We are Blyth - Tommy Orrick

By Phil Castiaux

Blyth legend Tommy Orrick was a guest of the club for our last home fixture of the league season against Whitby and after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in February of this year is now in the process of raising funds for the MND Association.

"After I finished with football I spent a lot of my time breeding and showing dogs," Tommy said. "We have been to Crufts many times, including this year, with our English Setters." The dogs are clearly an important part of Tommy's wider family who have rallied round since his diagnosis and a recent heart attack. "I've done six Great North Runs," said Tommy. "Obviously, I can't run it this year but I will be doing it in a wheelchair with five pushers, including my sons David and Mark as well as my grand-daughter's fiancé Sam raising money for the MND Association. The family have been brilliant all-round, helping with all sorts of things around the house to help Ann cope with my disability." Tommy reflected on when he was diagnosed with MND. "It took seven doctors over two days to be sure. Consultant Tim Williams, a brilliant man, confirmed it with Ann and I.

"It's very rare, with only 5,000 people in the UK with the disease at any one time. I can still walk, but not too far. My legs aren't good especially the left one which was the result of a football incident. I went to get the ball and the opposing goalkeeper caught me with his boot which raked up my thigh to my groin. The doctors just told me to rest, although nowadays they would have probably recommended an operation.

"I'm on 24 pills a day now, what with the heart attack as well. It was incredible when I had my heart attack last May. I thought I had really bad heartburn. Ann rang for an ambulance and it was at the house within five minutes. Only 55 minutes later I was on the operating table at the Freeman Hospital! After a three hour operation I was back home the following day."

Tommy started his football career aged 17 at North Shields before moving to Bishop Auckland. A year earlier, however he had been offered professional terms at Portsmouth where his father was working in the Navy. However, Tommy wanted to stay in the North East and has had no regrets about his decision, as a distinguished Non League career followed. He said: "Bishops were a really big club at that time, having had great success in the '50s. It was the kind of club where you could turn up in your pyjamas - as long as you were wearing your club tie!"

"Bishops were really disliked by opposition management and players. They did things their own way like getting to games. I lived in Byker at the time and, say we were playing at Whitley Bay, I had to get myself to Bishop Auckland to catch the team coach to Whitley. Then after the match get the team coach back to Bishop and then get myself back to Byker!"

He continued: "I was popular there and I played under Bob Hardisty and Lawrie MacMenemy. I was really a right winger but they put me up front playing just off Jimmy Douglas which resulted in 11 goals in three games. From there I went with four of my colleagues to Crook Town in 1963, who were very successful at the time. They had the best 20 players in the Northern League and used a rotation system so I ended up playing only once every three weeks."

"I moved to Whitley Bay in 1964 and played up front with Billy Wright and it was the most successful season they had as an amateur team winning the Northern League, League Cup, Northumberland Senior Cup as well as getting to the Quarter Finals of the Amateur Cup. But at the start of the 1965/66 season me and three friends contacted the Spartans' Chairman Jimmy Turney about signing for Blyth, even though they had finished bottom of the league. Jimmy was on my doorstep within half an hour!

"Playing at Blyth was the highlight of my career and I would have been delighted to have finished my career at Croft Park. The whole atmosphere around the club was like one big family. One example of this was when my two sons, who were four and three years old, came into the dressing room to get their legs rubbed with lineament like the players. I'm not sure Ann enjoyed standing next to them during the game!

"I also remember a young supporter, Paul Gutteridge, who followed me everywhere and even sat next to me in the dressing room. They were such good times that I would have given up on my Amateur Cup medal, which I later won with North Shields, to have stayed at Blyth! However, Blyth coach Jackie Marks wanted the side to run for 90 minutes and said that all I did was score goals. When I heard that I knew it was time to move on."

Blyth's loss of the striker, who had scored 53 goals including 3 consecutive hat-tricks for Blyth in the 1967/68 season, was North Shields' gain. Shields had former Newcastle player Frank Brennan as manager building a team to win the Amateur Cup which they duly did in 1969, helped massively by goals from Orrick as well as two assists in the final against Sutton.

Reflecting on the game Orrick said: "Coming on as sub when were losing one nil the players agreed that we needed to show some true Geordie grit. We did and we went on to win. But even better than walking out at Wembley though was when our open-topped bus drove through Byker and the lads made sure I was holding the Cup as we passed my family."

Tommy was still playing in an over 40s league at 42 years of age and ran half marathons until he turned 62. In addition, he and Ann formed Cramlington Juniors and are now Vice Presidents. His focus now is on his dogs, which the Consultant said he should definitely keep and continue to show, and raising funds for the MND Association.

"I'm hoping to raise £3000 from Great North Run sponsorship and give it all to the association as normally funds like these are split between the Association and the person concerned." he said. "However, we will need another £1000 for a stair lift and £3000 to alter the bathroom. We have collection boxes in many Cramlington shops including Maplins, Specsavers and both the Doctors and Dentists.

Those interested can sponsor the Orrick's Great North Run for the MND Association at http://www.justgiving.com/Ann-Orrick - the page has currently raised 44 per cent of its £2,400 goal and more information on Tommy's time at Blyth can be found in Ken Sproat's We're the Famous Blyth Spartans.