Arguably the single greatest sporting achievement by a Bradfordian in the 1950s belonged to Frizinghall-born Jim Laker.

The right-arm off-spin bowler who had learned his cricketing craft playing for Saltaire in the Bradford League, took 19 out of 20 Australian wickets in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford in July 1956, helping England retain the Ashes.

In a comprehensive innings defeat, the Aussies, whose team included Neil Harvey, Richie Benaud, Keith Miller and Ray Lindwall, conceded eight wickets to Laker for no runs.

Brian Close, the all-round Yorkshire and England cricketing legend, born up the road in Baildon, might have had a career as a professional footballer, emulating the great Denis Compton. He played nine games for Bradford City, scoring five league and cup goals, before a knee injury made him reconsider his priorities.

In those days, county cricket was still played at the Park Avenue ground adjacent to Bradford Park Avenue’s football stadium. In 1950, Yorkshire, led by Leonard Hutton, entertained the touring West Indies team.

The football ground looked over the shoulder of the cricket ground as though with envy, for the 1950s was a tough decade of mixed fortunes for Bradford’s two professional football clubs.

For four seasons from 1951 to 1954, Bradford Park Avenue finished in the top nine of the old Third Division North. Relegation to Division Four followed in 1958.

The early Fifties were the years when English football suffered its rudest awakening. The national side was defeated in the 1950 World Cup by the United States. Three years later in two games against Hungary, the pride of England went down 6-3 at Wembley and 7-1 in Budapest.

Bradford City had a few bright spells, such as the 34 league and FA Cup goals scored in one season by Scottish centre-forward John McCole before his transfer to Leeds United for £10,000 in September 1959.

City also switched Derek Stokes from outside left to centre forward and he picked up where McCole left off, scoring 25 league goals and ten in the FA Cup as City defeated Barnsley, Everton (3-0) and Bournemouth.

The home tie against the burgeoning Burnley of Adamson, McIllroy, Connelly and Pointer attracted a crowd of 23,556 to Valley Parade. A goalless draw took City to Turf Moor for the replay where they lost 5-0.

Rugby league fans had most to put up with. After three successive Challenge Cup final appearances in the late 1940s, the team went into decline from about 1953.

Crowds shrank from the 69,429 who had watched the quarter-final cup match against Huddersfield in 1952/53 to the 324 who came to the Odsal game against Barrow in 1963.

The crowd of 102,569 that watched the Challenge Cup Final replay between Warrington and Halifax in 1954 was the high point in a decade of protracted decline as spectators found other things to do on cold winter afternoons and evenings.