25 YEARS AGO

AMATEUR footballer Vincent Collins dreamed of stardom but ended up seeing stars. Vincent was so determined his team should score the winning goal he followed the ball right into the net. But he didn't stop there. He got tangled in the back of the net and then the crossbar crashed down on his head. Vincent, aged 20, outside left with the Volunteer Slaters team was rushed to hospital and had eight stitches in his head. His team was playing Commercial FC from Westhoughton. The match was abandoned.

50 YEARS AGO

A FISHING tale gave a fabricating Ohioan the title of the 'World's Champion Liar' today. Burlington Liars' Club said its annual award goes to 'Honest John' Goerlich of Toledo.

Goerlich's tall tale related that alone in Colorado he caught a trout on a cane pole, but in his excitement forgot about his landing net and gaff hooks.

He reeled his prize up to the tip of the pole, which he then heaved out of the water into an upright position.

The pole was so long he could not reach the fish, and he dared not put the pole back into the water for fear the trout would escape.

'I stuck the butt of that long pole into the ground, drew my trusty hinting knife, climbed up the pole and stabbed the fish to death,' Goerlich said.

125 YEARS AGO

AT the County Sessions on Monday, Joseph Forster, collier, Westhoughton, was summoned for committing a breach of the Coal Miners' Regulation Act. From the evidence of William Thompson, a fireman, it appeared that the defendant was employed in the Arley mine of the Brinsop Coal Company, and on the 22nd instant, having had a shot that missed fire on the following morning, he unrammed it, instead of having drilled for a shot in another place. The witness added that the managers of the colliery did not wish to press charges. - The Rev J.S. Birley, presiding magistrate, said they would not allow their authority to be made use of in that way. It was a very serious charge, for the defendant had endangered the lives of other people in the pit. He would be sentenced to one months' imprisonment.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.