Chairman Norman Beverley Tells True Blue Of A Very Special Acolade For An Unsung County Hero

When Grahame White went along to Edgeley Park for the first time in 1945, to watch County take on Crewe Alexandra with his father and older brother, it marked the beginning of an association with the club that is still going strong some 62 years later.

This year, on the day of his 73 rd birthday on March 2nd, our Board of Directors invited Grahame to become the Honorary President of Stockport County – an invitation he was delighted and immensely proud to accept. The weekend was then made all the more special with the 3-0 victory over Swindon which saw the Hatters secure another place in the Football League record books.

Grahame became actively involved on the playing side of the club in the late 1960s when, despite having never been a professional himself, his understanding of the game saw him help then manager Jimmy Meadows on the scouting side.

He stepped up his interest in the club during the 70s until having been invited to become a director by then Chairman, Alan Kirk, he was co-opted on to the board on 9 th December 1980. Then, as Grahame recalls, the ‘fun’ really started. “The club was struggling in those days. We lurched from one re-election battle to another and nearly went out of business altogether in 1983.

“If it hadn’t been for the advice and guidance of people such as Drew Barlow and Freddie Pye, I’m not sure I could have stuck it out but I was Stockport County through and through and that made it impossible to walk away from a bad situation.”

Over Grahame’s near 20-year spell on the board, there were many highs and lows. However, many people acknowledge that if it hadn’t been for his efforts in the face of adversity, there may not even be a Stockport County today. He continues: “Another low point was when we found ourselves on the verge of automatic relegation in 1986 and having initially brought Colin Murphy from Lincoln City the previous year, only for him to leave us soon after, it was something of a gamble for me to lure him back to help get us out of the mire.

“I knew he was the right man for the job though and he and Gordon Simmonite did an unbelievable job in keeping us up.”

Better times followed and like so many County fans, he hails the arrival of Danny Bergara as one of the most significant days in the club’s history: “Danny was incredible for our club. I had the privilege of working closely with him for six years and I still speak with him today. He started the good times at Edgeley Park and with the subsequent appointment of Dave Jones, we embarked on another famous episode in our history.

“The 1996-97 season was tremendous. I thought we may have peaked with four visits to Wembley but the Coca-Cola Cup run, coupled with finishing second after 67 incredible games made it a momentous year.

“The club continued to progress under Gary Megson, who again, I got to know extremely well and it was no surprise to me when he got his chance to manage in the Premiership. We had a purple patch with those three managers and I am lucky enough to count each of them as friends.”

After leaving the board of directors in 2000, Grahame continued to follow the fortunes of his club as it then lurched from disappointment to disappointment over the next six or seven years. However, with results and developments off the pitch now taking a turn for the better, Grahame is delighted to look on as the club begins to re-establish itself. He concludes: “The spirit in the club is better now than it has been in a long time.

“The people running the place are County people and we have another couple in Jim Gannon and Peter Ward running first team affairs. We’re not what we were ten years ago but turning the club’s fortunes around will take time and everyone needs to show a bit of patience. The supporters are absolutely incredible and have shown unbelievable dedication over the last few years.

“Despite the status I enjoyed for 20 years, I never regarded myself as anything but a supporter. I just got lucky and was able to contribute something to the club. To now be recognised for all those efforts is gratifying and extremely humbling and I can only thank Norman, David and the rest of the board for their kind invitation. This club means the world to me and hopefully we will continue to see its revival in the coming years.”