On This Day (22 April 1967): ‘Slim’ Jim Baxter outshines the Busby Babes!

I remember feeling very excited to be going to this game, as it was my first time watching Manchester United.

Denis Law, Paddy Crerand, Alex Stepney, Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles were all rumoured to be playing, but it was the young wonder kid Georgie Best who I really wanted to see- was he as good as everybody said he was?

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We’d done United a favour by beating their nearest rivals Nottingham Forest in a midweek game at Roker Park just three days previously, playing very well and winning the game via a John O’Hare goal.

The Forest result was typical of our season, as we seemed to perform better against the better teams and we had no great form away from home, but at Roker, we’d finish with twelve wins and three draws, which kept us away from the relegation zone.

Jim Baxter and Neil Martin had been acquired during the previous season and I thought they were great players for us.

Martin had been scoring regularly and would finish this season on twenty six goals, whereas Baxter was a flashy performer who loved a big crowd and stage. Indeed, my bedroom wall was clogged with photos of ‘Slim Jim’, our very own superstar!

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We’d also given chances to some very good players from our youth team, who won the FA Youth Cup that season by beating Birmingham City.

Bobby Kerr, Billy Hughes, Colin Todd, Colin Suggett and Jimmy Shoulder had all made their debuts, while Alan Gauden had made his debut the previous season and continued to impress when given the chance in 1966/1967.

Sadly, Kerr was lost to this campaign. He’d made a goalscoring debut against Manchester. City on 31 December and had scored seven goals in ten games before breaking his leg during a controversial cup tie with Don Revie’s ‘dirty’ Leeds United.

Nevertheless, Todd had forced his way into the starting eleven and Hughes, Suggett and Gauden were featuring more regularly as the season progressed.

United had beaten us 5-0 at Old Trafford earlier in the season, but it was a game of two halves and many years later, Crerand recalled that Sunderland and Baxter in particular had absolutely hammered United in the first half of this game, albeit without scoring a goal.

As Baxter faded in the second half, the hosts came into the game and even allowing for an injury to Jimmy Montgomery, had gone to town on us in the later stages of the second half.

Martin Harvey had picked up an injury against Forest and Len Ashurst (who had a good record against Best) returned at left back.

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The other selection issue concerned the absence of fan favourite and captain Charlie Hurley.

Manager Ian McColl was rumoured to have an anti-Catholic bias which a number of players had apparently fallen foul of.

Hurley was apparently fit, but George Kinnell remained in the centre half berth. Many years later, stories would emerge of a dressing room split, with Baxter and Hurley the two parties and McColl unwilling or unable to sort this issue and occasionally appearing to fan the flames.

Baxter’s increasing dependence on alcohol at this time was also a factor, as he struggled for consistency and to maintain his own previous high levels of performance.

As we moved towards kick off, there were upwards of 40,000 fans inside the ground, creating a great atmosphere.

I can remember Best doing a bit of flashy ‘keepy-uppy’ with a ball and stroking it neatly to the trainer on the touchline. Baxter seemed to spot this and responded with his own juggling act before backheeling the ball to Sunderland’s trainer.

He seemed to be saying, ‘I’m the kingpin on this paddock, so make no mistake about that, Bestie!’.

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The game kicked off and apart from a couple of interludes, the half was Sunderland’s- or more accurately- Baxter’s!

The press reports generally concurred that ‘Slim Jim’ had been head and shoulders above any of Busby’s Babes, bossing, cajoling, strolling, and dictating the game. What was also reported was that he was a step or two ahead of his own teammates for most of the game!

I can clearly remember him pinging passes short and long and seeming to be everywhere in order to receive the ball. I also recall that he sat his good pal Crerand down on his backside at one point and outrageously dummied Nobby Stiles, who really didn’t like that kind of thing!

Baxter set numerous attacks away down both flanks, but unfortunately the high crosses into the box were being continuously gobbled up by Stepney, Bill Foulkes and David Sadler, with Martin being kept very quiet by the United defence.

One Baxter-inspired attack led to a venomous shot from George Herd from just outside the box, which looked goalbound until the excellent Stepney got a hand to it and tipped it just round the post. The Scot then fired an inswinging corner that Stepney just got a hand to before it crossed the line.

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Our dominance in this half was so complete that United placed everybody bar Denis Law back behind the ball for large spells.

On one occasion, Best managed to break away and hammered an excellent shot that Montgomery, who’d mostly been a spectator in the first half, just managed to save with an outstretched arm. The rebound landed at Law’s feet but Monty threw himself at the striker’s feet, grasping at the ball to save the day!

The first half finished with another spell of Sunderland pressure, but the United defence kept us at a distance to see the half out.

The much-heralded Babes hadn’t really shown anything for us to feel too nervous about, and with Baxter in commanding form for the second half, I felt we just needed that first goal to go on and win the game.

However, I hadn’t allowed for the astute Matt Busby, as United changed their shape and were much more compact in midfield throughout the second half. Proceedings in the middle of the pitch then became something of a slugfest and Baxter faded as the game progressed.

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There were only two moments of exciting play that I could recall in the second half, and nothing else mentioned in any press report.

On eighty five minutes, with Sunderland attacking in numbers, we beat the press from Stiles and left Crerand and Tony Dunne on the ground.

Baxter slid a pass to Gauden who was lurking on the edge of the box and in a flash, he unleashed a wicked drive that cannoned off the crossbar, with the rebound falling to Martin, whose shot went wide. It just wasn’t his day, though not for the lack of trying.

Shortly afterwards, there was a heart-in-your-mouth moment if you were a Sunderland fan, despite our defence, with Todd to the fore, shackling United’s much-vaunted forward line for much of the game.

Law and Charlton broke away and when in on goal, Law cleverly faked to shoot and Monty dived, but Law passed to Charlton, who just about had an open goal to aim at.

In a save reminiscent of the first half, Monty twisted and pounced at Charlton’s feet as he set himself to grab the ball.

His reflexes were almost cat-like in those situations and he’d shown why he was considered to be the best uncapped goalkeeper in the country. Charlton, meanwhile, looked to the heavens as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

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The game finished 0-0 and as I made my way out of the ground, I really felt as though United had set themselves up to take a point.

It meant they remained top of the table by three points, but it had been a largely disappointing performance, apart from Stepney and Irish international full back Dunne, whose pace, timing of the tackle and use of the ball had been impressive.

For Sunderland, Todd had a good game, slotting into midfield at times and plugging gaps across our back line. His speed and use of the ball was something we would come to appreciate and expect as he developed his game at Roker.

Of course, I would have to give ‘player of the match’ to Baxter.

He did fade as the game progressed but in the first half, he outshone each and every one of the Babes and showed what a world class player he could be!

United eventually went on to win the title, and we finished in seventeenth place with room to spare.

As for Baxter, he’d distinguish himself again, during a game against England at Wembley where Scotland beat the world champions and he played ‘keepy-uppy’ on the pitch during the game.

This was greeted with fury by Stiles and Alan Ball in particular, but also Law, who having scored two goals, was seeking a hat trick but was unlikely to get it with ‘Slim Jim’ showboating!

I was a tad disappointed in United but I didn’t have to wait long to see them again at Roker Park, during a game that was an absolute treat to be at.

Football League Division One

22 April 1967

Roker Park

Attendance: 42,957

Sunderland 0

Manchester United 0

Sunderland: Montgomery, Irwin, Ashurst; Todd, Kinnell, Baxter: Suggett, O’Hare, Martin; Herd, Gauden

Sub: Shoulder

Manchester United: Stepney, Dunne, Noble; Crerand, Foulkes, Stiles; Best, Law, Sadler; Charlton, Aston