Martin Dean, son of the club's Promotions Manager Andrew, takes a trip down memory lane with a special feature on a previous cup encounter with Grimsby Town
Bolton Wanderers 6-2 Grimsby Town
Lofthouse (3), Hill, Stevens, Keeble (og)
Football League Cup Second Round
Burnden Park
October 26, 1960
Attendance 7,992
This was the first year of the Football League Cup, the brainchild of the league secretary Alan Hardaker.
A new competition for league clubs and a new source of entertainment for the fans, the League Cup was billed as the people’s cup and with almost all clubs now having floodlights, it meant midweek football for supporters.
Wanderers had beaten Hull City in the first round after a replay, but the draw for the second round paired the Trotters with Grimsby Town from the Third Division.
At the time, Bolton were a strong First Division outfit and were far too good for the men from Blundell Park, running out 6-2 winners which was great entertainment for the Burnden faithful.
Farnworth local boy Charlie Cooper made his Bolton debut in the clash, filling in for the injured Banks and Farrimond.
The small crowd cheered on a Nat Lofthouse hat-trick, his first in two and a half years, but sadly the crowd did not realise that after the evening’s game, Lofthouse would only play two more matches before injury finished his career at Birmingham City on December 17, 1960.
Bolton: Hopkinson, Hartle, Cooper, Hennin, Edwards, Stanley, Hill, Stevens, Lofthouse, Deakin, Holden