Your Old Stadium

[Ken Fitlike]

Hampden

[mozam76]

Glorious pictures/stories/facts.

Absolutely glorious.

[Larbert_Par]

This one is of EEP's main stand under construction in the early 1960s. It had been a much smaller wooden stand before it was constructed into the style of structure we still see today.

At the time, the Pars were regularly at the top end of the top league and in Europe and one of the club's directors, Leonard Jack, said they should build a good ground by re-investing transfer fees, receipts from cup runs etc. His reasoning was that he believed in time, a Super League would be formed and he wanted EEP to be the best ground in Fife so they would be admitted to such a league.

[HibeeJibee]

On the subject of audacious plans for stadium developments in Fife...

... how about this at the height of the post-war boom ("Bing Boys of Fife" article which continues as "Just the Job"):

http://www.londonhearts.com/scores/images/1949/1949101513.htm

Edited January 27, 2014 by HibeeJibee

[Andy_K_97]

One that Killie and Thistle fans will like - this dates from 1988 and our teams are playing at Firhill. I think the guy in the foreground with his face turned away from the camera may be my Dad, but he's not convinced it is him since the Killie fans are opposite in part of the shed. There's a high likelihood he was at the game, but there's no sure way to tell.

[Larbert_Par]

On the subject of audacious plans for stadium developments in Fife...

... how about this at the height of the post-war boom ("Bing Boys of Fife" article which continues as "Just the Job"):

http://www.londonhearts.com/scores/images/1949/1949101513.htm

70-80,000 at Central Park. You can't even begin to imagine that! Incredible stuff.

[parsforlife]

70-80,000 at Central Park. You can't even begin to imagine that! Incredible stuff.

Very bizarre, its incredible that someone thought it was needed. Edited January 28, 2014 by parsforlife

[The Laird]

Was there ever a dog track at Rugby Park?

Scotland had 30-40 dog tracks in the 30s just wondering how many on senior football grounds.

I know both Dundee clubs and Albion Rovers have had dog racing.

Per the official site Muirton Park had dog racing, athletics, hockey internationals, Highland Games, cattle sales, pageants, donkey racing and at least two re-enactments of the Battle of the Clans over the years to make extra cash. I also remember in the 70s they had a plan to introduce some sort of pony and trap racing too - though I dont think that lasted long.

[tamthebam]

What's the pitch at the top of the picture Tam - is that the current St Marks Park?

Only ever went to the greyhounds at Powderhall with my granddad in the mid 70s, one time a dog got electrocuted when the trap fucked up I was only 10 at time and pretty shocked. It was an impressive venue and must have been even better in its heyday.

Passed the old site a few times going to games at St Marks.

for interest I think the square at the bottom left of the picture is the George Heriot's cricket ground where Leith Athletic, at one of the many low ebbs in their history, played just after the First World War.

IIRC the pitch became a car park later on.

[tamthebam]

Not actually a photo as such, but an engraving of Hampden Park, on the Queens Park Shield.
Photo taken by me last year at Stirling Uni v City.

"The Queen’s Park Shield is the most prestigious prize in student football in Scotland. This competition was established in 1921 when Queen’s Park Football Club, realising the value of universities as potential recruiting grounds, presented a large silver shield to the Scottish Universities’ Football Association for an annual competition. The front of the shield is solid silver. It contains an engraving of Hampden Park as it was in 1921 and is surrounded by the crests of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews Universities, with a figurine of a player wearing a Queen’s Park strip standing above. "

The Shield is a bloody impressive bit of silverware as well!

[HibeeJibee]

I was going to write a thread post Cowdenbeath's prospects booming after the war... coupled with a local economy still thriving, with the demand for coal in particular... but having looked at things, the idea of an 80,000 capacity Central Park - a "Hampden of Fife" - still seems ridiculously excessive.

Cowden had been an established top division club for most of the interwar period. In 1934 they got relegated - but they bounced-back in 1939. However, they quit mid-way through the emergency Eastern League in 1939-40 and were put in the second level on resumption in 1945. They did not get back into the top level until 1970. Although no doubt they were confident of it during the later 1940s and 1950s, with several good campaigns.

Before the war they had been averaging 1,000 to 2,000 although this grew to 3,000 then 4,000 in the year they secured promotion. It didn't even leap by that much during the post-war boom... a couple of seasons with 4,000 and 5,000 quickly gave way to 3,000 then 2,000 then by the end of the 1950s they were barely over 1,000. Even in a 1949 context with averages approaching 5,000 and other Fife clubs taking the big tournaments by storm, the idea of a superstadium seems very optimistic. But, coal byproduct was cheap, and it was still an era when "build it and they will come" seemed plausible.

You wonder how it might have affected their future prospects.

Would crowds have risen and carried them into the big-time? Or would it have become an uneconomical white elephant?

Not actually a photo as such, but an engraving of Hampden Park, on the Queens Park Shield.
Photo taken by me last year at Stirling Uni v City.

The Shield is a bloody impressive bit of silverware as well!

East of Scotland Shield's centrepiece is a scene of a match in progress on adjacent to what's now the Scottish Parliament. Salisbury Crags behind.

It was the old High School recreation fields and presumably used for football.

Edited January 28, 2014 by HibeeJibee

[jagfox]

One that Killie and Thistle fans will like - this dates from 1988 and our teams are playing at Firhill. I think the guy in the foreground with his face turned away from the camera may be my Dad, but he's not convinced it is him since the Killie fans are opposite in part of the shed. There's a high likelihood he was at the game, but there's no sure way to tell.

Hard to say Andy but the away end did stretch right round. The wall makes me think it could be the enclosure at the front of the excellent main stand which was still in use around that point.

Looks like our Colonel Gees Carpets strip.

[Shuggie_Murray7]

The Northbank

[parsforlife]

I was going to write a thread post Cowdenbeath's prospects booming after the war... coupled with a local economy still thriving, with the demand for coal in particular... but having looked at things, the idea of an 80,000 capacity Central Park - a "Hampden of Fife" - still seems ridiculously excessive.

Cowden had been an established top division club for most of the interwar period. In 1934 they got relegated - but they bounced-back in 1939. However, they quit mid-way through the emergency Eastern League in 1939-40 and were put in the second level on resumption in 1945. They did not get back into the top level until 1970. Although no doubt they were confident of it during the later 1940s and 1950s, with several good campaigns.

Before the war they had been averaging 1,000 to 2,000 although this grew to 3,000 then 4,000 in the year they secured promotion. It didn't even leap by that much during the post-war boom... a couple of seasons with 4,000 and 5,000 quickly gave way to 3,000 then 2,000 then by the end of the 1950s they were barely over 1,000. Even in a 1949 context with averages approaching 5,000 and other Fife clubs taking the big tournaments by storm, the idea of a superstadium seems very optimistic. But, coal byproduct was cheap, and it was still an era when "build it and they will come" seemed plausible.

You wonder how it might have affected their future prospects.

Would crowds have risen and carried them into the big-time? Or would it have become an uneconomical white elephant?

Was central still "certified" to 30000(another utterly mental figuire, approx 9-10x what it can have now and it hasn't reduced in size by much if at all) or were the 5000isn crowds pushing on the capacity ? You could almost understand if they had crowds of 5000, predicating a population rise and on-field improvements, if a 20000 capacity ground had been proposed, that may been seen as sensible with build and they will come attitude but 80000 is a struggle for anyone to understand.

[HibeeJibee]

It was given as 35,000 in 1939... . I doubt it would have fallen much over the course of the war and obviously it would be increasing if they were buying spoil to build-up the terraces. That said "capacities" then were basically theoretical - calculations of square yardage.

[Today, decaying but essentially barely altered, it's capacity is 4,370 ].

I think I may have spotted something which makes their plans a bit more credible, though. That article is from October 1949. A few weeks before, Cowden had gone to Ibrox in their first-ever League Cup QF and won the 1st leg 3-2, the first-ever lower division club to win at Ibrox. For the 2nd leg Central Park was "bursting at the seams" with a crowd of 25,586 which is the all-time record. (They lost 2-1, 4-4 on aggregate, and Rangers won 5-4 aet. Cowden had been 1-0 up at HT and Rangers got their 2nd with 15 seconds left, forcing ET).

They'd also started the 1949-50 league season well, sitting within a few points of promotion.

So I can see why they were looking at significant ground expansion. Just thoughts of 70,000-80,000 seem overly ambitious.

Edited January 28, 2014 by HibeeJibee

[AllyBallyBee]

One that Killie and Thistle fans will like - this dates from 1988 and our teams are playing at Firhill. I think the guy in the foreground with his face turned away from the camera may be my Dad, but he's not convinced it is him since the Killie fans are opposite in part of the shed. There's a high likelihood he was at the game, but there's no sure way to tell.

That looks like Tommy Taylor bottom left behind the goals still the official Thistle photographer

[AllyBallyBee]

Why did the away fans end or rangers end at Parkhead have a great cover/roof while the home fans did not?

[thisal]

One that Killie and Thistle fans will like - this dates from 1988 and our teams are playing at Firhill. I think the guy in the foreground with his face turned away from the camera may be my Dad, but he's not convinced it is him since the Killie fans are opposite in part of the shed. There's a high likelihood he was at the game, but there's no sure way to tell.

That's the away end at Firhill at the top of the stairs at the turnstyle. You used the same turnstyles that the North stand uses now. Not long after that the pylon floodlights were put up. They replaced the shed roof ones and would also have blocked that view. Its taken from just to the right of the main stand in the photos below.

Edit to add the wall you see is painted white and slopes in the last photo.

Edited January 28, 2014 by thisal

[thisGRAEME]

Brilliant thread and brilliant picture.

And look at those strips.

I nearly jizzed when we wore these in that Leeds friendly a few years ago

I was playing fitba on Sunday in the socks Nicky Law was wearing there, true story.

[jagfox]

Muirton Park - sadly never made it here for a game.

Most grounds available on youtube. Type in footballgroundguide on google or subscribe to youtube account. Annoying bagpipe music on Scottish grounds.

I'll stick up a few others later if there's any requests

Edited January 28, 2014 by jagfox144