The story behind the picture – George Best in Workington red
A rather special fund raiser to aid cash-strapped Workington saw George Best turn out for Wayne Harrison’s Reds team against a Lancashire Football League XI at Borough Park.
And the guest of honour, the former Manchester United legend, George Best, is pictured in the north dressing room at Borough Park alongside his ‘new’ team mates.
Pictured are:
Back row (left to right) Mark Dobie, Chris Collins, Billy Gilmour, Ian Johnston, Tony Stones, Martin Harris, Gary Messenger and Kenny Wallace.
Front row (left to right) Ian Hodgson, Reg Cartner, Keith Hunton, Kevin Rowntree, Martin Gaffney, George, Wayne Harrison, Allan Carruthers and Bill McMurdo.
The photograph was taken on 9 April, 1986 when George, wearing the Workington number 11 shirt, captained the side against a Lancashire Select, skippered by Phil Neal.
A crowd of 3,500 turned out on a bitterly cold evening to see the great man doing his stuff at the tender age of 40.
Martin Harris, demoted to the bench to accommodate GB, opened the scoring for Reds early in the second half after coming on as a substitute while the original ‘Super-sub’, former Liverpool star, David Fairclough, thundered home a superb equaliser.
A fantastic night with George signing hundreds of autographs and posing for photographs for adoring fans – young and old alike!
