Day Bridgnorth were knocked out in It's A Knockout

Bridgnorth entered a team into the BBC's It's A Knockout competition, which for those too young to remember was like a sort of madcap Olympics with silly games, and their big moment came before the television cameras at Dudley Castle on Sunday, May 13, 1979.

Alas, the town missed out on a trip to the international heat in Italy by the narrowest of margins. In a nailbiting heat Bridgnorth ended on 24 points, only one point behind the winners, Dudley. Worcester were third with 23 points.

After eight closely fought games and the mini-marathon, everything rested on the result of the final game, with all three teams separated by only two points.

Bridgnorth gave everything they had to take the maximum three points, but Dudley's second place was enough to give them a one point victory overall.

The Bridgnorth squad had won four of the games, including their joker game. Under the competition rules, winning a game on which you played your joker got you double points. They were second three times, and third twice.

The Mayor, Councillor Mike McCarthy, watched from a special enclosure with civic heads of the other two towns.

Afterwards he said: "It was a brilliant performance by Bridgnorth. It was a nailbiting heat right up to the last game."

And team manager David Batty said: "It will make superb television. I think everyone must really have enjoyed it.

He felt that a tactical error in Giants' Musical Chairs, which Bridgnorth pair Dave Rymer and Mark Unitt won, in which Dudley managed second place, could have made a difference to the result.

Bridgnorth was by far the smallest of the three towns competing and was not sponsored as heavily as the others.

Team members had been training hard, three nights a week, for over three months.

Bridgnorth had raised £900 to pay for the competition, and half of that sum was going back to the Bridgnorth Community Chest for charity.

The games were recorded to be broadcast a few weeks later on June 8.

And while we're about it, let's give a name check to the team members – and the following is not a complete list: Mark Unitt, John King, Maureen Brown, Bob Renke, Ian Pennington, Peter Arch, Susan Clegg, Sheila Thompson, Steve Francis, Dave Rymer, Christine Matthews, Henry Watkins, Dave Batty, Richard Applegate, Andy Pottinger, and Lynette Thompson.

At least one person is missing from the list, Ron Lendrum, who was injured in a 17ft fall, and had been earmarked to take part in the roller skating in the competition. Clearly, he did not recover in time.

There was to be a sequel, as the Bridgnorth team was able to go abroad after all, when Bridgnorth's twin town Thiers invited them over in the summer to play them.

Bridgnorth went over for 10 days in July, and this time were victorious, beating Thiers by 80 points to 63 and returning with a special trophy which was specially presented by Thiers for the occasion.