Before becoming Bolton's chief scout, he became an administrative manager at Burnden. . Club Chaplain Phil Mason added: "We are absolutely delighted with the work Sean has done; the image captures Nat perfectly - his strength both physical and mental and his great sense of purpose on and off the field. The players were taken off the pitch but, amazingly returned half an hour later to play out a goalless draw with bodies laid out along the touchline covered by coats. Had Lofthouse not been a Bolton Wanderers player, life would have been extremely difficult for him. Indeed, many of the stereotypes we now associate with players from the sepia-tinged era of the 1950s have their roots in Lofthouses own story. M4 3BG, 2023 National Football Museum. In 1968, he spent a brief time as caretaker manager of the club and took over the job full-time on 18 December. Pic courtesy of Mirrorpix. As a result of the United States defeat in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, the national team lost its confidence when playing outside their comfort zone of the Home International Championships. He later served as chief scout, caretaker manager, executive manager and as the clubs president from 1986. For Nat, the expectations were even greater. Its capital cities, Berlin and Vienna, were also divided into four by the four Allied Powers (Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and France). Lofthouse scored twice against Belgium in a match that ended 44. That game launched one of the best periods of his career, which previously Lofthouse had been decidedly unsatisfied with, receiving little praise for his international efforts, and little respect from anyone barring Bolton fans. In 1953, it all came together. Harry Gregg, a survivor of the crash who would go on to be one of United's best goalkeepers ever, could only manage to deflect the shot. . if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'historyofsoccer_info-leader-2','ezslot_15',169,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofsoccer_info-leader-2-0');In 452 Football League appearances for Bolton, he scored 255 goals. A vote of the Football Writers Association members, which functions like a jury, selected the professional player who best exemplified footballers precepts and examples as the player of the year. Herbert Chapman: Arsenal FC And Huddersfield Town Manager, Miguel Muoz: First To Win European Cup As Player And Manager, Sir Bobby Robson: More Than A Football Manager In Tyneside. He was elbowed in the face, tackled from behind and brought down by the goalkeeper. Austria and England played a classic international match in Vienna, combining physical, influential English players with a technically proficient Austrian team to display steel and brute strength when needed. His career and life, like so many of the players he shared the pitch with, seems so improbable when compared to modern stars both in terms of achievements and circumstances that its hard to separate the man from the legend. ALTHOUGH he earned a great deal of his reputation, and indeed his nickname, for one performance, Nat Lofthouse, The Lion of Vienna was a tremendous servant for his country for eight years, bagging 30 goals in just 33 games, and for his club for over 30 years. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The two co-founded the Lion of Vienna Suite community and write about Bolton Wanderers because someone has to. Billy Wright had defensive prowess; Tom Finney, pinpoint crossing accuracy; Stan Matthews, a mesmeric array of tricks. He said of his career; For me Football is pleasure with pay. He made the best out of every situation and was often the first to say that he was happy to be earning a living by playing the game that he loved so much. According to Bolton Wanderers, the statue proposal has received a phenomenal reception and is well on target for the scheduled due date. The Lion of Vienna With the war over, the legendary Nat Lofthouse was finally able to start his career officially. By 1942, all males in the United Kingdom aged 18-51 (with a few exceptions) were eligible to be conscripted by the government into wartime service. There was a light breeze and intermittent rain during the game. The award was given in recognition of his great skill with the ball at a time when English football was not known for its aesthetic beauty. Football was also a significant sport for the two nations. And, by today's standards, Nat Lofthouse would make his modern day equivalents look like little kittens. The Lion of Vienna, Fifty Years a Legend (Edinburgh, 1989); Billy Wright, The Worlds My Football Pitch (London, 1953); Percy M Young, Bolton Wanderers (London, 1961); England Beat Austria, Path Film; Dave Russell, Deeply Honoured: The Rise and Significance of the British Sporting Award. Mr Davies recalled the significant efforts Nat had made during the early eighties to raise money to help Wanderers avoid bankruptcy. Lofthouse scored all seven goals for Bolton. With him passed away a piece of Bolton Wanderers Football Club that will never return. Nat Lofthouse was one of the post-war giants of football who had a glittering career with Bolton Wanderers, his only club, and England. Nat Lofthouse OBE, the Bolton Wanderers and England legend, has passed away aged 85, leaving countless memories. Lofthouse returned to Burnden Park full-time in 1968 spending a mostly nondescript three-year spell as manager. And so with that barge, Lofthouse won Bolton's fourth, and final to date, FA Cup, famously proud of his "110 team" that cost no more than each player's signing-on fee. He is still Bolton's top scorer of all time. In 1957, he assumed captaincy of the club. People like Tom Finney and myself, people like that. Ridding had been prominent in Nat Lofthouse's successful rise and had led the Trotters to the 1953 and 1958 FA Cup finals, famously winning the second one. He won 33 caps for England between 1950 and 1958, scoring 30 goals, with one of the highest goals-per-game ratios of any England player. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'historyofsoccer_info-leader-1','ezslot_12',186,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofsoccer_info-leader-1-0');White shirts were worn by Austria and red by England. Once Lofthouse arrived Hunt moved to right-half and was later transferred to Sheffield Wednesday. Nat Lofthouse was everything you will not find in a footballer today. When he wasnt on form, neither was the team. Thankfully for Bolton, the games in which Lofthouse wasnt on song were becoming fewer and fewer. The OBE was awarded to him in 1994. All in all, he tallied up 255 goals in 452 league games, and 30 goals in 51 cup matches. Be in no doubt, the greatest number 9 and Bolton's finest son is of course Sir Nat Lofthouse. The paradigm that would come to define a golden era in the history of one of Englands oldest clubs was now set in stone. Unfortunately, Bolton were not able to right their sinking ship under the Lion of Vienna and at the end of the 1970-71 season (after Lofthouse had left the post), Bolton were in 22nd place and relegated to the Third Division (an all-time low until the 1987-1988 season). Nat Lofthouse was born on 27 August, 1925 in Bolton, Lancashire, England, UK, is an Actor. Writing in his 1954 autobiography Goals Galore, Lofthouse discussed his time in the mines: "The job proved to be the best I could possibly have had. Nathaniel Lofthouse OBE (27 August 1925 - 15 January 2011) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Bolton Wanderers for his entire career. [12], Lofthouse died on 15 January 2011, aged 85, in a nursing home in Bolton. He was forced to retire at the age of 35 because of his persistent injuries. We had to do something quickly and we had no identity at that time. In 2003, Nat Lofthouse retired from Bolton Wanderers for a second time. In July 1961, Lofthouse accepted a boot cleaner and assistant trainer position at Burnden Park. One of those matches would turn out to be the definitive 90 minutes of his England career, at what was then called Praterstadion in Vienna on the 25th of May, 1952. England conceded 24 free kicks, while Austria conceded 19. Lion of Vienna Suite Nat Lofthouse East Stand, sponsored by Eventura Providing a match day experience that is perfect for family, friends and fellow Bolton Wanderers fans, the Lion of Vienna Suite offers a relaxed atmosphere with its own pay bar and LED TV screens. Two goals in a win against Bury immediately had the few hardy souls willing to brave the football during the Blitz abuzz with excitement. In the 83rd minute, Tom Finney tapped the ball to Lofthouse on the halfway line. A year to the day after his death, Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside announced plans for one to be built and for the statue to be situated outside the Reebok Stadium. The Austrians went on the offensive to boot every English player on the pitch. Sculptor Sean Hedges Quinn will depict the captain leading his team onto the pitch and will be emblazoned with Nat's final words: "I've got the ball now, it's a bit worn, but I've got it.". When remembering the menial jobs he was tasked with as youth team coach following his retirement, he reflected that they meant I could stay with Bolton Wanderers. Long after his star had ascended, he could still be found riding the bus from his nearby home to Burnden Park, delighting in surprising fans who were discussing his performances on the pitch unbeknownst of his presence. Lofthouse had made his Wanderers debut back in 1941 aged 15, scoring. But the Wanderers policy was that if you played for them you couldnt run a pub. After Jackie Sewell restored the lead, Nat Lofthouse headed against the crossbar. Lofthouse was at his imperious best, plundering goals at a rate that even the sportswriters who had grown up watching the likes of Dixie Dean and others agreed was exceptional. [6], Tributes were paid to Lofthouse as he celebrated his 80th birthday, including a party at the Reebok. [17] It was unveiled on 24 August 2013, three days before what would have been Lofthouse's 88th birthday. Despite that flirtation with a move to Spurs (they came back in for him a second time in 1954 but were again rebuffed) and an audacious attempt by Fiorentina to take him to Italy, Lofthouse remained a one-club man. That's the two words that go together and the thing about Nat was, as well, that you don't need to put his surname there, do you? Two goals on his England debut against Yugoslavia wasnt enough to convince the notoriously finicky and often mystifying FA selection committee, but when he was recalled a year later, he took an iron grip on Englands number 9 shirt, one he wouldnt fully relinquish for another five years. Even at that time, Bolton was an unfashionable club that hadn't exactly been lighting up the league for 10 years, and Nat felt this was slowing down his career. And that, basically, was all I wanted to do. A typical Saturday for Lofthouse involved getting up at 3.30am, catching the 4.30am tram to work, and working down the pit for 8 hours before the team bus took him to the match. For the recognition of club and country, a statue stands outside Bolton's stadium. Lofthouse opened the scoring but Austria came back, and with the game deadlocked at 2-2, began to exert significant pressure. The former Bolton Wanderers and England centre forward . Doug Holden, another star of the legendary 1950s edition of Bolton, provided a succinct summation of Lofthouses influence on the team.
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