Of course, that link is provided by goalkeeping legend Bert Trautmann, who passed away in 2013 at the age of 89, after remarkable life and a football career that started in Sutton. Trautmann’s story is part of sporting folklore. Generations of football followers grew up with the tale of how the Manchester City shot-stopper broke his neck in the 1956 FA Cup Final, but played on making brave saves to help his team to a 3-1 victory.
Few people beyond the borough know that Trautmann’s football career started at St Helens Town. And it was not simply the sporting break he was thankful for, Trautmann also credits our town with giving him a new life after the war. Trautmann was captured by the Allies during World War II and was held as a prisoner of war at Northwich and then Ashton-in-Makerfield.
On his release in March 1948, Trautmann spurned repatriation and began playing for St Helens Town. He became a popular figure at the club – and crowds boomed at Hoghton Road with the Bremen-born keeper between the posts. Speaking to the Star from his home in Valencia, Spain, in October 2009 Trautmann revealed that St Helens had a special place in his heart.
Trautmann said: “I will always have such fond memories of St Helens in my heart. If I had to write a CV my time there would be at the top of the list. “St Helens gave me a new life.
The war and the subsequent three years as a POW took eight years out of my life. “When I came out of the POW camp I was welcomed into a beautiful .
