A celebration of Bob Hardisty in Bishop Auckland

A celebration of one of the town’s most famous sons, footballer Bob Hardisty, is being held in Bishop Auckland.

Bob Hardisty
Bob Hardisty

Bishop Auckland Town Hall are also holding a number of events around the exhibition, which is being organised by Durham Amateur Football Trust.

John Roderick Elliot “Bob” Hardisty (1 December 1921 – 31 October 1986) was an amateur footballer who represented Great Britain at the Olympics in 1948, 1952 and 1956. He spent the majority of his career with Bishop Auckland, winning the Northern League seven times.

Hardisty also won the FA Amateur Cup three times between 1955 and 1957. He also made 6 appearances in the Football League for Darlington between 1946 and 1949.

Hardisty briefly came out of retirement in 1958 to play for Manchester United following the Munich air disaster, although he never made a league appearance for them. He later became a football coach and worked with another legend of the game, Sir Matt Busby.

For the exhibition, Durham Amateur Football Trust have announced that they have managed to bring the original F.A. Amateur Cup from Wembley for the Bob Hardisty evening on 21st September at Bishop Auckland Town Hall. It is believed that this is a rare outing for the Cup, which is now extremely fragile.

A limited number of tickets remain for this special event – when a film celebrating Bob Hardisty will be shown, former playing colleagues will be on hand to answer questions, and the exhibition will be open to view. Tickets are available from the Town Hall on 01388 602610.

Never Again: the story of Bob Hardisty, England’s greatest amateur footballer

Peter Quest and Alan Adamthwaite
Peter Quest and Alan Adamthwaite

Alan Adamthwaite is launching his new book, a meticulously researched biography of his childhood hero. Alan has been a fan of Bishop Auckland Football Club, and of Bob Hardisty, since childhood. It has taken over 5 years of detailed research, and many hundreds of hours work in development, to produce this definitive account of Hardisty’s life.

Alan will be launching his book in the company of some former Bishop Auckland FC players.

On Wednesday, 15th September, he visited Peter Quest’s programme to talk about the book.

[audio:http://www.bishopfm.com/wp-content/uploads/bishopfm-20100915-alanadamthwaitebafootball.mp3|titles=Alan Adamthwaite talks about his new book]

The Exhibition will continue in the McGuinness Gallery of Bishop Auckland Town Hall until Saturday 2nd October. The Gallery is open 10am – 4pm Monday – Friday, and 9am – 4pm Saturdays.

Bob Hardisty: An exhibition by the Durham Amateur Football Trust
Monday 13 September to Saturday 2 October
J.R.E. (Bob) Hardisty was the greatest amateur footballer of all time and probably Bishop Auckland’s most famous son. This exhibition will chart his life and career. Open: 10am – 4pm Monday to Friday; 9am – 4pm Saturday. Free admission.

Bob Hardisty evening, with the Durham Amateur Football Trust
Tuesday 21 September at 7.30pm
Highlight of the exhibition will be this special event. The Gallery will be open, a commemorative film will be shown and past members of the team will be in attendance. We also hope that members of Bob’s family will be able to join us for the evening.

A free event, entry by ticket.