ROVERS GREATS: BERNARD HALL
By Gerry Prewett
The sobriquet of Bernard Hall was almost inevitably, brave, and with good reason. Two particular games sum up why this should be.
On 20 November 1965, he had just regained his place in the team, after a three match absence, from Ronnie Briggs.
As the 6,330 crowd saw Bernard plunge at the feet of Peterborough’s speedy winger Tom Watson bearing down on the Tote End goal, little did they realise that Watson had actually kicked off the tip of the goalkeeper’s ear.
As he lay prostate trainer Wally McArthur rushed to his assistance, but no one in the ground was surprised to see the 23 year-old custodian continue to see out the rest of the game.
The second game took place on New Year’s Eve 1966 and again the keeper was involved in high drama.
At the opposite end of the Eastville ground once more he plunged at the feet of an attacking player. This time it was Middlesbrough’s John O’Rourke.
Johnny Williams’ back pass had had stuck in the Muller Road End mud and like any predatory striker O’Rourke pounced but Bernard was alert to the danger and dived at O’Rourke’s feet.
It was to be the final moment of a 185 game career, tragically cut short. Bernard was rushed to Frenchay Hospital where he remained in a coma for 16 days. He was able to resume a ‘normal’ life but his football career was over.
Bernard had made his debut in the 1961/62 relegation season. On 20th April 1962 he replaced stalwart Howard Radford in a 2-2 home draw with Charlton Athletic and kept his place for the game 24 hours later for another 2-2 draw with Walsall.
Following Rovers’ relegation Radford retired and a replacement was made with the purchase of Esmond Million from Middlesbrough.
Despite a string of heavy defeats, 5-2 at Wrexham, 7-2 at Shrewsbury, 4-0 at Barnsley and 5-2 at home to Hull, Bernard wasn’t included in the team until 16th March when Rovers went down 2-1 at home to Southend. Million was back in goal for the next game.
However there was drama to follow very shortly. Rovers full back, Gwyn Jones revealed that Million had attempted to bribe him to lose a game at Bradford (Park Avenue) which actually ended in a 2-2 draw.
Million had missed a back pass and a cross to ‘gift’ Bradford their two goals. As soon as the scandal was discovered Million was suspended and Bernard Hall took over the green jersey.
He played out the remaining seven games of that season, which saw Rovers narrowly escape relegation, and kept his first ‘clean sheet’ in the 2-0 victory over Colchester on 14th May 1963 (a season which was extended due to the dreadful winter preventing any football for almost two months).
Once he’d gained the keeper’s place Bernard proved very hard to remove.
Despite being just 5′ 10″ tall and weighing 11st 2lbs he made up for his lack of physique by his fearless approach to the game.
It wasn’t until November 1965 that Bernard Hall’s name wasn’t Number 1 on the team sheet. Even then Ronnie Briggs replaced him for just those three games, little did Bernard realise that he was to lose part of his ear during that first game back!
Bernard made 134 consecutive appearances during that first spell and there were another 49 games before that sickening collision with John O’Rourke.
During that first run there were some memorable games for the young Bathonian, probably none more so than in Rovers 4-1 loss at Old Trafford on 25 January 1964.
The 55,722 crowd saw Denis Law score a hat trick but the Scots goalscoring genius heaped praise upon Bernard, after the game and at the final whistle he ran to shake his hand.
Typical of his performances between the sticks for Rovers are these two games; on 29th February Bernard starred in goal in a 1-0 victory at Shrewsbury Town’s Gay Meadow, where the Daily Express reported that he ‘Excelled himself in goal’.
Then on 12th April 1966 in a 1-0 victory over an exciting QPR side, Robin Perry reported in the Evening Post,; ‘Much of the credit must go to the agile and courageous Bernard Hall whose goalkeeping saved Rovers at their time of greatest need, early in the second half.
‘There were two particularly fine saves within the space of a few minutes, first as he went down to pluck the ball off Marsh’s feet and then as he advanced swiftly on Morgan and knocked down the winger’s savage shot.’
It was to be not only Bernard’s loss but also Rovers, that a career was cut short at an age where he had just ‘learnt his trade’ and was just achieving the level of consistency that is so vital for the last line of defence.
Bernard was awarded a Testimonial Match and a Combined Rovers and City side took on West Ham United at Eastville.
In February 2024 he was at the home game against Carlisle United in February 2024 when he was awarded his cap commemorating his Rovers league debut back in 1962
