Michael Hardcastle
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Michael Hardcastle
Michael Hardcastle (6 February 1933 – 17 January 2019) was a British author of sports fiction for children. He has written more than one hundred and forty books on a range of sporting subjects but is probably best known for his books about Association Football. In 1988 he was appointed an MBE in recognition of his services to children's literature. He died in January 2019 at the age of 85. Education and early career Hardcastle was born in Huddersfield and was educated at the nearby King James's Grammar School, Almondbury. Due to ill health he was unable to take part in much sporting activity and instead spent time in the school library where he developed a passion for English literature particularly the works of Charles Dickens and W.E. Johns. He later became editor of the school newspaper ''The Almondburian''. When he left school he joined the Royal Army Educational Corps and served for five years, travelling to Kenya and Mauritius. In 1956 he joined the Huddersfield Examine ...
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Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into the similar-sized Colne to the south of the town centre which then flows into the Calder in the north eastern outskirts of the town. The rivers around the town provided soft water required for textile treatment in large weaving sheds, this made it a prominent mill town with an economic boom in the early part of the Victorian era Industrial Revolution. The town centre has much neoclassical Victorian architecture, one example is which is a Grade I listed building – described by John Betjeman as "the most splendid station façade in England" – and won the Europa Nostra award for architecture. It hosts the University of Huddersfield and three colleges: Greenhead College, Kirklees College and Huddersfield New College. The town ...
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1966 FIFA World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the final to win the tournament. The final had finished at 2–2 after 90 minutes and went to extra time, when Geoff Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick, the first (and , only) to be scored in a men's World Cup final. England were the fifth nation to win the event, and the third host nation to win after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Brazil were the defending champions, but they failed to progress from the group stage. Two debut teams performed well at the competition – North Korea beat Italy 1–0 on the way to reaching the quarter-finals, where they lost to Portugal 5–3 after leading 3–0. Portugal themselves finished third, losing 2–1 to England in the semi-final. Portuguese striker Eusébio was the tournament's t ...
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English Children's Writers
English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national identity, an identity and common culture ** English language in England, a variant of the English language spoken in England * English languages (other) * English studies, the study of English language and literature * ''English'', an Amish term for non-Amish, regardless of ethnicity Individuals * English (surname), a list of notable people with the surname ''English'' * People with the given name ** English McConnell (1882–1928), Irish footballer ** English Fisher (1928–2011), American boxing coach ** English Gardner (b. 1992), American track and field sprinter Places United States * English, Indiana, a town * English, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * English, Brazoria County, Texas, an unincorporated community * En ...
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2019 Deaths
This is a list of deaths of notable people, organised by year. New deaths articles are added to their respective month (e.g., Deaths in ) and then linked here. 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 See also * Lists of deaths by day The following pages, corresponding to the Gregorian calendar, list the historical events, births, deaths, and holidays and observances of the specified day of the year: Footnotes See also * Leap year * List of calendars * List of non-standard ... * Deaths by year {{DEFAULTSORT:deaths by year ...
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1933 Births
Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wishes of U.S. President Herbert Hoover. * January 28 – "Pakistan Declaration": Choudhry Rahmat Ali publishes (in Cambridge, UK) a pamphlet entitled ''Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever?'', in which he calls for the creation of a Muslim state in northwest India that he calls " Pakstan"; this influences the Pakistan Movement. * January 30 ** National Socialist German Workers Party leader Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany by President of Germany Paul von Hindenburg. ** Édouard Daladier forms a government in France in succession to Joseph Paul-Boncour. He is succeeded on October 26 by Albert Sarraut and on November 26 by Camille Chautemps. February * February 1 – Adolf Hitler gives his "Proclamation to ...
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Half A Team
''Half a Team'' is a 1980 children's novel by prolific British author Michael Hardcastle. Plot summary The book is the sixth in Hardcastle's series about a Junior football League and features recurring characters Nick Abel- Smith (United! ''United!'' is a British television series which was produced by the BBC between 1965 and 1967, and was broadcast twice-weekly on BBC1. The series followed the fortunes of a fictional second division football team, Brentwich United. The football ... 1973, Away from Home (1974) and Lester Rowan (Away from Home). The book follows the story of Abel-Smith and fellow young footballer Steve Sewell as they attempt to overcome the humiliation of being dropped from their respective teams ahead of a five-a-side tournament. Joining forces they create a new team, The Swifts, and, after overcoming a series of obstacles, including getting Steve from Manchester back to their home town without his parents' knowledge, enter the tournament and finally get the ...
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United! (novel)
''United!'' is a 1973 children's novel by prolific British author Michael Hardcastle. It is the second in a series of books focusing on the fortunes of fictitious youth football team Bank Vale United. Plot summary ''United!'' follows youth football team Bank Vale United's attempts to improve their fortunes by buying a player from a rival team. Despite the fact that their team is amateur, United's impetuous striker Kevin Ripley believes there is no reason why they cannot pay for someone to come and join them. Kevin's teammates Keith Nash and Gary Ansell, although sceptical, agree to the plan and the boys manage to raise the princely sum of £1 to purchase the talents of Nick Abel-Smith. Despite Nick's obvious ability he is an unsettling influence and the Bank Vale players have to make a tough choice between success and loyalty. In addition to the usual football action Hardcastle includes a section on another of his interests, Motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motor ...
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Goals In The Air
''Goals in the Air'' is a 1972 children's novel by prolific British author Michael Hardcastle. Plot summary The book tells the story of Kenny Rider a young striker who plays for fictitious Second Division team Marton Rangers. Kenny manages to break into the first team at the age of sixteen and attracts a lot of attention and some jealousy for his talent and goalscoring ability. Unfortunately, off the field Kenny has to contend with a range of problems including an apathetic girlfriend and an actively hostile father. Whilst many of Hardcastle's other books see their protagonists triumph over adversity, the end of this short novel sees Kenny continuing to struggle with the many pressures of top class football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ....Hardcastle, Michael ''G ...
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Goal (children's Novel)
Michael Hardcastle (6 February 1933 – 17 January 2019) was a British author of sports fiction for children. He has written more than one hundred and forty books on a range of sporting subjects but is probably best known for his books about Association Football. In 1988 he was appointed an MBE in recognition of his services to children's literature. He died in January 2019 at the age of 85. Education and early career Hardcastle was born in Huddersfield and was educated at the nearby King James's Grammar School, Almondbury. Due to ill health he was unable to take part in much sporting activity and instead spent time in the school library where he developed a passion for English literature particularly the works of Charles Dickens and W.E. Johns. He later became editor of the school newspaper ''The Almondburian''. When he left school he joined the Royal Army Educational Corps and served for five years, travelling to Kenya and Mauritius. In 1956 he joined the Huddersfield Examin ...
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Motorcycle Speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only one gear and have no brakes. Racing takes place on a flat oval track usually consisting of dirt, loosely packed shale, or crushed rock (mostly used in Australia and New Zealand). Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways, powersliding or broadsiding into the bends. On the straight sections of the track, the motorcycles reach speeds of up to . There are now both domestic and international competitions in a number of countries, including the Speedway World Cup, whilst the highest overall scoring individual in the Speedway Grand Prix events is pronounced the world champion. Speedway is popular in Central and Northern Europe and to a lesser extent in Australia and North America. A variant of track racing, speedway is adm ...
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Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striking the ball bowled at one of the wickets with the bat and then running between the wickets, while the bowling and fielding side tries to prevent this (by preventing the ball from leaving the field, and getting the ball to either wicket) and dismiss each batter (so they are "out"). Means of dismissal include being bowled, when the ball hits the stumps and dislodges the bails, and by the fielding side either catching the ball after it is hit by the bat, but before it hits the ground, or hitting a wicket with the ball before a batter can cross the crease in front of the wicket. When ten batters have been dismissed, the innings ends and the teams swap roles. The game is adjudicated by two umpires, aided by a third umpire and match referee ...
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Showjumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows are limited exclusively to jumpers. Sometimes jumper classes are offered in conjunction with other English-style events. Sometimes, show jumping is but one division of a very large, all-breed competition that includes a very wide variety of disciplines. Jumping classes may be governed by various national horse show sanctioning organizations, such as the United States Equestrian Federation or the British Showjumping Association. International competitions are governed by the rules of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. Hunters or jumpers Show jumping events have hunter classes, jumper classes and hunt seat equitation classes. Hunters are judged subjectively on the degree to which they meet an ideal standard of manner ...
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