Manchester Sports Guild (MSG)

MANCHESTER SPORTS GUILD Manchester Sports Guild, know as MSG for as long as I can remember, was founded by L.C. Jenkins ("Jenks") in 1953 to promote amateur sports. It opened in Market Street in April 1954, moving to 8–10 Long Millgate (opposite Chetham's School of Music, near the Manchester Cathedral) in 1961. I knew little of MSG other than the jazz cellar where I spent many hours of my late teens & early twenties listening to and getting to know British jazz musicians and famous American jazz stars like Albert Nicholas, Pops Foster, Henry ‘Red’ Allen & George Lewis. In Long Millgate, the ground floor consisted of a lounge bar with tables and chairs, fruit machines and pin tables. The first floor was used for private functions, big band nights and folk nights organised by Frank Duffy. The second, and top, floor was mainly occupied by a large judo mat and a changing/shower room. Jenks’ living quarters and the committee offices were housed beyond the mat. The basement was the jazz cellar where local jazz bands and American traditional & New Orleans jazz stars performed. In the summer of 1961, following the passing of John Orr, Jack Swinnerton took over organising the jazz cellar bookings. A fascinating and detailed series of articles written by Jack, originally published in Just Jazz Magazine in 2002, has been serialised in 11 parts in Fred Burnett’s Jazz Northwest website: https://www.jazznorthwest.co.uk/index.htm The MSG continued to flourish until about 1973, when it was closed for “imminent” demolition, which didn't occur until a few years later. Graham Martindale 03 August 2025