HibeeJibee Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 (edited) On 22/11/2021 at 16:10, HibeeJibee said: Monday 2nd January 1950 ... Across both divisions over 370,00 people attended games i.e. about 1 in every 14 people (men women & children) in the whole nation. It could have been more had the Old Firm derby been at Ibrox and bear in mind Aberdeen were at Dundee, Raith were at East Fife plus Hamilton/Motherwell and Morton/St Mirren were in different divisions, so played each other not their derby. Allow for those parts of the north and south beyond reach of a game and it's astonishing. Plus most would be men & boys. A Division 65,840 Hibs v Hearts 65,000 Celtic v Rangers 35,000 St Mirren v Motherwell 32,000 Dundee v Aberdeen 30,000 Partick v Clyde 22,515 East Fife v Raith 15,000 Falkirk v Stirling Albion 15,000 Third Lanark v Queen of the South B Division 23,520 Kilmarnock v Ayr 18,000 Hamilton v Morton 12,000 St Johnstone v Dundee United 11,000 Airdrie v Albion Rovers 10,000 Dunfermline v Cowdenbeath 7,000 Forfar v Arbroath 6,000 Dumbarton v Queen's Park 4,000 Alloa v Stenhousemuir C Division unknown Aberdeen B v Montrose Those were the New Year derby crowds of Monday 2nd January 1950, that may well have been the or certainly among the best attended ever - indeed Hibs and East Fife set all-time record attendances. Here are the crowds from 70yrs ago Thursday 1st January 1953 i.e. 3yrs later. Notable how much they had dropped: A Division 73,000 Rangers v Celtic Celtic v Rangers in 1950 = 65,000 41,085 Hearts v Hibs Hibs v Hearts in 1950 = 65,840 21,000 Aberdeen v Dundee Dundee v Aberdeen in 1950 = 32,000 20,000 Raith v East Fife East Fife v Raith in 1950 = 22,515 19,000 Motherwell v Airdrie 14,000 Clyde v Partick Partick v Clyde in 1950 = 30,000 10,000 Falkirk v Third Lanark 10,000 Queen of the South v St Mirren B Division 18,500 Ayr v Kilmarnock Kilmarnock v Ayr in 1950 = 23,520 8,000 Dundee Utd v St Johnstone St Johnstone v Dundee Utd in 1950 = 12,000 6,000 Morton v Stirling Albion 5,000 Dunfermline v Cowdenbeath same fixture in 1950 = 10,000 4,886 Queen's Park v Dumbarton Dumbarton v Queen's Park in 1950 = 6,000 4,000 Albion Rovers v Hamilton 2,500 Alloa v Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir v Alloa in 1950 = 4,000 2,500 Forfar v Arbroath same fixture in 1950 = 7,000 C Division unknown Berwick v Dunfermline B unknown Brechin v Montrose unknown St Mirren B v Queen of the South B Edited December 29, 2022 by HibeeJibee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdenbeath Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 13 hours ago, HibeeJibee said: These stadiums are products of their time: move to all seaters after disasters, and visions for 10k rule from 1990 that was formalised in 1994 then codified by SPL in 1998. e.g. apart from open ends at Forthbank, did anybody incorporate terraces into new or substantially rebuilt grounds? Can’t think of any in Scotland as you say it was a sign of the era that most of them were seated. Don’t know if the story is true but I heard that the terrace at Stirling was added after it was deemed too small a capacity to get a grant, Down south Chester City built a ground similar to Stirling (same architect as Stirling and Livingston). Its a bit better as they have covered terrace behind both goals. Also down south Exeter rebuilt their home end terrace. Although you have to go further down the pyramid for more examples. You get a better mix of seats and standing at the new build Rugby League grounds. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacksgranda Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 15 hours ago, Monkey Tennis said: It's not just location though is it, although that's a huge part of it? I know that it's facile to eulogise about appalling toilets and crumbling steps, but the fact is that grounds were distinct then, they catered for their numbers, they gave supporters choice and they were indeed better located in the main. I know that finances -that God to whom we must bow regarding simply everything - meant that selling up and moving made sense. However, measuring what s been lost against what's been gained must feel sobering. Some have sold up but have yet to replace. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mantis Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 15 hours ago, HibeeJibee said: These stadiums are products of their time: move to all seaters after disasters, and visions for 10k rule from 1990 that was formalised in 1994 then codified by SPL in 1998. e.g. apart from open ends at Forthbank, did anybody incorporate terraces into new or substantially rebuilt grounds? ICT and County surely? ICT had terracing on 3 sides in a newbuild between 1996 and 2005, and the away end at County was very similar to Forthbank. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamthebam Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 15 hours ago, HibeeJibee said: These stadiums are products of their time: move to all seaters after disasters, and visions for 10k rule from 1990 that was formalised in 1994 then codified by SPL in 1998. e.g. apart from open ends at Forthbank, did anybody incorporate terraces into new or substantially rebuilt grounds? technically Spartans with that grass banking.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNU_Linux Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 59 minutes ago, The Mantis said: ICT and County surely? ICT had terracing on 3 sides in a newbuild between 1996 and 2005, and the away end at County was very similar to Forthbank. ICT granted: forgot they'd some terrace where they later installed seats/put up end stands. RC: was that open end done in 1990s? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdenbeath Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 32 minutes ago, HibeeJibee said: ICT granted: forgot they'd some terrace where they later installed seats/put up end stands. RC: was that open end done in 1990s? It was. I was there in their first SFL season. Back then it consisted of the main stand (shorter than it is now), the covered and stepped Jail End which remained the same for many years. The side opposite the stand was an earth banking which was eventually replaced with a new stand, while the far end was also earth banking before it was stepped. They done a lot of work in a short time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Sanchez Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 I remember going to pre-season friendlies on back-to-back Saturdays at Inverness and Dingwall prior to the first SFL season. Inverness were still at Telford Street and away fans at Dingwall stood on a grass slope, opposite the main stand, towards the jail end. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specky Ginger Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 5 minutes ago, Dirty Sanchez said: I remember going to pre-season friendlies on back-to-back Saturdays at Inverness and Dingwall prior to the first SFL season. Inverness were still at Telford Street and away fans at Dingwall stood on a grass slope, opposite the main stand, towards the jail end. That rings a bell. When Rovers played Ross County in the league cup in 1994, the away end terrace was newly built. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specky Ginger Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 The great Pele having to resort to dirty tactics to stop Jocky. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flybhoy Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 2 hours ago, GNU_Linux said: Has to be a fake surely.... no one can be that fucking thick? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 (edited) 15 hours ago, Flybhoy said: Has to be a fake surely.... no one can be that fucking thick? Campbell was asked about this recently on his podcast. He said he couldn't remember it, but wasn't full of denials either. To be honest, despite being a bit wacky, it doesn't strike me as the worst idea. He recognises the roles of the two clubs in fostering festering sectarianism. That asking them to make positive moves in the opposite direction meets such immediate scorn is perhaps disappointing, but also realistic. As if those clubs would actively support steps towards eradicating a malignancy that serves them so well. Edited December 30, 2022 by Monkey Tennis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theyellowbox Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 On 28/12/2022 at 23:05, Monkey Tennis said: It's not just location though is it, although that's a huge part of it? I know that it's facile to eulogise about appalling toilets and crumbling steps, but the fact is that grounds were distinct then, they catered for their numbers, they gave supporters choice and they were indeed better located in the main. I know that finances -that God to whom we must bow regarding simply everything - meant that selling up and moving made sense. However, measuring what s been lost against what's been gained must feel sobering. While a lot of the old grounds had character, what was also true is that most were completely crumbling after decades of neglect and at best, could have limped on for a few years, before becoming Cliftonhill esque. Brockville, Muirton, Bayview and Boghead had all become deathtraps. Folk bang on (rightly) about Somerset having old school characther etc, but don't forget it had a main stand expansion at around the same time a lot of these ground were being closed and has had some work done over the years. What is a crime is how badly new stadiums have been built. No originality whatsoever in most, but generally half arsed and cheap. Look all over Europe and you see high quality stadiums for clubs the size of many of ours, but we are left with relics and crumbling new builds. We all have nostalgia about the old grounds now lost and moan about soulless out of town grounds, but almost all grounds were built on the edge of town before the town grows around them. The 'new' ones will do the same. McDiarmid park being a prime example. When built, it was right on the edge of Perth. In last 5-10 years, the edge of Perth has grown way beyond where it is, to the extent, it is now as close to the edge as Muirton was in its heyday. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluearmyfaction Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 From the West Lothian Courier, 2 December 1893: I wonder why this non-swearing church-compulsory manly competition never took off. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Tbf the churches leagues became a big and strong grade: particularly either side of WWII. Still a couple on the go - Strathclyde Evangelical, and Edinburgh/East of Scotland (now a pirate league IIRC). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyrshireTon Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 On 30/11/2022 at 19:12, buchan30 said: It is strange to think of replays being played during the day, on weekdays. Especially considering that it was started as a sport for people who worked a half day on a Saturday and probably worked 9-5 during the week. I remember my dad telling me about bunking off school to go to a midweek, during the day replay between Raith and possibly Morton. 1974. Finished 2-2 at Starks Park on Sunday 29th January, 0-0 (after extra time) at Cappielow on the Tuesday and Morton won 1-0 at Tynecastle on Sunday February 3rd, with both clubs having played league games on Saturday 2nd. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 11 minutes ago, AyrshireTon said: 1974. Finished 2-2 at Starks Park on Sunday 29th January, 0-0 (after extra time) at Cappielow on the Tuesday and Morton won 1-0 at Tynecastle on Sunday February 3rd, with both clubs having played league games on Saturday 2nd. Due to Three Day Week. Sunday matches during state of emergency: Morton and Raith played league games on Saturday 2nd February 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUcal Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 (edited) I find seeing the grounds that came before to be very interesting. Sadly too young to have experienced the likes of Broomfield, Brockville, Boghead etc. While Somerset has always had an "old" feeling I can't say I've ever felt anything was unsafe. Dumbarton and East Fife's grounds are the most awful examples of "new" I've been to. Completely soulless and uninteresting to me (sorry to Dumbarton and East Fife fans). I'm very excited for the redevelopment of the north side of the ground at Somerset and extremely happy that it will remain terraced (with some seats added behind) as that is where I tend to stand. We'll see what else is implemented down the line in the next couple of decades (if anything), but I think the plans for the North Terrace have made clear that terracing is here to stay. Hopefully any new builds (if there are any in the coming years other than Lesser Hampden) will feature terracing and allow viewing from all sides. Edited December 31, 2022 by AuAl 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.