The old grounds - Your memories

[daz39]

Having read and joined in a discussion about former football grounds and what folks memories of of their teams old ground i thought i would bring this into a Rugby League point of view.

Obviously mine was Fartown, that dilapidated, crumbling wreck about a mile from Huddersfield town centre, my biggest memory of the place was the smell of it, pipe tobacco, liniment, hot dogs, onions.

As a kid of 14/15 we were part of a group that would help out at the ground on matchdays, general tidying up, cleaning, moving onto programme selling, turnstile operating, Ballboying, scoreboard operater etc, basically anything where they didn't need to pay anyone, the club was close to going under (again) at th etime so were obviously wanting to save pennies where they could, our pay - free entry, a bottle of pop and a bag of Seabrook crisps in the old supporters bar. 

We'd watch as the players emerged from the very narrow entrance from the changing rooms, patting them good luck on their way into battle then make our way around to the main terrace, by now this once mighty viewing area, often described as the finest view in Rugby League, was nothing more than a crumbling weed strewn mass of concrete with a fence blocking off the unsafe top section, with crowds around 600 there was no chance of not finding a decent place, although the stand had been condemned so the posh lot used to stand in there too for a while.

Half time and it was a trip to the little white van that provided the refreshments, in those days of winter rugby the tomato soup in a polystyrene cup costing 30p was an absolute godsend to our chilly bodies, it was delicious but the temperature meant it was untouchable for about 20 minutes unless you wanted to take a trip to Huddersfield A&E with a scolded mouth and throat!.

We also had the pleasure of 'floodlight dominoes' at Fartown as the dusk fell, as more often than not one bulb would give way followed by another and then another, by the end of the season we were more or less playing under torchlight.

As a teenager i looked forward to my Sunday afternoons to Fartown, we had a scenic bus ride into town and a nice stroll along the way, we met blokes on that terrace that are still watching and still friends to this day, some though have passed away i will never forget the friendliness of these guys taking the 'kids' under their wing and showing them what Rugby League was all about. 

As with most older fans i miss my old ground, we never got to say goodbye either, we played Ryedale-York at home in a Yorkshire cup tie, locked the gates and never returned, such a shame it can't be our home again.

As a visiting fan i used to enjoy going to the Watersheddings, it was a bus from Huddersfield and a decent trip out with mates too, i remember us flying over there after our game was called off late on, a quick dash to buy a league express to look at fixtures, a phonecall in the phonebox to see if the game was on then 5 of us piled in a car and set off for Odham v Salford.

Over to you guys.....

 

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2024 by daz39

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

Enjoyed Wigginton Road

[dboy]

I fondly remember my visit to the Cas ground, rammed with fans, the air full of cigarette smoke and grown men ####### on the terracing where they stood, because you couldn't move to get to the toilets.

Those that did make it to the "toilets" pee'd on a black painted wall, but there was little chance of getting back to your spot on the terrace.

The games were tense, but you couldn't really see what was happening at the other end of the pitch, due to the gloom and pit lamp floodlights.

I remember the charity collections going round for sufferers of rickets, and wizened old men, propping up the bars with stories of the "Great War".

My god I miss 2023.

[sentoffagain2]

    Tattersfield Doncaster was an experience to cherish.Especially in winter when it was icy and rather than walk a few yards further we crossed a stream running through the car park balancing on a metal pipe about 8 inch wide.HEALTH and SAFETY was less stringent in the old days.

[daz39]

40 minutes ago, sentoffagain2 said:

    Tattersfield Doncaster was an experience to cherish.Especially in winter when it was icy and rather than walk a few yards further we crossed a stream running through the car park balancing on a metal pipe about 8 inch wide.HEALTH and SAFETY was less stringent in the old days.

I remember vividly a camel in the car park vicinity there on one of our trips, i believe travellers had landed at the time, i remember the clubhouse been a good one and having to walk back down to the ground a bit.

My 1st ever away trip was Doncaster.

[Dave Naylor]

3 hours ago, daz39 said:

As a visiting fan i used to enjoy going to the Watersheddings

Obligatory pedantry.  There was no definite article in Watersheddings.  Just like there isn't in Wembley.

Incidentally, I once took five wickets in a match against Edgerton on the cricket pitch at Fartown!

Edited November 14, 2024 by Dave Naylor
typo

[Wilderspoolmemories]

Wilderspool. A place where it was once said that even angels would fear to tread! Later nicknamed "The Zoo" by visiting players!  It, like many other stadiums ended up an old run down dump.....but it was our dump! Ah, the memories! The fletcher street end on a match day, packed to the rafters for a big game and a great atmosphere. Give me Wilderspool over the Soulless modern day replacement, the Halliwell Jones Stadium, any day.  

[daz39]

2 minutes ago, Wilderspoolmemories said:

Wilderspool. A place where it was once said that even angels would fear to tread! Later nicknamed "The Zoo" by visiting players!  It, like many other stadiums ended up an old run down dump.....but it was our dump! Ah, the memories! The fletcher street end on a match day, packed to the rafters for a big game and a great atmosphere. Give me Wilderspool over the Soulless modern day replacement, the Halliwell Jones Stadium, any day.  

On my 1st visit to Wilderspool me and a mate were running late after getting lost from the train station ( not as easy as it is now!!!) and we finally got to the ground at about 5 past 3, we paid in the 1st turnstile we saw which happened to be the Fletcher Street ones, obviously we had our colours and got some dogs abuse trying to push through to go and join our fellow Fartowners, that was certainly an experience for us!.

[Gooleboy]

We at Featherstone had a great rivalry with Warrington in the 70s, some great brutal games. I was 16 when we knocked Wire, Alex Murphy and all out of the Challenge Cup in 73 at the quarter final stage. There was fighting all around the ground, it was a bit scary to say the least. Then we went there in 77 defending a slender first leg lead in the Premiership play off semi final. A packed house saw you beat us 11 - 4 with a John Bevan length of the field interception try and go on to the final. Another very intimidating atmosphere on the day. Great memories though.

[Wilderspoolmemories]

8 hours ago, daz39 said:

On my 1st visit to Wilderspool me and a mate were running late after getting lost from the train station ( not as easy as it is now!!!) and we finally got to the ground at about 5 past 3, we paid in the 1st turnstile we saw which happened to be the Fletcher Street ones, obviously we had our colours and got some dogs abuse trying to push through to go and join our fellow Fartowners, that was certainly an experience for us!.

All clubs have a few "characters" in the crowd shall we say! I was only a little kid in the 70's I never saw any of the stuff I read about years later. Maybe my dad just kept me away from it all?

In later life I found Castleford, Featherstone, both Hull clubs and even Wigan could be intimidating to visit. There was a big rivalry between Warrington and Wigan in the 80's, and sometimes things could turn very nasty both on and off the pitch!

But as a Warrington fan, Wilderspool will forever live in my heart!

[Wilderspoolmemories]

8 hours ago, Gooleboy said:

We at Featherstone had a great rivalry with Warrington in the 70s, some great brutal games. I was 16 when we knocked Wire, Alex Murphy and all out of the Challenge Cup in 73 at the quarter final stage. There was fighting all around the ground, it was a bit scary to say the least. Then we went there in 77 defending a slender first leg lead in the Premiership play off semi final. A packed house saw you beat us 11 - 4 with a John Bevan length of the field interception try and go on to the final. Another very intimidating atmosphere on the day. Great memories though.

We paid you back the following year at Wembley for our 73 cup exit!

[Fevrover]

10 hours ago, dboy said:

I fondly remember my visit to the Cas ground, rammed with fans, the air full of cigarette smoke and grown men ####### on the terracing where they stood, because you couldn't move to get to the toilets.

Those that did make it to the "toilets" pee'd on a black painted wall, but there was little chance of getting back to your spot on the terrace.

The games were tense, but you couldn't really see what was happening at the other end of the pitch, due to the gloom and pit lamp floodlights.

I remember the charity collections going round for sufferers of rickets, and wizened old men, propping up the bars with stories of the "Great War".

My god I miss 2023.

It's hardly changed in 50 years ,sorry its finally got some more seats . A proper RL ground imho though.

[Fevrover]

15 minutes ago, Wilderspoolmemories said:

We paid you back the following year at Wembley for our 73 cup exit!

Alex and Mr Shepherd did wink wink . 

[Fevrover]

Athletic Grounds Rochdale, Parkside Hunslet and Watersheddings Oldham were a joy to behold. Fartown had that huge terrace i never seen anything like that. Oh for the 70's . 

[Gooleboy]

28 minutes ago, Wilderspoolmemories said:

We paid you back the following year at Wembley for our 73 cup exit!

With some very dubious tactics!

[Agbrigg]

Yes experienced all above the above, but the most intimidating one was the threepenny stand at Hull in my opinion.

[daz39]

Just to give folk an idea of how big the north terrace actually was at Fartown...

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2024 by daz39

[Hanover XIII]

2 minutes ago, daz39 said:

Just to give folk an idea of how big the north terrace actuslly was at Fartown...

 

 

 

I'm sure I remember a blanket collection being done in front of that stand and, fortunately me and my dad were stood up near the top because everyone down the front got absolutely pelted as people tried to throw coins into the blanket a couple of blokes were carrying round.

[Just Browny]

Knowsley Road:-

Smell of wintergreen and various other chemicals round the back of the stand.

Hope, variously extinguished at some point between the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes.

Despair.

Trudging back through that grim car park, which seemed to be full of puddles in all weathers and at any time of the year.

[yanto]

15 hours ago, daz39 said:

Having read and joined in a discussion about former football grounds and what folks memories of of their teams old ground i thought i would bring this into a Rugby League point of view.

Obviously mine was Fartown, that dilapidated, crumbling wreck about a mile from Huddersfield town centre, my biggest memory of the place was the smell of it, pipe tobacco, liniment, hot dogs, onions.

As a kid of 14/15 we were part of a group that would help out at the ground on matchdays, general tidying up, cleaning, moving onto programme selling, turnstile operating, Ballboying, scoreboard operater etc, basically anything where they didn't need to pay anyone, the club was close to going under (again) at th etime so were obviously wanting to save pennies where they could, our pay - free entry, a bottle of pop and a bag of Seabrook crisps in the old supporters bar. 

We'd watch as the players emerged from the very narrow entrance from the changing rooms, patting them good luck on their way into battle then make our way around to the main terrace, by now this once mighty viewing area, often described as the finest view in Rugby League, was nothing more than a crumbling weed strewn mass of concrete with a fence blocking off the unsafe top section, with crowds around 600 there was no chance of not finding a decent place, although the stand had been condemned so the posh lot used to stand in there too for a while.

Half time and it was a trip to the little white van that provided the refreshments, in those days of winter rugby the tomato soup in a polystyrene cup costing 30p was an absolute godsend to our chilly bodies, it was delicious but the temperature meant it was untouchable for about 20 minutes unless you wanted to take a trip to Huddersfield A&E with a scolded mouth and throat!.

We also had the pleasure of 'floodlight dominoes' at Fartown as the dusk fell, as more often than not one bulb would give way followed by another and then another, by the end of the season we were more or less playing under torchlight.

As a teenager i looked forward to my Sunday afternoons to Fartown, we had a scenic bus ride into town and a nice stroll along the way, we met blokes on that terrace that are still watching and still friends to this day, some though have passed away i will never forget the friendliness of these guys taking the 'kids' under their wing and showing them what Rugby League was all about. 

As with most older fans i miss my old ground, we never got to say goodbye either, we played Ryedale-York at home in a Yorkshire cup tie, locked the gates and never returned, such a shame it can't be our home again.

As a visiting fan i used to enjoy going to the Watersheddings, it was a bus from Huddersfield and a decent trip out with mates too, i remember us flying over there after our game was called off late on, a quick dash to buy a league express to look at fixtures, a phonecall in the phonebox to see if the game was on then 5 of us piled in a car and set off for Odham v Salford.

Over to you guys.....

 

 

 

 

From 1977 to 1988 I played  on every pro/semi pro ground apart from one.

To this day I still can't fathom our why I never played at Fartown ? 

Fav ground...The Old Boulevard in front of a full Threepenny stand.Awesome atmosphere. 

[Spotty Herbert]

I loved away days at Thrum Hall. Feared the visits to the Boulevard (but went anyway). I had little love for Knowsley Road or Wilderspool, but they had so much more atmosphere than their replacements. Similarly, even The Willows when it was falling down was 500% better than the soulless dump that is the A J Bell.

Edited November 15, 2024 by Spotty Herbert

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

With Fulham at Chiswick two games that stand out are the CC tie with Halifax where the 'Fax supporters turned out to be as bonkers as us and the tour match against PNG with a post match dinner. On the road Bramley (of course!) with pie, peas AND mint sauce and Batley with the slope and Guinness available in the clubhouse. An honorable mention to a Lancs Cup tie at Central Park, where we gave Wigan an awful fright made even better when we went into the bar afterwards to deathly silence and the home supporters staring glumly into their drinks.

[Ainley Top]

12 hours ago, Gooleboy said:

We at Featherstone had a great rivalry with Warrington in the 70s, some great brutal games. I was 16 when we knocked Wire, Alex Murphy and all out of the Challenge Cup in 73 at the quarter final stage. There was fighting all around the ground, it was a bit scary to say the least. Then we went there in 77 defending a slender first leg lead in the Premiership play off semi final. A packed house saw you beat us 11 - 4 with a John Bevan length of the field interception try and go on to the final. Another very intimidating atmosphere on the day. Great memories though.

Fev fans fighting. Whodathowtit!

[sentoffagain2]

1 hour ago, Agbrigg said:

Yes experienced all above the above, but the most intimidating one was the threepenny stand at Hull in my opinion.

  Went with my then 12 year old daughter she was wearing her Fev scarf and bobble hat.Plenty of swearing at us and telling us to F--- off.Stood my ground until half time and then moved behind the sticks.Didn't hold it against them though and often went to Hull Fc games in Yorkshire.Even took my daughter to Wembley to see the drawn final against Widnes.

[Wolford6]

At Odsal, the dressing rooms were at the top of the terrace ... ash inset with railway sleepers. After the game the players and officials walked up the slope accompanied by a few policemen.

Didn't stop one incensed gran from attacking Jim Mills with her brolly.