by MellowYellow » 17 Oct 2017, 12:59
wivelgull wrote: 17 Oct 2017, 09:58
n.b. for the REAL Codgery: I never saw Don Mills but all the real old codgers I ever knew over the years on the pop. side would say, if asked the question 'who was the greatest of them all?' would reply 'Don Mills'.
Whilst I did see Don Mills play in his latter years I was too young to appreciate his great ball control, deceptive feints, accuracy of distribution, and the ability to ‘read’ a game and thus dictate its progress, he was an outstanding player whom sports journalists at every level racked their brains for new adjectives to describe. The ‘Mills Bomb’ was a favourite headline to describe his impact!
Torquay paid a club record fee in December 1952 and he stayed at Plainmoor for twenty years, retiring as a player in 1962. He is generally regarded as Torquay’s greatest-ever player and was officially elected as the "Greatest Player ever to play for Torquay United" in the Football League Hall of Fame in June 2007.
He was also part of one of Torquays greatest FA Cup moments in 1954/55 (the year Torquay changed colours from the old black and white to a gold and blue.) when they were drawn against Leeds United in the Third Round. Nobody expected the team to go to Elland Road and get any kind of favourable result, but managed a 2-2 draw and with over 12,000 fans at Plainmoor for the replay ran out 4-0 winners, where captain Don Mills scored one of the goals. (
Click link to see highlights of the 1955, 2-2 draw -
)
That set up a 4th round clash with the then mighty Huddersfield Town, at Plainmoor which will always live on in the memory of those who attended the match on the 29th January 1955. Just how 21,908 people managed to fit into the ground is a mystery. Although Torquay lost 0-1 to the then Division One club, the day is still one of greatest cup runs in Torquay United's history, and the record crowd is never likely to be beaten.
Whilst there has been many a good player over the years, as a cultured creative midfielder with an uncanny ability to score the most sublime of goals, and over 20 years loyal service, I would put Don Mills as the "greatest of them all'.
[quote=wivelgull post_id=214632 time=1508234280 user_id=119]
n.b. for the REAL Codgery: I never saw Don Mills but all the real old codgers I ever knew over the years on the pop. side would say, if asked the question 'who was the greatest of them all?' would reply 'Don Mills'.
[/quote]
Whilst I did see Don Mills play in his latter years I was too young to appreciate his great ball control, deceptive feints, accuracy of distribution, and the ability to ‘read’ a game and thus dictate its progress, he was an outstanding player whom sports journalists at every level racked their brains for new adjectives to describe. The ‘Mills Bomb’ was a favourite headline to describe his impact!
Torquay paid a club record fee in December 1952 and he stayed at Plainmoor for twenty years, retiring as a player in 1962. He is generally regarded as Torquay’s greatest-ever player and was officially elected as the "Greatest Player ever to play for Torquay United" in the Football League Hall of Fame in June 2007.
He was also part of one of Torquays greatest FA Cup moments in 1954/55 (the year Torquay changed colours from the old black and white to a gold and blue.) when they were drawn against Leeds United in the Third Round. Nobody expected the team to go to Elland Road and get any kind of favourable result, but managed a 2-2 draw and with over 12,000 fans at Plainmoor for the replay ran out 4-0 winners, where captain Don Mills scored one of the goals. ([b]Click link [/b]to see highlights of the 1955, 2-2 draw - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WOTgrPPIUo )
That set up a 4th round clash with the then mighty Huddersfield Town, at Plainmoor which will always live on in the memory of those who attended the match on the 29th January 1955. Just how 21,908 people managed to fit into the ground is a mystery. Although Torquay lost 0-1 to the then Division One club, the day is still one of greatest cup runs in Torquay United's history, and the record crowd is never likely to be beaten.
Whilst there has been many a good player over the years, as a cultured creative midfielder with an uncanny ability to score the most sublime of goals, and over 20 years loyal service, I would put Don Mills as the "greatest of them all'.
