40 years a go today since that fateful day against Salford.

I was there it was a nice sunny day,we were all just expecting a win against Salford and come through with no serious injury's and everyone fit for the CC FINAL.Little did we know what tragedy was waiting for the magnificent MICK SHOEBOTTOM

Was there also, great tradegy, what a player and top bloke. one of my all time greats

My hero was Mick Shoebottom.
He would have been a cracking player in Super League.
It was such a tragedy, that injury, following Dixon's kick. I saw it from close range on that day.
Such a sad end to a career which was full of class, speed, strength and , above all, heart.
RIP Mick.

yes I agree super league was made for him,oh and would he have handled young Master Tompkins in the appropriate way?
I was in the southstand when it happened

Likewise, we knew John Atkinson (well, sort of, we were the kids who were always deliberately kicking a rugby ball into his garden so we could ask for him to throw it back - him and Ron Cowan), and we waited outside the old dressing rooms after the match to ask how Shoey was - Atky was too upset to talk to us so we sort of suspected the worst right from the start.

we could sort of sense something from the southstand,when it took quite awhile and a group of people round him,then a few days later the rumours came round that he would'nt play again.The club and players and their familily's had two major tragedy's in the 1970's Chris Sanderson too rip to both

I too was in the South Stand that fateful day and have to say I never really forgave Dixon. Mick was an outstanding talent who always gave 100% and so full of life. It was heartbreaking to see him some years later working at Makro - such a waste.

RIP Mick - never forgotten

I played in the same school side as John and also knew Ron & Glad Cowan socially. I too remember speaking with the players after the game and as you say they feared the worst.

Mick used to work at Oldham Signs on the Cross Green Industrial Estate, we used to play our games of rugby and cricket on the fields opposite, he would always give us a wave from his workbench by the window. He was and always will be my favourite Leeds RL player

R.I.P Mick

Never saw him play



One of the few players of legendary status at the club .... Someone who's name lives on well after ending playing.

My mates still talk of his greatness.

you just keep on being a Leedsrl historian you and tvoc are much appreciated,but believe me this modern SL game was made for him,young SAM would soon get his cum uppance from" Shoey the Lionheart"

A sad day for a great player. The family suffered more than this one tragedy as his brother George also had a tragic accident but despite his disabilities he attended the home matches to support Mick and Leeds.

Thanks to NSF for giving us the opportunity to remember Mick. Like others I still remember watching that incident and hearing the news as it came out later. A truly inspiring player and character. Gone, but not forgotten.

Although I only got to see 'Shoey' in his last couple of seasons he was my dad's favourite and the player I'd most looked forward to seeing play.

This image is taken from a Raymond Fletcher piece for the Yorkshire Post in 1993: Mick on his way to scoring the often referred to 'costliest try in Leeds' history' - 1st May 1971, 3.25pm The Salford full-back who had no chance of stopping Mick's charge was Paul Charlton.



The following image is taken from Ken Dalby's The Headingley Story- Volume 4 - Rugby Cavalcade: It shows Mick being carried from the field by the Leeds coach Derek 'Rocky' Turner and physio Eric Lewis.



And finally this is Mick back at Headingley in '83 to accompany the fantastic article in the YP:



There are several poignant comments contained in the piece not least this one:

[iAlthough he still follows the progress - or lack of it - of Leeds, he cannot afford to go more than a couple of times a season. He would always go see them against Hunslet but since they have been in different divisions he restricts his matches to Boxing Day and perhaps a big Cup-tie. =#0000BF"It's frustrating watching because I want to get out there and help them. My heart is still with Leeds and I always want them to win. I can't understand why they aren't doing better. They must have spent over a million pounds but apart from Garry Schofield and Ellery Hanley - great players - what have they got?"[/i

I wish I had time to transcribe the full article.

I trust the Leeds club were suitably shamed by Ray Fletcher's intro to Mick's comment.

thats a great piece Tvoc ,thankyou

The other guy in the picture (carrying Shoey off) is Wally Smith the then colts u17`s coach I was playing for the intermediates u19`s at the time but we had no game that day so was in the southstand watching the game.

Mike had to reach for the line to score the try and Colin Dixon was coming across covering and made contact with Mikes head I think he was trying to kick the ball we will never know.

It robbed Leeds of a great player if not one of the greatest imho

RIP Shoey

Although too young to have seen Mick play personally, i find it very touching to read these such heartfelt comments from those of you that were old enough to have seen him play

R.I.P Mick

Mick was a class act, Shoebottom-Seabourne, Hardisty-Hepworth just drip off the tongue. What a great tribute to Sam that his is the first name you think of in association with Mick.

I was at the other end on the fateful day.

Shamful foul play by Dixon, we know immediately that Shoey was seriously injured.

Stand-off as my favourite position was inspired by Mick. He will be proud of how Danny Maggs has followed his great Leeds tradition

RIP Mick

my old man still waxes lyrical about shoey he reckons he was way ahead of his time, incidently in the book "shoey the lionheart" it says derek turner (leeds coach) and one of the toughest players to play our great game was in tears in the changing room. if you haven't read the book, i'd give it a go really well written by phil caplan www.amazon.co.uk/Shoey-Lionheart ... 0752432923

my old man still waxes lyrical about shoey he reckons he was way ahead of his time, incidently in the book "shoey the lionheart" it says derek turner (leeds coach) and one of the toughest players to play our great game was in tears in the changing room. if you haven't read the book, i'd give it a go really well written by phil caplan www.amazon.co.uk/Shoey-Lionheart ... 0752432923

Dixon was hated everytime he turned out at Headingley after that fateful day. The debate as to if his act was deliberate or not will always rage on. I for one thought he could do nothing about the try being scored and he could have avoided contact.

This incident was also, in my opinion the reason we lost at Wembley to Leigh - sod all to do with the magic of Alex Murphy. The team and club had its mind elsewhere. It also robbed the Great Britain team, the Leeds club and rugby league as a sport. When my dad told us that he would never play again, there were tears in his eyes. It was as if he had been killed. A terrible lost all round.

The only blemish on John Holmes playing career was when he got sent off against Hull KR at Headingley when he smacked Dixon. Personally, I think we all would have done the same.

Another snippet from the YP article that sums the man up:

=#0000BF"I remember diving for the line, turning my head and seeing Dixon coming in. I thought 'HELL' and felt my jaw go. I was still conscious when they carried me off and thinking of getting my own back. But now I have no hard feelings about it. It was just one of those things. I don't know whether Colin felt bad about it, why should he? It's a tough game and you can expect that sort of thing. We met briefly a few times afterwards and while I wouldn't say we became friends we got on alright. Now he's dead and at so young an age. It's all so sad."

The incident cost Mick so much more than just his brilliant rugby career at the tender age of 26. It also cost him his trade (his livlihood in those part-time days) and his marriage as he turned from a happy go lucky type to someone who would suffer from fits of depression and as he remarked himself he was difficult to live with during his long, long recovery.

The broken jaw suffered in the 'accident' (as Mick called it) was a set-back but the relapse after he was discharged from hospital led to life-saving brain surgery that left him with partial paralysis and an inability to speak. The determination to recover and to play again drove him on. His first word after months of trying was 'bus'. You can only imagine how frustrating that must have been to a once supreme athlete at the top of his game. It kept coming out wrong but when he finally was able to say it correctly he marked it down as his number one success and proof to himself that he would beat it.

And he still dreamt of a return to the game before the specialists advised that such a possibility was beyond reason.

Mick Shoebottom - to me - Simply the Greatest.

Truly inspiring stuff TVOC, cheers mate.

I was privileged to be seated next to him at an ex player's dinner many years ago. At the ex player's dinner they give an annual award to one of their number. That particular year Mick was the recipient. His was truly humble but the reception he got from all those great player's in the room that night was very touching.

Sadly, I am too young to have seen him play.