Pic from the Past 1971

By Ray Simpson

Pic from the Past 1971

Craig Stoddart brings us another in his series of Pics from the Past Jump for joy! Five new Dar...

pic from the past, Billy Lees, Colin Sinclair, Ian Hall, Geoff Barker, Peter Martin

Craig Stoddart brings us another in his series of Pics from the Past

 

Jump for joy! Five new Darlington signings leap over a bench on the pitch after the team photo was taken ahead of the 1971-72 season. Bonus points if you can name all five.

 

 

Left to right are Norman Lees, Colin Sinclair, Ian Hall, Geoff Barker and Peter Martin. It was a season which saw Quakers wear their iconic white shirt with three bands for the final time, bringing to an end six seasons in the design, with Darlington ending the campaign 19th in Division Four and the impact of the new signings varied. Lees was an ex-Hull City player who made 21 appearances in his first year and went on to play in six seasons for the club before moving to Australia, while Scottish striker Sinclair became a crowd favourite by scoring 65 goals in 223 appearances. Hall, also centre-forward, arrived from Celtic but never made the first team, though played regularly in the reserves and scored plenty of goals in the Wearside League. Barker, a former Southend United defender, was a regular for four seasons and rarely missed a game, but left-winger Martin, who joined from Middlesbrough, made only three appearances in the first team before moving to Barnsley in October.