By Gavan Bergin
At the start of the 1936/37 season, Bill Fallon played superbly for Notts County. In their first game of the season against Exeter City, his determination and hard shooting from the left wing helped County to a 3-1 win. Soon after that, he scored the winning goal in the 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace. As the season progressed, he kept on scoring crucial goals and playing stunning football for his team.
On September 26th 1936, County played at home to Torquay United, giving their supporters a very good show. They made a great start, taking the lead in the seventh minute, then taking charge of the game. They were still 1-0 up in the 80th minute, yet the fact that they were just one goal ahead meant that a single mistake could cost them the win. Then in the 85th minute, County attacked with an intricate passing move that sent the ball through to Bill, who took it and shot it past the keeper and into the goal. With that, he put County 2-0 up and got them the win.
On October 10th 1936, in the away game against Clapton Orient Bill scored a splendid headed goal, putting County 1-0 up in the 33rd minute. They carried on attacking, nearly scoring a number of times, but they couldn’t get another goal. That didn’t seem to matter though, because they were running the show and they were still 1-0 up in the 90th minute. Then, out of nowhere, Orient attacked and scored in the dying seconds of the game. The final score was 1-1. That might have been disappointing for Notts County, but it was the start of a six-game unbeaten run that was the making of their season. They won three and drew two of their next five matches, and they moved up to eighth in the Third Division. They were still outsiders – but now they had a chance!
During that vital stage of the season for County, Bill did his usual fine job of supporting the team in attack. He made the runs and played the passes, hit the crosses and made the chances and set up goals for the strikers to go and score. First, he played that role for County when they were winning and moving up the league standings. And then, when they slipped up a bit and results took a turn for the worse, he played his part in getting them back on track.
On December 26th 1936, County played Exeter City away from home. They needed a win to get back in the championship race but that was no easy task. Exeter were fighting to stay in the league and they played as if their lives depended on it. They made a series of attacks and three times in three minutes they got the ball directly in front of the goal, but each time their forwards were denied the time and space to shoot. During that frantic opening, Bill was forced back into defence but in the fifth minute, he got forward to help County earn a corner kick, and when the kick was played into the box, he got to the ball and headed it into the goal. Score! 1-0 to County. Exeter never recovered. County scored again and they led 2-0 at the end of the first half. Midway through the second half they got their third goal and they won the game 3-1. That was the first of four straight wins by County, which put them third in the league. They were outsiders no more!
On January 16th 1937, Notts County played Newport County at Meadow Lane. Newport were one of the worst sides in the league, but they were no pushovers. They were hard and tough, with a reputation for what the Nottingham Journal called “obstructionist tactics”. But they were no match for County or for Bill. Early on, he nearly scored with a shot from distance that hit the woodwork and bounced back out, but he kept trying and shooting for goal and he came close again twice more in the early stages of the first half. Then, in the 35th minute, he made a run into the box, the ball was crossed in and he headed it into the goal. The Newport players furiously appealed for handball, but the goal was good. 1-0 to County! They held that lead till half time and they scored twice in the second half. They won the game, 3-1, and they moved up to second in the standings.
Now, all they had to do was keep on winning – and that’s what they did. They won and won and they would have run away with the league- if not for one other team. That team was Luton Town. All the other teams had fallen by the wayside until the only two left in the championship race were County and Luton.
From then on, the two of them were locked in a fierce battle for supremacy at the top of the league. Every week they went toe to toe in a simple savage dance, a contest that was as tight and as close as could be, where every point was precious and a draw could be priceless. Neither side was able to get ahead of the other by too much or for too long. One week, Luton moved up a place, the next week it was County. That’s how it went, on and on, game by game, week by week, month by month, as on and on they fought toward the final frantic finish run-in to the season.
On March 20th 1937, County played Aldershot Town and Bill played a fantastic game. He ran and ran, he shot on sight and all day long he left defenders trailing in his wake. Within minutes of the kick-off, he smashed a long shot against the crossbar and he had a couple more chances early in the game. Then, in the 35th minute he ran into the box, the ball was crossed in and he headed it down into the goal. 1-0! That should have been that. With County a goal up against an inferior side, they looked certain to cruise to victory.
They easily held their one goal lead up to half time, and well into the second half they were still in front. Then, the game changed. First, one of the County players had to go off injured – and there were no substitutes allowed in those days – then they had a player sent off. Suddenly, they were nine men against eleven and they were not cruising anymore! Aldershot came alive with their two-man advantage, attacking constantly and forcing County to defend desperately. They only just managed to hold out till the final whistle, but they did it. They won the game 1-0, and they went top of the league!
Over the next month, they kept playing well and winning games. On April 17th 1937, they beat Watford 2-0, and that win put them four points clear of Luton with two games of the season to play. County would be champions if they got one point from two games! And one of those games was at home, where they hadn’t lost in eight months.
Then, disaster. On April 24th 1937 Brighton beat County 1-0 at Meadow Lane. That defeat put County in second place and all but cost them the league title, but they still had a slim chance to finish top- if they could win big on the final day of the season. They couldn’t. On May 1st 1937, they lost 2-1 at Walsall and so they finished second, two points behind the champions, Luton.
Luton got the silverware and the promotion to the Second Division. County got nothing. Back then, that’s what you got for second place. No promotion, no playoff games, no nothing- just another year in the Third Division.
But that wasn’t on the cards for Bill. He didn’t get promoted with Notts County, but after making a brilliant scoring start to the following season, he got himself a deserved promotion to the Second Division when he was signed by Sheffield Wednesday in February 1938.
End of Part Four
To be continued…
Read more:
Bill Fallon – Part 1
Bill Fallon – Part 2
Bill Fallon – Part 3
Bill Fallon – Part 5
