Some lives leave behind more than a list of achievements. They leave stories that continue to be told.
That’s certainly true of the late Norman Rimmington who dedicated more than 65 years of his life to Barnsley Football Club.
When we sat down with him at Oakwell for an interview 12 years ago, I don’t think we quite realised just how often we would still be talking about him years later.
He was 91 then, and our conversation was full of the stories that have stayed with us ever since. The tale of falling off his bike on the way to work and ending up like a turtle on its back. Or having a kickabout with his grandson in the front room and cringing when he blasted it at a family photo on the wall. Or talking about the woman he loved more than anything and the pain of losing her.
They are stories that still get retold, bringing laughter one moment and a lump in the throat the next as we remember what a joy to the world he was.
Now almost a decade after his death, Norman’s voice is about to be heard again in a biography set to be released this November on what would have been his 103rd birthday.
More Famous Than Fergie: the Norman Rimmington Story has been written by Norman’s former colleague and friend, Matthew Goodwin. It features tales from the touchline, treatment room and between the sticks, looking at the life of Mr Barnsley himself.
Much of the book draws on Norman’s own words, with Matt having preserved hours of audio recordings of their many chats from his time as a press officer at Barnsley FC between 2009 and Norman’s death in 2016.
“He would come into our side of the office and tell me a tale or two, and 20 minutes in I’d realise that what he was saying was dynamite so I’d get my phone out and start recording,” says Matt.
“I always pestered him to write a book but he wouldn’t have it. He wasn’t one for the limelight and never put himself on a pedestal.”
Then, almost three years ago, Norman’s grandson Richard approached Matt about writing a biography. He told him that his Norman – not Grandad, they weren’t allowed to call him that – used to talk fondly about ‘my mate young Matt’ who was a sports journalist and football commentator, so they knew there was only one person to do it.
“His family know how much he meant to me, so I feel honoured and privileged that they’ve trusted me to tell his story.”
Matt has spent the last two-and-a-half years reliving their chats that he recorded and writing it in a way that he hopes reflects Norman’s life and character. He would like to see the book become part of the legacy of this brilliant man who had such a brilliantly unique story.
“Loyalty doesn’t exist anymore in modern football. Norman was football’s ultimate servant. Both in variety and longevity, nobody has done as much as he did for as long.”
Norman first signed a professional contract with Barnsley FC in 1945 as the first-team goalkeeper. He was on £2 a week and had taken a pay cut from what he was earning at North Gawber Colliery where he’d been a fitter.
He made his debut on 7th September 1946 and when we spoke to Matt in October, he said it would have been the 80thanniversary of his first taste of defeat when Barnsley lost 3-1 to Spurs.
Norman soon found his feet – and his hands – but sadly a dislocated shoulder picked up in that first season saw him forfeit his place on the team.
In 1947 he signed for Hartlepools United where he spent most of his playing career, making 131 appearances in the five years he was there.
Surprisingly (or perhaps not if you knew him well), he never moved up north and would commute for home games, going by train from Barnsley to County Durham. If he could, he’d stay over at his former Barnsley teammate and tennis doubles partner, George Robledo, who by then had signed for Newcastle United. If not, it would be a quick dash after the game to catch the train back home to Mapplewell.
After retiring from playing due to injury, Norman returned to Barnsley in 1956 on a part-time basis initially as the A-team coach (third team). He was then appointed first team coach in 1962 – a role he held for 11 years – whilst also gaining his ‘treatment of injuries’ certificate with the FA to become the club’s physiotherapist. He once quipped that he’d had every injury going so he knew a thing or two about how to treat them.
Norman then put to use his mechanical engineering training as groundsman from 1973, until Allan Clarke brought him back into the first team as his physio and ‘right-hand man’.
Apparently, Norman ‘retired’ in 1988, but he remained at the club for another 28 years where he worked as groundsman again, kitman and then in the laundry room, which is where he was working when we met him in 2014.
Matt has interviewed someone involved in the club from every decade Norman was there full-time, from the 1960s right up until he died.
People like Mick McCarthy, Ronnie Glavin, Kevin Betsy, Neil Redfearn and Danny Wilson have all paid tribute to Norman and shared insights into the impact he had on their playing careers. While others, like former chairman John Dennis and manager Paul Heckingbottom, talk about Norman’s dedication to the club; he was often the first to arrive and the last to leave.
Barnsley and Leeds legend Allan Clarke has also written the foreword. Clarke was the Tykes’ manager in the 1970s and ‘80s and Norman became his right-hand man.
When Barnsley suffered an embarrassing 7-0 defeat to Reading in December ’79, it was Norman who convinced Allan not to resign. It was also his idea to take players down Woolley pit to show them what real work was like.
“Norman had been a mechanical engineer so he was good with his hands and could fix things around the ground like the grass cutting machines when he was groundsman. But he was also good with people. He was like a diplomat, a counsellor or a mediator,” says Matt.
Although much of it centres on his time at the club, Matt says he hopes the book appeals to those who aren’t Reds fans or necessarily interested in football.
There are stories about his greatest achievement, his wife Jessie who he married in 1944. The couple met when Norman was working at North Gawber pit – Jessie was the foreman’s daughter – and they went on to have two daughters, four grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
The book also features so many anecdotes that will leave you marvelling at some of the names he rubbed shoulders with. The title itself is a nod to when Norman met Sir Alex Ferguson and was amazed that Fergie knew who he was, with the Man United legend telling him, “You’re more famous than me!”
Matt has self-published More Famous than Fergie via Penny For Your Sports Media and says any money he makes from sales will be used to purchase a blue plaque in Norman’s name.
In the meantime, another tribute to Norman is being paid in the village where he grew up. In December, Mapplewell and Staincross Village Hall will be renamed the Norman Rimmington Hall, with an official unveiling ceremony on Saturday 5thDecember.
While there is already a stand and a lounge at Oakwell named after him, Norman’s family say this would have made him extra proud.
Norman was born in Staincross in 1923 and spent most of his life in Darton. Before he signed for Barnsley, he played for Mapplewell Towncroft FC, who played out of the working men’s club – the building that has since become the village hall.
Matt will be giving a talk about the book after the ceremony. He is also speaking at Wombwell Library on Thursday 3rdDecember and at The Cake Station in Swinton on Sunday 6th December.
More Famous Than Fergie: The Norman Rimmington Story is priced at £20 plus postage and packaging, and would make a great Christmas present idea for anyone who remembers Rimmo. It’s available to purchase online at www.normanrimmington.com
