The old grounds - Your memories

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

1 hour ago, Fevrover said:

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

Yep, you can relate to a lot of it, been there, seen that, done that sort of thing.

 

[Fevrover]

8 minutes ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

Yep, you can relate to a lot of it, been there, seen that, done that sort of thing.

 

Us 'old un's' were saying in club after last home game we've seen the best of The Rovers in the 1970's and part of the 80's. 2010's were pretty good but nowt of end of it.

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

The one thing these old grounds had was character. Sheddings may have been cold and bleak, but we stood together, we ooooh'd, we aaaaah'd, shouted "feedin" , we moved in unison, pointed  and erupted when Paddy kirwan squeezed through to beat Wigan making Ellery Hanley "sick as a parrot".  We chanted "come on Oldham,  come on Oldham".  We had banter, we chanted "we hate scousers" to widnes fans, they replied with " you dirty Yorkshire b@&tards".  We saw some class, Edwards and Gregory,  hated them but they were class. Sheddings had history, it was sh!t hole, but it was our sh!t hole. Every club has similar tales. I miss them all, The Athletic ground, thrum hall, station Rd, central park, hilton park , Knowsley Rd, wilderspool and all those grounds now gone. For all those still in their spiritual home , headingley, post office rd, Wheldon rd, naughton park and belle Vue, I say cherish them, remember their history and never sell them for anything. You are lucky.

[Hopping Mad]

8 hours ago, georgeb1 said:

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.

In his 'The Best Years of Our Lives' book, Paul Wilson tells a good story about a York-Wigan game at floodlight-free Clarence Street. It was the time of year when the days are short. In gathering gloom, Wigan's David Stephenson was struggling to line up a kick at goal. Somebody jumped over the pitch barrier, and handed him an ignited lighter!

Went to Clarence Street just once - right at the start of its final season - for an August midweek evening fixture, with Batley, kicking off at 6.15. Smashing ground. A real splash of amber in a brown cityscape. Little did I realise, 20 years later, I'd be living in York, on Wigginton Road, 150 yards from the 'lost' ground's former main entrance. This time of year, in particular, I wish the ground was there and rugby league still had winter matches. When I walk past, I always touch the white, oval heritage sign, detailing the ground's history.

Edited November 16, 2024 by Hopping Mad

[daz39]

8 hours ago, Taffy Tiger said:

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

Next time you go have a look at the mens toilets at the back of the Princess street stand, there's a more clearer piece of corrugated plastic on the roof, that was to replace the section my mate decided to jump though many years ago, always amuses me when i see it.

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

17 minutes ago, Fevrover said:

Us 'old un's' were saying in club after last home game we've seen the best of The Rovers in the 1970's and part of the 80's. 2010's were pretty good but nowt of end of it.

I can associate with that.

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

Am I right in thinking Roundtrees chocolate factory was in the vicinity of Wigginton Rd. Pretty sure I remember walking past it on one of my visits.

[Hopping Mad]

9 minutes ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

Am I right in thinking Roundtrees chocolate factory was in the vicinity of Wigginton Rd. Pretty sure I remember walking past it on one of my visits.

Yes, that's right. If you walk up Wigginton Road, away from town, you'll pass the site of York's old ground (opposite the hospital). Beyond the traffic lights, on the right, there's one of the entrances to the chocolate factory. At present, some of the buildings are being converted into apartments, with houses going up on disused bits of the factory's land. The (huge) development is called The Cocoa Works.

Edited November 16, 2024 by Hopping Mad

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

1 minute ago, Hopping Mad said:

Yes, that's right. If you walk up Wigginton Road, away from town, you'll pass the site of York's old ground (opposite the hospital). Beyond the traffic lights, on the right, there's one of the entrances to the chocolate factory. At present, some of the buildings are being converted into apartments, with houses going up on disused bits of the factory's land. The development is called The Cocoa Works.

It's weird how some things stick in the memory.

 

[Fevrover]

9 minutes ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

Am I right in thinking Roundtrees chocolate factory was in the vicinity of Wigginton Rd. Pretty sure I remember walking past it on one of my visits.

Could smell it and see the floodlights at Bootham Crescent in the distance if i remember rightly. 

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

Went to Watersheddings many times but the memory that stands out was a CCQF in 1975.  Ground was rammed that day.

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

2 minutes ago, Fevrover said:

Could smell it and see the floodlights at Bootham Crescent in the distance if i remember rightly. 

Seen us at Bootham Crescent as well. Thinking about it, the number of grounds I've seen Widnes on that have been owned or shared with football clubs would be well into double figures.

[Pigeon Lofter]

11 minutes ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

Went to Watersheddings many times but the memory that stands out was a CCQF in 1975.  Ground was rammed that day.

I remember it too, like it was yesterday.

Scores tied with five minutes to go.....

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

1 minute ago, Pigeon Lofter said:

I remember it too, like it was yesterday.

Scores tied with five minutes to go.....

I know we won, I have 10 - 4 in my head without looking it up. Am I close?

[Pigeon Lofter]

Something like that.

Absolute shedloads of Widnes fans turned up that day. I was in the double decker stand when Widnes scored the winning try, right below where I was standing. The Widnes fans were in the opposite end, behind the sticks.

So many coachloads, parked up down the hill,next to the big mill on Vulcan Street. 

Those were the days.

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

6 minutes ago, Pigeon Lofter said:

Something like that.

Absolute shedloads of Widnes fans turned up that day. I was in the double decker stand when Widnes scored the winning try, right below where I was standing. The Widnes fans were in the opposite end, behind the sticks.

So many coachloads, parked up down the hill,next to the big mill on Vulcan Street. 

Those were the days.

Away games were fun back then, no sat nav, no sign posts, you had to know were you were going. Oldham was always keep going past Mumps, follow the Ripponden sign and look for New Zealand Street.

[Snowys Backside]

22 minutes ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

Away games were fun back then, no sat nav, no sign posts, you had to know were you were going. Oldham was always keep going past Mumps, follow the Ripponden sign and look for New Zealand Street.

Follow the sleet more like !

[Anita Bath]

On 15/11/2024 at 13:28, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

How many on here have been to Liverpool City at Knotty Ash.

Yup…my first ever Rochdale Hornets away game….mid sixties….I think it was Good Friday ( well not that good…hornets lost).

[Wilderspoolmemories]

One that has not yet come up. Alt park, Huyton......where you had to pay to have your car  "mine-ded laaaarrrrr."...or else "yer win-derrrrrs  might not be there when yer got baccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!"

Edited November 17, 2024 by Wilderspoolmemories

[Griff]

12 hours ago, wasginger said:

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

Yep. Went to that one.

[Griff]

12 hours ago, wasginger said:

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.

And did you win five bob?

[daz39]

Thanks to everyone who's contributed and enjoyed this thread so far, i thought it was a bout time we had some proper friendly discussion rather than willy waving or argumentative points scoring, glad your all enjoying it, i certainly am reading all the memories too.

Keep going

[Fevrover]

3 minutes ago, daz39 said:

Thanks to everyone who's contributed and enjoyed this thread so far, i thought it was a bout time we had some proper friendly discussion rather than willy waving or argumentative points scoring, glad your all enjoying it, i certainly am reading all the memories too.

Keep going

Been great.

[Andy JG]

For about 10 years from the late 70s to late 80s I watched Leigh at home, and to begin with occasional trips watching them at St Helens, Warrington, Wigan... close enough to go by bus or dad to give me a lift and pick me up after.

In the early 80s I discovered Monk's Travel in Leigh organised coach travel to all away games, so this opened up a whole new world for a young Leigh fanatic..no longer limited to home games and occasional local aways.

I could get my mum to book me coach tickets at Monk's in Railway Road, and I was no longer following crackly lined radio  updates from Radio Manchester...I was at Thrum Hall, Odsal Stadium, The Willows, The Boulevard, Craven park, Derwent Park, and many others... 

Once I learned to drive, had a job and a car in 1985, I wouldn't limit myself to just Leigh games. I'd go and watch a match at Salford, Swinton, Dewsbury, Batley... I went to all grounds of the 30 teams who played in the league when i started watching plus most of the new teams in early 80s and thiose who changed grounds/names etc..

My favourite old stadium, apart from Hilton Park, was the Watersheddings.

When i first went, there were identical looking stands running both sides of the touchlines, but one of them was demolished , leaving just the main stand opposite which looked extremely old and about to fall down.

It always seemed cold, and the drive up had those snow warning signs by the road which came on if it was snowing somewhere locally.

But it had a great atmosphere I always thought and loved going there.  Particularly in the early/mid 80s when Oldham had a decent team with Kirwan, Flanagan, Foy, Goodway etc.. it was usually a very good game.

Also scene of one of my favourite matches of all time... the Oldham v Leigh abandoned game in January 1984.  The mass brawl onfield, the police man getting his helmet knocked off trying to stop it. Is was stood behind the posts in on the large covered terrace.

 

   

[Harry Stottle]

12 hours ago, The Art of Hand and Foot said:

The one thing these old grounds had was character. Sheddings may have been cold and bleak, but we stood together, we ooooh'd, we aaaaah'd, shouted "feedin" , we moved in unison, pointed  and erupted when Paddy kirwan squeezed through to beat Wigan making Ellery Hanley "sick as a parrot".  We chanted "come on Oldham,  come on Oldham".  We had banter, we chanted "we hate scousers" to widnes fans, they replied with " you dirty Yorkshire b@&tards".  We saw some class, Edwards and Gregory,  hated them but they were class. Sheddings had history, it was sh!t hole, but it was our sh!t hole. Every club has similar tales. I miss them all, The Athletic ground, thrum hall, station Rd, central park, hilton park , Knowsley Rd, wilderspool and all those grounds now gone. For all those still in their spiritual home , headingley, post office rd, Wheldon rd, naughton park and belle Vue, I say cherish them, remember their history and never sell them for anything. You are lucky.

Totally agree with all that, but may I say there is one of those 'spiritual homes' you have missed out and that is Barrow's  Craven Park loved going there and last went in '22, it still looked the same then as I remember in the 70's unless I am mistaken and was just being nostalgic.