Cod Almighty | Article

by Pat Bell

21 August 2025

It was no upset when Grimsby kept beating Manchester United in the 1930s: it was what they expected.

When Grimsby played Manchester United on 12 October 1929 they won at a canter. So complete was their dominance that the final goal in a 5-2 win was scored by Joe Robson, even though - in an age before substitutes - he had been limping along the wing for the last 20 minutes. If the chance had fallen to him more than six yards out, he might not have had the strength to propel the ball  over the line.

It was the first match between the clubs since 1906, and Grimsby's tenth since their return to the top flight. The Welsh great Billy Meredith, a star with both Manchester clubs, was among the spectators. He called Town a super team, the best he had seen in months.

There would be 13 more meetings between the Mariners and United over the next ten years, and that one set the tone. Not until 1939 did the Red Devils record a couple of wins, as Grimsby's greatest era coincided with a lost decade for United.

When Jack Bestall, five foot two inches short, charged at a United player, caught him off balance and sent him sprawling over the touchline, it was symbolic

"Valuable League points were safely gathered in, but there was very little glory in this victory over a team that is surely the weakest combination that has figured in first league football for years" wrote "Blundell" in the Grimsby Telegraph a year later, after another away win at Old Trafford. The football weekly Athletic News agreed: "Manchester United... were like a ship without a rudder. Their kicking was aimless, their positional play was poor, and their goal-scoring efforts were certainly not equal to what is expected of a first-class team." United were bottom of the table, still looking for their first point of the campaign.

Four months later, at the end of January 1931, Grimsby beat United twice in eight days, knocking them out of the FA Cup before winning a crucial relegation four-pointer. The cup game was deperately poor, the only moment of entertainment occurring when Jack Bestall, five foot two inches short, charged at a United player, caught him off balance and sent him sprawling over the touchline. It was somehow symbolic.

Manchester United had a track record of buying and discarding players, many of them staying less than a season. By contrast Grimsby's squad had been carefully nurtured during their rise from Division Three (North). They had a knack for unearthing hidden gems like Bestall and developing them into a team. They possessed qualities of quick collaboration and a will to win which enabled them to beat clubs who ought to have overshadowed them.

Their next matches against Man United were in Division Two. When they won 3-1 on Christmas Day and 7-3 on Boxing Day 1933 the results leap out of the record books. To Town fans of the day, it was a matter of routine. United were fighting to avoid a further relegation while the Mariners were romping back to the top flight. They were expected to win and to win well, and that is what they did. They got another six goals in October 1936, as United yo-yoed between divisions one and two.

Grimsby's gates, at around 10,000, were big for the size of the town, but they hardly compared with the crowds of city teams. And yet Manchester United floundered, along with Tottenham and Aston Villa, while the Mariners stood tall. Money started talking in football in the 19th century, when the game went professional, but once upon a time it did not drown out all competing voices. Premiership fans may disagree, but perhaps the sport was better for it.

Pat is (slowly) writing a book Cinderellas of the Football League: Grimsby Town 1919-1939