Six-hit Bert’s magic snow

THOSE WERE THE DAYS: Legendary Athletic striker Bert Lister slides in to score the first of his six goals against Southport at a snow-covered Boundary Park on Boxing Day, 1962. Athletic won 11-0 — a new club record victory.

PARK LIFE: THE FREEZING conditions which have hit Athletic’s fixture programme so hard over recent weeks may rekindle older fans’ memories of a particularly harsh winter past — and with it, a remarkable goalscoring feat.

The legendary Bert Lister cracked home six goals in an 11-0 hammering of Southport on Boxing Day of 1962, a performance which was described in the Chronicle match report as “the proudest moment in the club’s history”.

Seven goals up at half-time, Lister already had two goals to his name as the sides changed ends at Boundary Park in this fourth division clash.

He added another four after the break as Athletic established a new club record win, beating the 11-2 defeat of Chester of 10 years previous.

The winter of that year and early 1963 was one of the coldest on record, with temperatures dropping to minus 16 in some parts of the country.

But even then, the longest spell Athletic went without playing at home was the 24-day gap between the Southport rout and the visit of Lincoln City on January 19, 1963.

Currently, the team is facing a six-week gap between matches at Boundary Park if the Leyton Orient game on Saturday is postponed due to snow and ice. After Orient, Athletic’s next home game is against Tranmere on Wednesday, January 20.

Athletic last played in front of home fans against Exeter City on Saturday, December 12.