His father was a coal-bagger for the community's co-operative before becoming the head horse keeper for Bolton Corporation. Inducted: 2002, National Football Museum All the while, he kept scoring for his country as well as for his club, finishing on an incredible 30 goals in 33 caps and taking the record as the national teams all-time top goalscorer jointly with Finney. Telephone: 0161 605 8200. Promised a new bike if he scored a hat-trick in the match he actually went four better, getting all the goals in a 7-1 win, establishing himself as one to watch. Lofthouse earned full international recognition when he was called up to play for his country against Yugoslavia at Highbury in November 1950. Known as the 'Lion of Vienna, Nat Lofthouse was the epitome of the down-to-earth football star of the 1940s and 1950s. In 1985, at the age of 60, Lofthouse became caretaker manager at the club again and became president in 1986. The great Nat Lofthouse was born to humble beginnings on the 27th of August, 1925 to Richard and Sarah Lofthouse. As a result, Nat Lofthouse was nicknamed the Lion of Vienna. Mr Lofthouse, known as the Lion of Vienna, died on 15 January aged 85. After that, Musil crashed into me, and we both fell to the ground. NAT THE LION | Read The League Following his discovery, Nat Lofthouse was signed by then-Bolton manager Charles Foweraker, who had, at that point, been manager of the club for 25 years (and would manage for a further five years). Why was Nat Lofthouse called the Lion of Vienna? People like Tom Finney and myself, people like that. In July 1961, Lofthouse accepted a boot cleaner and assistant trainer position at Burnden Park. He was probably the last of the old fashioned centre forwards, leading the line with toughness, taking plenty of knocks and giving them out too. He scored 22 goals in 36 games for a Wanderers team that finished 14th. There was nowhere left to. He was born on March 24, 1919, in Blyth, Northumberland, England. My body became firmer and harder, I learned to take hard knocks without feeling them. 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. Nat Lofthouse: The Lion Of Vienna - Boltom Wanderers Soccer Player Lofthouse mourned by Bolton and England | Inside UEFA Due to hostilities, Lofthouse didnt make his league debut for Wanderers until the 1946-47 season. There Lofthouse got the only goal of the first match. 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. Nat Lofthouse was everything you will not find in a footballer today. The phrase Lion of Vienna will be forever associated with Lofthouse. He netted in every round of the FA Cup in 1953, including the final, only to be thwarted by the wizardry of Stanley Matthews and a hat-trick from Stan Mortensen in one of the most famous finals of all time. Lofthouse was a one-club centre-forward who dedicated his life to Bolton Wanderers. . Injured for the next match, in the quarter final game against Uruguay he equalized in the 16th minute, after receiving the ball in the 18-yard box.[which? By Paul Ride. In the next two seasons he continued scoring regularly with the 1955-56 campaign particularly notable. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. We may also very occasionally send you information about the museum via Facebook. He is still Bolton's top scorer of all time. Owning the public house was not the most rewarding career choice to the man who only wanted to see his boyhood club do well. [6], Tributes were paid to Lofthouse as he celebrated his 80th birthday, including a party at the Reebok. The former Bolton Wanderers and England centre forward . Nat Lofthouse obituary | Soccer | The Guardian That is, a sane person that wasn't scared of facing the Lion of Vienna on the pitch. [9], Already a Bolton Wanderers player having joined them in 1939 Lofthouse was conscripted in 1943 and worked in Mosley Common colliery as a Bevin Boy. Scot Foweraker, who started at the club as a gateman when the ground opened in 1895, had taken over as manager in 1919 and would go on to serve Wanderers for an outstanding 49 years, 25 as boss. Just about. This win made for up defeat in the 1953 FA Cup Final, the same year he was selected as the Footballer of the Year by the FWA. A single man did not give up. His lifelong dedication to the club was not work, but a manifestation of who he was. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Lofthouse wasn't very good in goal though, conceding seven goals in his first outing. There is no doubt he gave everything to his club, and to the game. Harry Johnston (1951) and Syd Owen (1959), among others and more apparent candidates, Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney, won this award for their model-professional status, loyalty to club and country, and scrupulously fair approach to the game. It was something that Lofthouse would later describe as "the worst moment of his life." For England he scored a phenomenal 30 goals in 33 games. The day for Bevin Boys was a long and tough one. Prior to Lofthouses arrival on the scene Wanderers had relied on former Spurs star George Hunt for the majority of their goals. By Henry Winter 16 January 2011 8:10pm There were England Soccer players dotted among them, their red shirts feeling like poppies in a field of corn as they were carried high in triumph to their dressing-room on the shoulders of the Dorsets, the Warwicks, the Signalmen, and the Gunners. 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. 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. For the recognition of club and country, a statue stands outside Boltons stadium.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],'historyofsoccer_info-box-3','ezslot_4',180,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofsoccer_info-box-3-0'); England toured Europe briefly in summer 1952 and played matches against politically sensitive opponents Italy and Austria. In 2003, Nat Lofthouse retired from Bolton Wanderers for a second time. 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. 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. Nats prolific strike rate in the war leagues left Wanderers in little doubt as to his abilities, but the cessation of the conflict and resumption of the football league ushered in a tough period of acclimatisation for club and player. Ernest Bevin, Minister of Labour and National Service during World War II, lent his name to the conscripted miners. It was then more than five years until he made his league debut for the club, but he eventually played against Chelsea on 31 August 1946, when he scored twice in a 43 defeat. We were introduced and I stood there tongue-tied, Nat would later recall. My legs became stronger and when I played football I felt I was shooting with greater power.". 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. Lofthouse saw his chance and took it, barging both Gregg and the ball into the back of the net. 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. Once Lofthouse arrived Hunt moved to right-half and was later transferred to Sheffield Wednesday. Quite possibly the best football magazine in the World, 2023 All Rights Reserved - Read The League Built by B[]X, RIDE TO HELL. They did not have a particularly tough path to Wembley facing mostly Division 2 and 3 sides, although they did knockout Division 1 champions of that season Wolverhampton in the quarter finals. Nat Lofthouse was a 'Bevin Boy', one of thousands of young men conscripted to work in Britain's mines by Ernest Bevin, the coalition government's Minister of Labour and National Service during. By 1951 it had begun to recover from the wars ravages. After a brief stint as the caretaker, Nat Lofthouse was named the full-time manager of Bolton Wanderers and stayed in the post until 1970. Several players in the match played below their level, with Nat Lofthouse one of those.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'historyofsoccer_info-banner-1','ezslot_10',184,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofsoccer_info-banner-1-0'); In the Daily Telegraph, Frank Coles wrote, One of the question marks is against Lofthouse. The ball came in and fell to Tom Finney, Lofthouses long-time England cohort and close personal friend, who expertly set his centre-forward away. From an early age, Nat was a Bolton Wanderers supporter. A) 20 B) 30 C) 40 As he regretted later, I never saw the ball enter the Austrian net for the goal of my life.. His mother stayed at home and cared for the four boys. BBC News - Nat Lofthouse: Life of football legend 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). United played well in the first half, but their attacks were continually stopped by the Bolton defense "like waves breaking against a rock," as one commentator noted. His very style of football embodied Bolton, an appreciation for power alongside skill which is still part of the club today. Matilda is a Texan in Paris and Mark is a Georgian (the country) in New York. We will normally only contact you via e-newsletter. Please tick if you would like to receive information in this way. He was famous for entertaining the clientele with some of the many stories about his time as a professional footballer. On foreign soil, the English brave and plucky had triumphed over technologically superior opponents against all odds. In what was only his seventh cap, he was already well accustomed to the no-holds-barred criticism that came with being Englands centre forward. Compared to the broadsheets, tabloid match reports treat the occasion as a related event to the war. This was a one-off and Bolton came from behind to get the better of Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge with goals from Hunt and Lol Hamlett. Despite this disappointment the player ended the season on a high when he was named Footballer of the Year. On this occasion, he relieved himself of day-to-day duties at the club but remained on board as an ambassador for the Trotters, attending matches and club events for years to come. He would later serve as the Chairman of the Board on two occasions: in 1952-1953 and again from 1961-1963. Contents show The 1952 tour England toured Europe briefly in summer 1952 and played matches against politically sensitive opponents Italy and Austria. In his 14 years at Bolton between . According to Bolton Wanderers, the statue proposal has received a phenomenal reception and is well on target for the scheduled due date. In front of 65,500 fans at the Prater Stadium, including hordes of British soldiers, Lofthouse gave England the lead when he smacked home a half-volley from 12 yards after being set up by Jackie Sewell.