By Rob Hadgraft

The most incident-packed of all Luton-Stockport clashes was a ten-goal thriller on New Year’s Day 1938. A noisy Kenilworth Road roared Town to a 6-4 win on a dreadful muddy pitch, with no fewer than seven goals coming in a crazy 22-minute spell. It was a scoreline all the more surprising given the absence of our regular No.9, goalscoring legend Joe Payne.

We were enjoying life in Division Two after promotion a few months earlier that was powered by Payne’s amazing tally of 55 goals in 39 games. However, during 1937-8 mystery ailments began affecting Joe’s fitness and availability and after looking sluggish against Barnsley on Boxing Day he was rested for the Stockport visit.

By now Town had turned down big money offers for Payne and many fans wondered whether his recent absences indicated he was going off the boil and should have been sold when the chance was there. After all, a ready-made replacement called Jack Vinall had recently arrived from Norwich City for a club record £3,000, and bagged six goals in his first few weeks.

As if to underline his worth in Payne’s absence, Vinall swooped in the opening minutes against Stockport to lash home a Fred Roberts pass. Direct from the restart Vinall won the ball back and set up Roberts to double the lead. It was a sensational start and more was to follow.

First came a hotly-disputed goal for the visitors when Wally Hunt appeared to foul Luton’s Glaswegian keeper Joe Coen and then used his hands to score. Minutes later it was 2-2 through a Willie Harker close-range effort. The goalfest continued and with 22 minutes on the clock County went 3-2 up via Harker’s second.

Roberts defied the mud with a superb low pass that allowed Bert Dawes to make it 3-3, only for winger Jimmy Smailes to survive strong offside appeals and put County ahead again. The clock showed 32 minutes, meaning the 14,138 crowd had witnessed seven goals in a 22-minute spell and were now struggling to keep count!

Luton’s equaliser for 4-4 was worth the half-hour wait, Vinall beating several men, including keeper Frank McDonough, before squaring to left-winger George ‘Rocket’ Stephenson, who couldn’t miss. We regained the lead when Dawes netted his second from a tight angle and the points were safe in the 89th minute as Vinall bagged his second after a neat move.

Luton fans were ecstatic at the six-goal haul and forgave the referee for two obvious blunders in allowing the controversial first and fourth Stockport goals to stand. Better had been expected of this official, who was none other than Doctor Arthur Willoughby, a distinguished schoolmaster on the FIFA list who had taken charge of the 1936 Olympic Games final in Berlin as well as internationals on the continent and major domestic games.

Luton went on to win only six of their remaining 19 league games of 1937-8, boosted when Joe Payne returned with a bang during February to bag seven goals that month. This included two in a 4-2 win over Bradford PA, just hours after he married Peggy Howe at Luton Register Office. Transfer speculation came to a head in March when Chelsea swooped to sign him for an undisclosed fee though to be around £5,000.

Even without Payne Luton managed 24 goals in the remaining 11 games and ended the season halfway in a Division Two table that included Aston Villa, Manchester United and Tottenham. Payne ended up leading scorer with 16 in 23 league and cup games, Vinall close behind with 15 in 33.