Footballers went on strike after their manager refused to let them train in full tracksuits.
In the days before Christmas 1963, West Bromwich Albion's first-team players revolted. It was bitterly cold, but their manager would not let them train in their full tracksuits.
Temperatures were hovering around zero, the ground was rock hard, and other top teams had escaped to practise on the continent.
But at the Baggies' training ground in Smethwick, manager Jimmy Hagan instructed his men to show up in their usual gear of shorts, T-shirts and a sweatshirt.
Graham Williams, who played for the team for almost two decades, remembered player-manager relationships were already strained: "He was so strict, and it wasn't fun to be there," he said.
When the players asked to warm up in trousers, Williams recalled Hagan said: "No, do you play in a tracksuit?"
"He says: 'Well, you train and you play in the same, to keep used to it.'"
Minutes from a board meeting on 10 December reveal 10 senior players, unhappy with Hagan's methods, requested transfers.
The rebels were Ray Potter, Don Howe, Graham Williams, Doug Fraser, Stan Jones, Terry Simpson, Clive Clark, Ronnie Fenton, John Kaye and Bobby Hope, according to The Times.
Directors declined the men's requests and, four days later, they were withdrawn.
But the conflict boiled over again nine days later, when the temperature dipped below freezing.
Williams said: "It was really bitter. I would get a headache because of the cold going to my brain."
In the changing room, the players huddled, fed up. "We had enough, we said we're not going to play."
Over the next 24 hours, more than 20 reportedly joined the walkout as it continued into a second day.
Although footballers were generally becoming more militant at the time, the stalemate at West Brom was extraordinary.
"There had been cases before where individual players had threatened to strike over various issues, not just at the Albion but throughout football," said club historian Dave Bowler.
"But to have as many as 10 Albion players ask for a transfer over their working conditions, rather than money, was pretty much unprecedented, certainly at The Hawthorns."
Described in his obituary as a man who adhered to "old-style puritanical virtues which did not sit easily with a new breed of footballer", Hagan held firm.
"He wouldn't give in, and the more we argued he'd become, 'no, no, I'm the manager,'" Williams said.
On 20 December, the BBC reported: "Never before in the history of the club has there been such a rumpus.
"While the matter seemed trivial to many, players argued it was bad for them physically to start from cold in shorts," the TV reporter explained. "Other football clubs gave the players an option whether or not to wear trousers.
"The players regarded it as symptomatic of their manager's attitude to them. They say he's aloof, uncooperative and fails to treat them like ordinary human beings."
Skipper Howe was bullish, telling reporters the men would remain on strike, even if it meant being fined.
Meanwhile, Hagan said he regarded their refusal to train as a breach of contract.
By 21 December, the board stepped back in and it was agreed the top brass and players would meet at the Hawthorns on Christmas Eve to iron things out.
A Christmas truce
Both sides sat down at 10:00 on 24 December, with Howe and Williams among the players present.
Minutes provided by Mr Bowler reveal the board had taken a dim view, stating players "clearly broke the terms of the players' contract and left no alternative but a fine for each day the players continued to refuse to accept instructions".
However, board member Harry Wilson Keys suggested the FA may step in to suspend players, and advised the chairman to settle the dispute at once.
After further discussion, a compromise was finally reached.
"Although we are going to train in our usual kit of tracksuit tops and shorts, players may warm up... in full tracksuits in cold weather," the minutes stated.
Back in action on Boxing Day, the Baggies came from behind to snare a 4-4 draw against Spurs in front of a home crowd of 35,000, the equaliser scored by Howe.
Williams, who lived near Oswestry, Shropshire for nearly 30 years after retiring, said: "It was a relief to get out of the problems, and the game was a good game."
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