The old grounds - Your memories

[Gooleboy]

1 hour ago, Hopping Mad said:

Must be passed down through generations. Kids were still doing that, in the mid-80s, on the roads leading to Anfield or Goodison. Probably still are!

Sebastian Coe attended a game at Anfield, but tried to enter the wrong stand. The turnstile operator said, "you need to be at the other side of the ground with that ticket." "Do you know who I am" replied Coe? "No" said the gate man. "I am Sebastian Coe". "Well it won't take you long to get round there" came the reply!

[sentoffagain2]

   I remember going to watch Wakefield in a challenge cup game at the old Blackpool ground.It was past the south shore off the main road that ran behind the pleasure beach.It was in a very poor state and had a greyhound track running round the outside.It would probably be very early 1960's.

[Andy JG]

I first went to Hilton Park in 1976...it wasn't a great ground but provided me with some really great memories as a young man. and I loved it. It was only opened in 1946 so was still relatively new when I first went.  

I stll think about it when I regularly drive past where it once was.

The smell of soup from the kiosk under the old scoreboard, the poor floodlights, standing behind the posts at the Chadwick Street end, the red and white wooden goalposts, Leigh coming out to 'Entry of the Gladiotors', the half time and full time hooter made a klaxon type noise, 3.30 kick offs on a Sunday, and the game always seemed to finish bang on 5pm by the clock on the scoreboard.

The old main stand was a relic from the previous ground at Mather Lane.

The supporters stand, opposite, was quite a large structure, but unfortunately suffered from a major design fault as soon as it was built. The rake of the stand was too shallow meaning that it was impossible to see all of the pitch from beyond the first few rows, so they only installed a few rows of seats. 

The view from the open terraces was quite good, as the steps were quite steep.

      

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

The first ever away game that I was due to attend was in Wigan in the early seventies, unfortunately a car load of Chinese ran into the back of us outside Wigan Wallgate station.  Never made it!!  Thus the first ever away game I did attend was at Hilton Park, Leigh.  My overwhelming recollection of this is nothing to do with the game but the accents of the locals.

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

Must say I've enjoyed this thread so far, far more enjoyable than arguing about the number of phone lines in a press box or pixels on a big screen.

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

2 hours ago, Hopping Mad said:

Me, too. Part of rugby league's character was wrapped up in the traditional grounds at which it was played. Inevitably, some of that has been lost.

Always enjoyed the banter in the tin shed side stand at Post Office Road. At one game, a Fev fan had been baiting the visiting Oldham lot about being sheepshaggers. Losing patience, an Oldham bloke, in a thick Lancashire accent, yelled: "Yeah, we shag 'em then you eat 'em."

A bit rich coming from Yorkshire men. I remember fev fans chanting "you sheep, sheep shaggers" to which the yeds fans retorted "shag sheep in Yorkshire, you only shag sheep in Yorkshire". Oh happy days. Also remember when London, crusaders think they were then, first played at sheddings and the London fans , all 20 of them, were chanting. The Oldham fans chanted back "if you can't talk proper shut your gob!" 

[Superb Chops]

On 14/11/2024 at 23:34, 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.  

A thrilling, intimidating enclosed place to visit when Wire had the ferocity of Boyd, Tamati and Roach, alongside the artistry of Woods, Holden and Blake. The adjoining Legends nightclub was a great Friday night too. As  acceptable as the HJ is, Wilderspool was exciting, vibrant and scary to a then-young man. 

OP - great thread.

Thanks both. 

[Taffy Tiger]

Anybody wishing to relive the old stadium days , come to Cas . We've still got one !

Edited November 16, 2024 by Taffy Tiger

[JF1]

Donny was a tidy little ground until it fell into disrepair towards the end. As for the pitch............

Also,Tatters Field never had floodlights as far as I recall. We never had lights at Parkside. How many grounds never had any lights, post 1950s of course? Or are floodlights a topic for another thread in the inter-season lull?

[sentoffagain2]

1 hour ago, The Art of Hand and Foot said:

A bit rich coming from Yorkshire men. I remember fev fans chanting "you sheep, sheep shaggers" to which the yeds fans retorted "shag sheep in Yorkshire, you only shag sheep in Yorkshire". Oh happy days. Also remember when London, crusaders think they were then, first played at sheddings and the London fans , all 20 of them, were chanting. The Oldham fans chanted back "if you can't talk proper shut your gob!" 

  Didn't part of Oldham used to be in Yorkshire.When i played schoolboy rugby they played  against Yorkshire sides.

[georgeb1]

25 minutes ago, JF1 said:

Donny was a tidy little ground until it fell into disrepair towards the end. As for the pitch............

Also,Tatters Field never had floodlights as far as I recall. We never had lights at Parkside. How many grounds never had any lights, post 1950s of course? Or are floodlights a topic for another thread in the inter-season lull?

Clarence st (york) never had permanent lights , i remember the club hiring floodlights in for a game against an australian touring side in the late seventies.

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

34 minutes ago, sentoffagain2 said:

  Didn't part of Oldham used to be in Yorkshire.When i played schoolboy rugby they played  against Yorkshire sides.

Yep 60% of Oldham borough is still in Yorkshire.  

[Taffy Tiger]

1 hour ago, JF1 said:

Donny was a tidy little ground until it fell into disrepair towards the end. As for the pitch............

Also,Tatters Field never had floodlights as far as I recall. We never had lights at Parkside. How many grounds never had any lights, post 1950s of course? Or are floodlights a topic for another thread in the inter-season lull?

Of the top of my head , Fev, Blackpool Borough, Huyton and the aforementioned Doncaster didn't have floodlights . I am sure there were more . I know when the Floodlit Trophy started in the mid 60s there were only 8 teams taking part . It was the Floodlit Trophy (2nd half of a game shown midweek on BBC 2 iirc) that made some clubs get floodlights .

[Taffy Tiger]

3 minutes ago, Taffy Tiger said:

Of the top of my head , Fev, Blackpool Borough, Huyton and the aforementioned Doncaster didn't have floodlights . I am sure there were more . I know when the Floodlit Trophy started in the mid 60s there were only 8 teams taking part . It was the Floodlit Trophy (2nd half of a game shown midweek on BBC 2 iirc) that made some clubs get floodlights .

A link from Wikpedia below

 

'The first season, 1965–66, eight clubs - Castleford, Leeds, Leigh, Oldham, St. Helens, Swinton, Warrington and Widnes took part.^[5] Seven of the eight teams had floodlights and Leeds installed theirs the following season'

 

Even in the mid 60s Leeds were getting favouritsm . Allowed to enter the Floodlit Competition without having any floodlights 

Edited November 16, 2024 by Taffy Tiger

[Andy JG]

19 minutes ago, Taffy Tiger said:

A link from Wikpedia below

 

'The first season, 1965–66, eight clubs - Castleford, Leeds, Leigh, Oldham, St. Helens, Swinton, Warrington and Widnes took part.^[5] Seven of the eight teams had floodlights and Leeds installed theirs the following season'

 

Even in the mid 60s Leeds were getting favouritsm . Allowed to enter the Floodlit Competition without having any floodlights 

I went to a few BBC Floodlit Trophy games at Leigh in the late 1970s, and Leigh's floodlights were that poor, I recall banks of extra lights on scaffolding platforms in the corners. Maybe that was because of the extra brightness required for Colour TV, I don't know.

   

 

[Griff]

1 hour ago, sentoffagain2 said:

  Didn't part of Oldham used to be in Yorkshire.When i played schoolboy rugby they played  against Yorkshire sides.

Saddleworth is in Yorkshire.  Oldham never was.

[The Blues Ox]

I have to talk about Thrum Hall first, I have so many memories from up at that ground. The pitch has already been mentioned along with the weather but I remember a really cold day against Widnes when the pitch was covered in snow and I got frost bite and my dad had to take me home 5 minutes before the end of the game, it was bitter up there most of the time but that day was shocking. Another game aginst Workington I think it were when the fog came in and we could not see past the half way line. I remember Henry Sharp appearing from the fog on about the 40 metre line and we only knew something was happening because we could hear the sound from the scratchin shed.

Another part of playing at Thrum Hall was the half time changing ends where down the back of the stand that allowed only 2 people side by side you got to exchange pleasentaries with the opposition fans while all the time having to avoid the liquid leaking out from the toilets. That ground certainly toughened people up one way or another.

As for away grounds we went to them all, I used to love going to The Boulevard and standing in the Threepenny Stand, I never saw an ounce of trouble and it was intimidating but it gave the game that bit of an edge. I used to love Central Park just because of the atmosphere, been young it just felt so big stood in such large crowds with hardly anywhere to move. One of my real favs has always been Wheldon Road, I guess it was very much like Thrum Hall in it felt like a proper rugby stadium and their fans were always die hards and again it gave the atmosphere an edge.

I know people talk about trouble at grounds but in all honesty I have only seen one fight at a teams ground and that was at thrum Hall where it was 2 Oldham fans fighting each other. I never really saw anything at Hull or Fev but maybe that was just because I always saw everything as banter as I am sure things did go on.

[moorside roughyed]

8 hours ago, Hopping Mad said:

A player (forget who), in a match programme Q&A, asked about his least favourite ground, responded: "Watersheddings, for reasons obvious to anyone who has been there."

I liked Watersheddings - along with most of rugby league's traditional 'lost' grounds. Final visit was for the much-delayed last game, against Swinton. Appropriately, it was played in freezing, foggy weather.

A relic from a bygone era was the dank gents under the little stand on the Thrum Hall Lane side at Halifax. Usually, it was unlit, which, after nightfall, only added to the 'fun'.

Fartown was a real favourite. Even when Huddersfield's crowds dropped to a few hundred, games there felt like an occasion. Tiny dressing rooms, mind - although not as small as the original ones at Carlisle's Gillford Park, where, IIRC, there wasn't sufficient space for everybody to change simultaneously. Intermittent hot water, too!

Remember, on a snowy, bitter, December afternoon, reporting a game at McLaren Field, Bramley. A Villagers club official brought whisky miniatures into the press box at half-time! Better than the press box at Hilton Park, Leigh. Its seats generally had a coating of pigeon poo.

The press box - its filthy windows needed cleaning before every game - in the now-demolished main stand at the Recreation Ground, Whitehaven, was horrible. For a rearranged, midweek evening game, against Hull Kingston Rovers, its solitary bulb had blown. Haven laid on a candle, which the three occupants gathered around. I got the impression the visiting Hull Daily Mail reporter, a big guy who could barely squeeze into the space available, had never seen anything like it! As ex-Leeds and Halifax half-back Neil Hague remarked: "Away games in Cumbria were like stepping off the end of the world."

When I was at university (Liverpool), I was part of a little band of sport nuts that travelled across Lancashire (and bits of Cheshire), by train or bus, to watch Sunday afternoon games. Enjoyed going to Runcorn Highfield, partly because it was a quick rail ride from (s)Lime Street and partly because, compared to, say, Knowsley Road, Wilderspool or Central Park, the atmosphere was low-key and relaxed. At opposition play-the-balls, Geoff Fletcher's voice, urging his team-mates to "Meet 'em!", would boom across the Canal Street pitch.

One of our group, a dentist, was from Worcester. He had got into rugby league through the BBC's coverage. On Sunday mornings, at breakfast, in our hall of residence, he'd look outside. If it was murky and/or raining, he'd rub his hands with glee, and remark: "Rugby league weather!"

We didn't forget our first visit to Station Road, Swinton, for a midweek evening Challenge Cup replay against Leeds. Having slogged over, from Liverpool, on the train, we arrived to find the gates locked and the ground in darkness. Between departure and arrival, the game had been postponed - pitch frozen. No social media in the mid-1980s! I felt Station Road, even when sparsely populated, had the same sense of occasion as Fartown.

By chance, in January 1987, I happened to be at the last Blackpool Borough first team game at Borough Park. First and only visit. Whitehaven won, 8-5, in front of 386 spectators. Nobody realised Borough wouldn't be back therefore no fanfare. Borough saw out the season at Bloomfield Road, the Blackpool FC ground.

I like a lot of the older grounds - Castleford,Keighley,Whitehaven to name a few. Some of these more modern stadia have no soul and no history to them. The beauty of Sheddings was it was absolutely freezing even in summer. I'm from the area so used to it. 

[The Mighty Trin]

I've posted this before, some nostalgic memories from older grounds on here plus another 3 videos which this guy has kindly uploaded onto youtube. Bit before my time but interesting to see a packed Swinton and even Huyton is on one, maybe a few older fans will recognise some others but first video is mainly odsal.

[Snowys Backside]

9 hours ago, Andy JG said:

I first went to Hilton Park in 1976...it wasn't a great ground but provided me with some really great memories as a young man. and I loved it. It was only opened in 1946 so was still relatively new when I first went.  

I stll think about it when I regularly drive past where it once was.

The smell of soup from the kiosk under the old scoreboard, the poor floodlights, standing behind the posts at the Chadwick Street end, the red and white wooden goalposts, Leigh coming out to 'Entry of the Gladiotors', the half time and full time hooter made a klaxon type noise, 3.30 kick offs on a Sunday, and the game always seemed to finish bang on 5pm by the clock on the scoreboard.

The old main stand was a relic from the previous ground at Mather Lane.

The supporters stand, opposite, was quite a large structure, but unfortunately suffered from a major design fault as soon as it was built. The rake of the stand was too shallow meaning that it was impossible to see all of the pitch from beyond the first few rows, so they only installed a few rows of seats. 

The view from the open terraces was quite good, as the steps were quite steep.

      

Loved it as a fan and playing there. When full, an absolute heated cauldron, especially when playing Saints or Wigan. 
 

Spoke to many a pro, old and New. Hated it but loved it. Great memories.

[Snowys Backside]

The Shed at Naughton Park for away fans. 
 

Never a dull moment in there (especially when we won )

 

[Fevrover]

8 hours ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

Must say I've enjoyed this thread so far, far more enjoyable than arguing about the number of phone lines in a press box or pixels on a big screen.

It's been good because we all have our favourites but a lot agree as well. 

[wasginger]

7 hours ago, JF1 said:

Donny was a tidy little ground until it fell into disrepair towards the end. As for the pitch............

Also,Tatters Field never had floodlights as far as I recall. We never had lights at Parkside. How many grounds never had any lights, post 1950s of course? Or are floodlights a topic for another thread in the inter-season lull?

Donny did have lights at Tattersfield. There was an u21's international played there GB v France under those floodlights.

[wasginger]

First away game I remember was at the old Parkside ground Hunslet. At that time the Green Final paper used to take a photo of a section of the ground, and circle someone's head, if they came forward they won 5 bob I think it was, and I'm there at the front of the railings hat and scarf on with my Auntie. I was about 4 years old.

[Hopping Mad]

6 hours ago, Taffy Tiger said:

Of the top of my head , Fev, Blackpool Borough, Huyton and the aforementioned Doncaster didn't have floodlights . I am sure there were more . I know when the Floodlit Trophy started in the mid 60s there were only 8 teams taking part . It was the Floodlit Trophy (2nd half of a game shown midweek on BBC 2 iirc) that made some clubs get floodlights .

Tattersfield managed to sort out floodlights - along with numerous other improvements - before it closed. Recall they were ex-railway yard floodlights (makes sense).

Edited November 16, 2024 by Hopping Mad