The day a 16-year-old boy was needed for a Shrewsbury Town league match - and held his own
Through a combination of circumstances, the hand of fate came to rest on the shoulders of 16-year-old engineering apprentice Alan Humphreys in October 1956.
And the upshot was that he was to make his debut as the youngest player to represent Shrewsbury Town in a league game.
A fortnight previously goalkeeper Alan had been playing for the Town's colts side. The following Saturday he made his debut in the Birmingham League team.
But on Friday, October 5, he got a shock. Because of injuries to Town's first choice goalies, manager Walter Rowley told him they needed him to turn out for the next day's match, a home Football League game against Reading at the Gay Meadow.
It was a dizzying fairytale ascent of the footballing ladder for the six-footer from Chester and unsurprisingly his performance on the day came in for close scrutiny.
The verdict was that the boy did well.
