| Jabba's Comments |
Frank Buckley acquired his rank of Major after fighting in the
Boer War and World War I in the 17th Middlesex Regiment, where he
commanded a battalion made up of soccer professionals. His playing
career before the war had spanned many clubs - Aston Villa,
Brighton, Birmingham, Derby, Bradford City and both Manchester
clubs, and he won a single England cap against Ireland in 1914.
After the war, he was appointed manager at Norwich and then
Blackpool, but it was at Wolverhampton Wanderers - who he joined in
1927 - that he really made his reputation. He developed an
excellent youth policy and dragged Wolves from the brink of
relegation to Division 3 up to the heights of Division 1, and also
making it to the FA Cup Final. After 17 years at Molineux, he
finally moved on and had brief spells at Notts County and Hull City
before taking over at Leeds in 1948.
Buckley was best known for two things. His innovation on the
training ground saw the players being trained by dancers to improve
flexibility and balance, and a mechanical device that spat out
footballs at various angles was used to improve the keeper's
ability. But it was his bizarre belief in the properties of a
monkey-gland injection that he asked his players to take, thinking
it would improve their mental abilities.
Buckley developed a good youth policy, and kept the team ticking
over in Division 2, despite the lack of money and overdraft. He'll
be long remembered by Leeds fans for his greatest discovery:
towards the end of his first season in charge he signed a young
Welshman by the name of John Charles. But despite the great man's
presence, promotion never came, and Buckley stepped down at the age
of 72.
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