(Article by ROB HADGRAFT)

• For more on the Luton 7 Oxford 4 game, click this link:
https://hattersheritage.co.uk/matches/luton-town-fc-vs-oxford-united-6-feb-1988

• Read about hat-trick hero Mark Stein via this link: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/players/mark-stein-p853

23/05/2026

WICKED, WILY and WONDERFUL: THE ALL-TOO-SHORT LUTON CAREER of BRIAN LEWIS

Some use the term “football’s dark arts”, others call it gamesmanship. But however you label it, Luton Town forward Brian Lewis was a master of it!

Over the course of 59 games and 25 goals for the Hatters, Lewis was loved and loathed in equal measure, described in one paper as “a lovable scamp”. Luton fans warmed to him from day one, and with that big goal output and even bigger smile, he loved the attention.

Lewis’ antics meant many opponents during his career would have relished the chance to stick one on him, but bizarrely one of the few people to actually land a punch would be his own manager! This fisticuffs incident occurred soon after Lewis left the Hatters in 1970 and was witnessed and described to me by the late Brian Owen, physio and coach at Luton during David Pleat’s second managerial spell.

Owen remembered Lewis as a proper character, not keen on training, who “Seemed to get away with murder most of the time”. Owen recalled: “One morning I needed to go to Colchester’s training ground for some reason. As I turned up, around the corner came Brian Lewis looking shocked and clutching his jaw. I asked what was the matter, and he said in an incredulous voice manager Dick Graham had just punched him for no obvious reason! As he told it, Dick had called out ‘Lewis’ and when he went over, simply smacked him one without another word!”

Owen described other antics which I won’t mention here, but safe to say Lewis’ main claim to fame was his knack of winding up opponents, tempting them into rash challenges and winning a high number of penalties and free-kicks – plus bookings and sending-offs galore for opponents. But it shouldn’t be forgotten that he was a highly talented player, quick, with neat footwork, and a good passer. Deceptively strong for someone so slim, he could give as good as he got.

A war baby from Surrey, Lewis started out at Crystal Palace in 1960, before joining boyhood favourites Portsmouth aged 20. Four good years led to Jimmy Hill signing him for top-flight newcomers Coventry. After Hill departed to find fame on TV, Lewis was in and out of the team. One appearance against Liverpool saw him provoke Ian St John into violence, which saw the Scot get marching orders.

Allan Brown’s newly promoted Luton swooped in summer 1968, paying £18,000 for Lewis, a substantial sum back then. Alongside fellow new boys Mike Harrison and Laurie Sheffield, Lewis debuted in a 4-0 walloping of Oldham on 1968-9’s opening day, smashing in the fourth in the dying moments.

Luton raced straight to the top of Division Three, where they stayed for about ten weeks with Lewis usually the star of the show. He ultimately bagged a season’s tally of 23 goals, including a hat-trick against Stockport in the penultimate game, but Town missed a second successive promotion by three points.

By now Alec Stock was manager and 1969-70 got underway with Lewis overshadowed by the sensational form of new recruit Malcolm Macdonald. He was moved on to Oxford mid-season and then a year later Colchester came calling and Lewis shone again - given ‘man-of-the-match’ when the Fourth Division U’s beat mighty Leeds in the FA Cup. His career in League football ended in 1974 after a second enjoyable spell at Pompey.

Retirement saw Lewis move into furniture sales in Bournemouth. His 14 years had seen him provide enormous entertainment in seven stints at six different clubs. He died of cancer aged only 55 and was buried in the shirt of his beloved Pompey. For years a sign hung outside the Pompey Arms at Fratton Park bearing the image of a player that many fans reckoned was Brian Lewis, although others argued that it looked more like Albert McCann.
Coincidentally both had also played for Luton!

Despite his goals and flair, the history books inevitably focus heavily on Lewis’ crafty and mischievous nature. A popular opinion was that he might have played at top level for much longer had he avoided drinks, ci******es and other off-field temptations!

(Article by ROB HADGRAFT)

• For more on Brian Lewis, click this link: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/players/brian-lewis-p741

• For more on his debut versus Oldham: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/matches/luton-town-fc-vs-oldham-athletic-10-aug-1968

17/05/2026

LUTON CRITICISED FOR SCORING TOO MANY GOALS!

IT was the most one-sided game in Luton history. The ‘Bloaters’ from Great Yarmouth came to town for an FA Cup tie and were pulverised by a Luton outfit showing no mercy to amateur opposition from the Norfolk coast. The tie took place four months into the 1914-1918 War and all guns were blazing as we ran out winners by FIFTEEN goals to nil!

Prior to the game Yarmouth were unbeaten, but their excitement at facing a professional club began evaporate when they discovered at least four key players would be unavailable and a lack of funds meant no overnight stay and proper pre-match preparation. Both drawbacks were a direct result of the war.

The Bloaters secretary enquired about rail travel to Luton and was forced to settle for an early start – a 6:33 train from Yarmouth followed by a dash across London with no chance for a proper lunch, to connect with the train to Luton. It meant their team of tinkers, tailors and candlestick-makers would have to stagger out of bed in the dark on an icy cold pre-dawn Saturday, followed by a long, stressful and largely refreshment-free journey. No wonder enthusiasm was fast disappearing.

With the authorities expecting the war to be over in a matter of weeks, the 1914-15 season had been allowed to go ahead, especially as weekly football was seen as vital to help boost national morale in these worrying times. But prominent figures - including W.G. Grace and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - felt this was fundamentally wrong as fit and energetic young men should be serving their country on European battlefields rather than kicking a ball about.

Whatever the pros and cons, Luton – then in the Southern League, but fully professional - had no qualms about tearing into their inferior opposition on that chilly November afternoon. Within 15 minutes the Hatters were 3-0 up (Housego, Roberts and Simms). They then had some fun, with star forwards Ernie Simms and Arthur Wileman indulging in showboating, according to local reporter Crusader: “They raced along shoulder to shoulder with the ball, like a pair of horses attached to a pole.” Yarmouth somehow prevented further goals for a period of 20 minutes, but then it went pear-shaped again with Rollinson and Simms making it 5-0 by the interval.

The crowd, many of them soldiers in uniform, amounted to only 4,000, but made it clear they wanted further goals in the second-half. Luton duly obliged with ten more! (Rollinson 3, Simms 3, Wileman 2, Frith, Hawkes and Hoar 1 each). This ruthless display upset the Yarmouth folk, who were furious Luton hadn’t eased off instead of embarrassing their brave lads!

The Great Yarmouth Independent reported: “Local people are very much disgusted at the treatment meted out to the Bloaters and consider that after the game had been made safe by a smaller margin of goals, exhibition play should have been indulged in. It is folly to deny the difference between the two teams was not so great as the score suggests, for the home team deserved every goal they got, though many Yarmouth people, this writer included, consider the tactics of the professional club unsportsmanlike.”

The humiliated Bloaters felt that had Luton been chasing an FA Cup record score their ruthlessness would have been understandable, but Preston’s 26-0 win over Hyde was never within reach, so they should have eased up and taken pity. No doubt such talk was laughed off at Kenilworth Road when this story broke.

Perhaps Luton’s attitude was partly fuelled by annoyance at the FA for making us the only Southern League club needing to win three qualifying rounds to reach the competition proper? We went on to beat Oxford City 1-0 and Bromley 3-1, but departed 3-0 at Southampton in the first round proper. A few months later football shut down completely due to the war and it would be five years before the Kenny witnessed any more FA Cup action.

(Article by ROB HADGRAFT)

• More on the Luton-Gt Yarmouth game via this link: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/matches/luton-town-fc-vs-great-yarmouth-town-21-nov-1914

• Check out the Luton Town 1914-15 handbook via this link: https://cdn.hattersheritage.co.uk/site/Luton+News+Football+Handbook+1914-15.pdf

11/05/2026

GOOD WITH HIS HEAD - ON AND OFF THE FIELD!

Today I’m reminiscing about the ex-Hatter who was a clever, articulate young chap - gaining a master’s degree at university and later inventing a word that would end up in the official Oxford English Dictionary!

The tabloids often labelled this player a “rocket scientist” although to be more accurate his job before professional football was actually Development Engineer at British Aerospace in his home-town Hatfield.

Many readers will have guessed the name by now – it’s big blond centre-forward IAIN DOWIE, who spent the best part of three seasons at Kenilworth Road, banging in 19 goals in 78 appearances between 1988 and 1991.

Dowie showed promise as a kid, signing schoolboy forms with Southampton, but was released and began playing for Isthmian League side Cheshunt, managed by his brother Bob. In 1985 he signed for St Albans City and then Hendon where his goal output was prolific. By now he had made up his mind to concentrate on getting some serious qualifications outside football.

His engineering studies led to a master’s post-grad degree, and British Aerospace took him on as an environmental engineer. Dowie explained this sort of work required signing the Official Secrets Act and a typical task would involve flying to places like Iraq in a Tornado, spending the flight testing whether missiles were secure and not vulnerable to hazards like bad weather or bumpy landings.

This high-flying career was interrupted just before Christmas 1988 when Luton – a mere 13 miles from Dowie’s work HQ - offered him pro terms at the late age of 23, manager Ray Harford paying £30,000 for him. As a footballer Dowie had to adjust to having more free time on his hands, so after buying a house in Stopsley began enrolling on courses to get even more qualifications.

The Hatters were near the bottom of the old Division One at the time and struggling to maintain the good times of the 1980s. Extra firepower was needed to understudy first choice strikers Mick Harford and Roy Wegerle. Dowie wouldn’t start a league game for four months, but did get a handful of sub appearances and netted our consolation goal on his debut, a 4-1 Simod Cup defeat at Crystal Palace. There was a 10-month wait for the next Dowie goal, a winner at home to Derby. With Harford injured and Wegerle departed, Dowie soon settled in the No.9 shirt and there was no looking back.

He was an irrepressible hard worker who made life difficult for opponents, but looked a little raw early on. However, once rough edges were smoothed out he was a real asset, playing a major role in the dramatic end-of-season relegation escape of 1990.

Most fans were dismayed by his sale to West Ham for £480,000 in 1991, shortly after scoring twice in a 3-1 win over Liverpool. After the Hammers, Dowie’s football journey took him to Southampton, Crystal Palace and QPR. He then embarked on a high-profile managerial career taking in Oldham, Palace, Charlton, Coventry, QPR and Hull. During his management days he unveiled the brand new word “bouncebackabilty”, which would later be accepted into the Oxford English Dictionary. Not so amusing would be a court battle with Palace chairman Simon Jordan which ended badly, Dowie having to pay substantial six-figure legal bills.

Now 61, Dowie has led a highly eventful life: In addition to around 600 senior club games and 59 N.Ireland caps (some as captain), followed by managerial ups and downs, he also worked as a Sky TV pundit, and for conveyancing and law firms. Family life in Lancashire has been disrupted in recent times by serious health issues for both him and wife Debbie.

Just weeks after the well-publicised heart problems of Luton skipper Tom Lockyer in 2024, Dowie experienced his own frightening episode during a gym class. He suffered a cardiac arrest during a spin class and was saved at the scene by other gym-goers and paramedics. He has publicly backed Lockyer’s calls for more people to learn CPR techniques, describing himself as hugely thankful for the "brilliance” of those involved in his survival and recovery.

(Article by ROB HADGRAFT)

• For more on IAIN DOWIE, click this link: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/players/iain-dowie-p884

05/05/2026

3-2 WINS ARE A LUTON LAST-DAY SPECIALITY!

The Hatters’ fine 3-2 win in Lancashire a few days ago got me thinking back to other famous 3-2 wins for Luton on the final day of a season.

There have been six of them since the early 1980s - three at home (Carlisle 1997-8, Sheffield Wednesday 2003-4 and Blackburn 2019-20) and three away (Cardiff 1981-2, Derby 1989-90 and now Bolton 2025-6).

Games that end 3-2 or 2-3 are usually labelled ‘five-goal thrillers’ by the media and are usually a good watch. Even better when they are the climax to a season where something big is at stake.

According to the website footystats.org a 3-2 victory doesn’t crop up in football quite as often as many of us probably thought: An analysis of around two million matches showed that 3-2 is only the 14th most common outcome of a game, while 2-3 is even rarer – sitting at 16th on the list. In case you were wondering, 1-1 is the most frequently occurring result, with over 10 per cent of all games ending that way. Of course 3-2 victories have played an important part in our club’s history - we’ve twice won cups at Wembley by that scoreline (v. Arsenal and Scunthorpe).

But as far as drama on the final Saturday is concerned, probably Luton’s most famous 3-2 win of all came in a top flight game at Derby on a scorching hot afternoon in May 1990. What a great day it was! Luton had enjoyed eight uninterrupted years in the old Division One at this point but relegation hinged entirely on this final day – and it wasn’t fully in our control either. A truly ‘Great Escape’ would only happen if we beat Derby on their own turf, and Nottingham Forest beat Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough the same afternoon. It was something of a long shot, especially given Luton‘s poor away form - but what an amazing day it turned into.

In the very first minute, Town, wearing their blue away strip, won a free-kick deep in Derby territory. Full-back Tim Breacker strode forward, a player very rarely on the scoresheet in his entire career, let alone someone who might fancy a shot at goal in these circumstances. The bookies had him at 33-1 to score the first goal – and manager Jim Ryan was seething with annoyance in the dug-out as Breacker wasn’t supposed to be receiving the sideways tap from kick-taker David Preece 35 yards from goal. However, our ever-present No.2 stepped forward and hammered an exocet high into Peter Shilton’s net. It didn’t swerve or get deflected, but its sheer ferocity and velocity meant the England keeper never moved.

“I was going to chip the ball into the box, but as it was only Shilts in goal I opted to shoot,” joked Breacker later.

The second time Shilton touched the ball was on 19 minutes, fishing it out of his net when Kingsley Black tucked home our second after a great Iain Dowie dummy. We were in dreamland, the away end a seething mass of limbs, especially when news came through Sheffield Wednesday were already losing. Noise levels had dropped a little by half-time when the Rams pegged us back to 2-2 with goals by Mark Wright and Paul Williams.

The second-half was tense in the heat but with Wednesday crumbling to 3-0 down, we clearly just needed one more goal to complete the job and stay in the top flight against all odds. It duly came on 75 minutes, appropriately from the boot of local lad Kingsley Black who found the net with a slow-motion daisy-cutter.

We clung on grimly to the 3-2 lead and the escape was complete. The scenes at the end were astonishing with the partying and singing carrying on all the way down the motorway back to Luton. The result led to two more seasons in Division One, extending our presence among the big boys to ten years.

• (Article by ROB HADGRAFT)

• For more on Derby 2 Luton 3 (May 1990) click this link: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/matches/derby-county-vs-luton-town-fc-5-may-1990

• How 3-2 saved us from relegation in an empty Kenny in 2020 - click this link: https://hattersheritage.co.uk/matches/luton-town-fc-vs-blackburn-rovers-22-jul-2020

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