A LAUREL FOR HARDY

Harry Hardy's Cap

By Phil Brennan

Having just returned from a superb 10 day holiday in Mallorca (neatly sandwiched in between the highly successful kit launch and Rodger Wylde's testimonial) and with a fairly hectic pre-season schedule plus the new league season almost upon us, it made good sense  to spend a little time catching up with emails and missed calls before I returned to work on Monday.

One message I had received caught my attention more than most, it was from Steve White a Stockport 'exile' who wanted to talk to me about an item of County memorabilia that he had.

Those that know me well will understand my fascination with all things County 'collectable'. Over the years I have collected a vast and varied range of County stuff including over 100 different shirts and dozens of badges, mugs and ties.

I have a programme collection that goes back to the 1920's with some very rare issues and even have the original 'Go Go County' mirror from the old County Club (approx  6' x 3') amongst my stash.
 
I rang and left a message on Steve's answer phone to say I was back in the country and would love to talk to him about the item that he had, and then set about catching up with my other messages.

Having put the phone down I chuckled to myself at the fact that I must have sounded like an excitable child leaving my message, but such was the standard of the item that we were going to talk about, I knew that any 'collector' would feel exactly the same if they were in my position.

What was the item that had caught my imagination - was it the much sought after 'Romania' shirt we wore at Blackburn or the holy grail of shirts, the red 'Brighton'?.

It was neither.

Harry Hardy in Action

If you were to ask 100 Stockport County supporters who was the only player to represent England whilst a County player, I think it's fair to say that most of them would know the answer to be goalkeeper Harry Hardy.

Born in Stockport in 1895, Hardy joined the Hatters from local side Ward Street Old Boys, making his debut in a 3-0 defeat at Cardiff on September 4 1920, before going on to make a remarkable 170 consecutive appearances. He missed his first County game, a 1-1 draw with Southampton on October 11 1924, due to his involvement with the Football League representative side.

In total he played over 200 games for County in the 1920s, during which time he helped the Hatters to the Division Three (North) title in 1922, conceding just 21 goals during the campaign, a record that has never been bettered.

Hardy won his only England cap on December 8th 1924 keeping a clean sheet in England's 4-0 win against Belgium at the Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion.

I think by now most have guessed that we are talking about the England 'cap' that had been awarded to the then County custodian.

Steve called me back and not only confirmed that he wanted me to have the cap, but also several other Hardy related items that had been in his possession for many years.

I offered to pay for the items but Steve would have none of it. He said: "I understand how important these items will be to you as a lifelong County fan, and I can tell from the excitement in your voice that they will be in safe hands.

"They are yours to do what you wish, whether it be to keep at home or put on display, I know you will cherish them."

Unbelievably Steve didn't even accept my offer to pay for delivery and although he sent his gift package that same day, it seemed an eternity before it arrived the following afternoon.

The Signed England Menu

I took the parcel to a corner where I could be alone to discover the delights within, I didn't want to be disturbed and definitely didn't want anyone sharing my initial excitement.

Having been a County fan for well over forty years, I have been in the privileged position of working for my club for the last three, having previously had the honour of co-writing History Books and DVD's.

Over the years I have collected many many County related artefacts, that will all hopefully one day be seen in a permanent County 'museum', but they all pale into insignificance compared to the latest addition to my collection.

There in the package was Harry Hardy's 1924 England International football cap.
A Maroon and Amber velvet cap with wire embroidered crest and date for the match against Belgium in 1924.

I can't remember being so happy at receiving an item of County 'history' before.

Two days earlier I hadn't ever thought about the chances of seeing, let alone owning, Harry Hardy's England cap, and yet here it was in my hand. Unbelievable.

After several minutes of just holding and staring at the cap, I began to peruse the other items in the package.

There were the sew on patches from Hardy's England appearances against Belgium and The Scottish Football League (1925/26), photos of him and team mates, and several match programmes from the England tour of Australia in 1925, which Hardy and County's Ernie Simms both represented their Country along with former Hatter James Walsh who had left Edgeley Park for Anfield in 1922.

Unfortunately although Hardy was first choice keeper and Simms was the team captain during the tour neither player received 'caps' as the 5 'Test Matches' against the Aussies were not regarded as full internationals.

A couple of  further 'nuggets' in the collection were Hardy's 'boarding card' for the R.M.S Orsova (the ship the squad travelled to Australia on) and a menu card from the celebration dinner which was held by The NSW & Metropolitan Soccer Football Associations  on May 30th 1925 after the game between England and NSW.

The card had been signed by the fourteen man England squad including both Hardy and Simms.
Now that I have calmed down I know that the items will be of huge interest to generations of County fans and with that in mind it is my intention to put the cap and other items on display at Edgeley Park, so that our supporters can witness this unique collection of County memorabilia.

Once again my thanks to Steve for his generosity in allowing me to grow my County collection/obsession.

The collection will be on display in the Club Shop from Saturday 27th July when County play host to St. Mirren in a pre-season friendly.