Whilst no current supporter is likely to have watched Spencer 87 years ago, it may well be possible that older supporters will have known some of these players, many who were local to Banbury, after they retired from playing!

Back Row (Left to Right): Jack Ballinger (Trainer), Reg Wallis, Arthur Blencowe, Steven Dimmock, Dai Jones, Doug Woodward, Eddie Salmons (Secretary).

Front Row (Left to Right): Harry Locke, Albert Shanks, Jimmy Cringan (Player/Coach), William Grady (Chairman), Bob Lewis, Tommy North, Aubrey “Cobbler” Grant.

Season 1938/39 in the Birmingham Combination was a difficult one for Spencer. The end of January saw the club’s record defeat, losing 11-2 away to a West Bromwich Albion “A” side, the game incidentally played at the Hawthorns as that ground was available. Spencer had only won three games to that point that season and were one from bottom of the table, just one point above bottom placed Atherstone Town. Five wins from Spencer’s final seven league games did though lift the club up to 14th place out of the 20 teams at the end of the season. No player was ever present in the 38 league games, Tommy North made 35 appearances, Doug Woodward 33, Arthur Blencowe 31 and “Cobbler” Grant 30. Leading league goalscorer was Doug Woodward with 23 goals.

Spencer started the following season in the Birmingham Combination but with the outbreak of War the competition was cancelled after two games. Spencer did compete in the Oxfordshire Senior League for two seasons but with travelling and raising a team becoming increasingly difficult the club then ceased playing football altogether until season 1945/46 when hostilities had ceased.

There follows some brief profiles of those players in the photo who had lengthy careers at Spencer, either as a player or in another capacity. Of course, a number of these players would likely to have made many more appearances for the club if their playing days had not been interrupted by the War.

Jack Ballinger
Jack played for Spencer in their first season of competitive football, 1933/34, in the Banbury Division of the Oxfordshire Junior League. He didn’t play for the club after they moved to senior football the following season but was appointed the club’s trainer, a position he held for 30 years until retiring at the end of season 1964/65.

Dai Jones
Right back who first played for the club in season 1935/36, going on to make 206 appearances for the Gay Puritans through to season 1945/46.

Doug Woodward
Local lad who played primarily as a centre-forward for Spencer from season 1936/37 to 1950/51. Made 338 appearances and scored 155 goals, that goal tally putting him fourth in the club’s all-time goalscorers list. Was also a well-known local cricketer. Appointed Easington Sports manager in the summer of 1957, a position he held until stepping down in November 1960. There follows a Banbury Guardian “Sportrait” feature on Doug that appeared in the Banbury Guardian in May 1961.

Arthur Blencowe
Made his debut for Spencer this season and went on to make 58 appearances up to season 1945/46, later spending most of the 1950s, as the club’s reserve team manager.

Reg Wallis
Forward who had a remarkable goalscoring record in his time at Banbury Spencer, scoring 104 goals in just 123 appearances from season 1934/35 through to 1949/50. Would spend 28 years as the club’s groundsman until retiring in 1966.

Harry Locke
Played primarily as a left winger for Spencer from season 1935/36 through to 1951/51, making 268 appearances and scoring 54 goals.

Aubrey “Cobbler” Grant
Full back who joined Banbury Spencer for season 1934/35, the club’s first as a senior club and first in the Oxfordshire Senior League. Cobbler had past experience of that level of football, playing for Banbury Harriers. Made 241 appearances for the Gay Puritans, season 1945/46 seeing him play a few final games for the club.

Tommy North
Tommy was a notable newcomer for season 1937/38, joining the club at the start of the season from Loughborough Corinthians. He went on to play in various up-front positions for Spencer until the outbreak of the Second World War. During the War, Tommy played for Nottingham Forest, staying with them after hostilities had ended, making 34 appearances, scoring 9 goals, in the still regionalised 1945/46 football programme. However, after making just one Football League appearance for Forest in season 1946/47 he returned to the Spencer Stadium for the start of season 1947/48. He left the club in November 1949, the local press confirming that Tommy’s employment at Spencer’s Works was being terminated and that he would therefore be signing for another football club. Tommy made 187 appearances in all competitions for Spencer, scoring 63 goals.

Jimmy Cringan
At the football club’s AGM held in late July 1936, Spencer announced the appointment of Jimmy Cringan as manager of the club, albeit technically the title was player/coach as the manager’s title was not officially bestowed until later. As a player, Jimmy was a half back with Birmingham City making 260 Football League appearances for them between seasons 1923/24 and 1933/34 (inclusive) and in that time scoring 12 League goals. He also appeared in the 1931 FA Cup Final as part of the City side that lost 2-1 to West Bromwich Albion. He had more recently been player/manager at Boston United for season 1934/35 and part of the following season before resigning from that post in November 1935.

As well as his managerial and coaching responsibilities, Jimmy played for Spencer regularly until the outbreak of the Second World War, after which he confined himself to managerial duties. Though normally playing in a half back role he was not averse to being up front when the need arose. His career with Spencer saw him make 80 appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals. Jimmy remained manager until June 1961, a period in charge of 25 years, though he continued to be involved with Banbury Spencer for a further two years as the club’s Secretary, a role he had combined with his football management responsibilities from the end of the Second World War.

His time in Banbury also saw him spend eight years as a Conservative member of the Banbury Town Council, losing his seat shortly before he was due to become the Town’s mayor. Jimmy retired from the Spencer firm in October 1968 and then moved back to his native Scotland.

A tribute to Jimmy Cringan that appeared in the Banbury Guardian in February 1977, following his death follows:

A caricature of Jimmy Cringan that appeared in the Birmingham Sports Argus during season 1951/52 follows:

In February 1965 Jimmy was presented with a gold watch by the Football Club and a silver rose bowl from the Supporters Club to mark the length of service that he had given to the club. See Article below from the local press.