50 years ago today

[Pedro Verde]

Me too. Can you believe the school let us have the afternoon off to go. (Can't remember if we actually got free tickets).
I too was disappointed with Pele, but the Santos no.9 , Edu , was outstanding.

I was at school at the time and they let the Pigs at our school have the afternoon off
We played West Ham soon after in an afternoon kick off but were not allowed time off
I had to do detention for going. The excuse was the Pigs could go and see Pele, I told school I wanted to see Bobby Moore

best individual display ive ever seen was beckenbaur for west germany in world cup group game at swillsbro 66 hes was unbelievable and ran the game

I went to that game as a 9 year old West Germany v Switzerland
I too at that early age was mightily impressed with an 18 year old Beckenbauer he became my favourite player
apart from Blades players. I was also impressed with a Swiss player that played in that game Heinz Bani

 

[Karaoke Blade]

I was at school at the time and they let the Pigs at our school have the afternoon off
We played West Ham soon after in an afternoon kick off but were not allowed time off
I had to do detention for going. The excuse was the Pigs could go and see Pele, I told school I wanted to see Bobby Moore.

Think that would be classed as a human rights violation these days!

 

[ancientblade]

I was at school at the time and they let the Pigs at our school have the afternoon off
We played West Ham soon after in an afternoon kick off but were not allowed time off
I had to do detention for going. The excuse was the Pigs could go and see Pele, I told school I wanted to see Bobby Moore



I went to that game as a 9 year old West Germany v Switzerland
I too at that early age was mightily impressed with an 18 year old Beckenbauer he became my favourite player
apart from Blades players. I was also impressed with a Swiss player that played in that game Heinz Bani

yeah thousands of swiss fans at that game most in the north stand with their little red flags hop swiss hop swiss lol

 

[Isaw Joeshaw]

27/2/1971

Carlisle 1 (Owen) Blades 0

Again, my dad didnt trust his car for the long trip to Carlisle so we went to watch Wendy beat Bristol City 2-0 (Mick Prendergast scored both goals). We were stood in the Leppings Lane end and my dad was chatting with a friendly family from Bristol, the two daughters were both good looking and had a lovely smile but they were about 6 to 8 years older than me!

During half time I was looking towards the Kop end to see the half time scores on the electronic scoreboard and up came "Carlisle United 1 Sheffield United 0". I was thinking there is time for us to equalise and maybe score the winner . When the final whistle sounded at S6, a Wendy fan (think he might be from Dronfield) came up to have a chat with my dad as they knew each other, I kept my eye on the electronic scoreboard but up came "Carlisle United 1 Sheffield United 0". My heart sank and then I noticed that the Wendy fan (who was talking to my dad) pointing at me and going "Ha ha ha". What a twat!

During the season we have had three legendary ex-players reporting on our matches. Albert Stubbins, Sam Bartram and now Len Shackleton!

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Me and my mates went to the Carlisle match and had a thoroughly miserable day out .

Cold grey day in that bleak , exposed dump of a ground followed by a 3 and a half hour journey back home after a defeat . We voted it one of our worst ever trips .

 

[Pedro Verde]

yeah thousands of swiss fans at that game most in the north stand with their little red flags hop swiss hop swiss lol

I mostly remember the Cow Bells

 

[Silent Blade]

8/3/1971

The first Joe Frazier v Muhammad Ali fight. Frazier won despite that Ali lasted 15 rounds after having had his jaw broken by a punch early in the fight. My dad was interested in boxing so I was interested in what was dubbed at the time "Fight of the Century". I was nearly 9 at the time and I never thought anyone (except for women getting married) would change their name. For a while I thought Muhammad Ali and Cassius Clay were different boxers that looked very much like each other!

 

[Silent Blade]

There was a lot of excitement in the build up to the match. I remember seeing Hodgy being interviewed to talk about the match on either Calendar or Look North just before my dad and I set off for the Lane.

The official attendance for the match was 40,227, which was the highest Lane attendance since Wendy came over in February 1967, and there were plenty of spectators watching from the pavilion end, I was thinking that they must have brought their pair of binoculars so that they could see the match better.

There was still a bit of daylight at kick off time (UK were in BST hours throughout from March 1968 until October 1971) and early in the game Eddie Colquhoun tried to head a Hull long ball to John Hope but had not expected Hope to be too near him and the ball went over the keeper but Len Badger was alert enough to kick the ball away from our goal. It was quite noticeable that both teams were very robust in tackling with Knighton, Neill, Baxter (just signed from Ipswich) and Simpkin being the ones from Hull and some of our players especially Colquhoun, Hockey and TC giving it some back. It was Reece who scored first at the Kop End



The rough stuff didnt really stop after the goal, not long before half time, the ref blew his whistle and to the crowd's surprise, he called over players from both teams to the centre circle (photo below) warning them he could abandon the game if the rough stuff didnt stop.



The tackles were still flying in the 2nd half but not as bad as in the 1st. Hull's Chris Simpkin equalised with a stunning shot from outside the box that went in off the post. Ken Wagstaff (him again!) scored the winner and it looked like that our promotion chances took a nosedive. I can still remember the hurt after the final whistle.








From the match programme

 

[Silent Blade]

 

[Isaw Joeshaw]

This match stands out in my mind as being easily the dirtiest performance by an away team I ever saw .

A number of tackles early in the game , notably by Wagstaff and Simpkin on Woodward and Hockey , were clearly intended to cause serious physical damage rather than any attempt to win the ball and they weren’t the only ones.

If the referee had done his job at that stage , what ensued would never have happened but he didn’t which led to him later calling the teams together and asking them if they could please stop kicking lumps out of each other - pathetic .

That experience , coupled with being stoned by their fans in a later match at Boothferry Park , makes Hull City one of the few clubs I have ever actively hated , other than the two more obvious candidates .

 

[ancientblade]

This match stands out in my mind as being easily the dirtiest performance by an away team I ever saw .

A number of tackles early in the game , notably by Wagstaff and Simpkin on Woodward and Hockey , were clearly intended to cause serious physical damage rather than any attempt to win the ball and they weren’t the only ones.

If the referee had done his job at that stage , what ensued would never have happened but he didn’t which led to him later calling the teams together and asking them if they could please stop kicking lumps out of each other - pathetic .

That experience , coupled with being stoned by their fans in a later match at Boothferry Park , makes Hull City one of the few clubs I have ever actively hated , other than the two more obvious candidates .

yeah brutal game pretty sure if it had been played today it would have ended 8 a side although hull came with a plan to boot united players all over the lane especially piggy to be knighton think most united fans thought we had blown it that night

 

[Deaneandagana]

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My first ever game, sat in the BLUT under the lights, 40k crowd, a starry eyed 7 year old - I was instantly smitten.

Can still recall the ref lecturing all 22 players in the centre circle - never seen it since.

 

[Bert]

Bert's abiding memory is looking at the Terrace from the Kop and seeing it absolutely packed. Waves of fans surging forward every few minutes.
It can't have ever been fuller.

 

[HodgysBrokenThumb]

I had forgotten the Carlisle game the week before, and always thought of the Hull game as a typical ‘After the Lord Mayor’s show’ event (big crowd, floodlights, vital game, all goes wrong). Strange coincidence that 10 years before we had a similarly worrying home defeat to promotion rivals, and with Baxter playing for Ipswich in 1961 and Hull in 1971. But ‘all’s well that...’

 

[bornablade]

In the modern era Gary Sinclair (stadium announcer) refuses to use the name of our rivals over in S6.

The article about David Ford manages to do exactly the same.

 

[ConisbroTel]

I was only 16 at the time and watched from the upper corner of the kop, near where the Pukka Pies corner is now. I vaguely remember the Hull violence starting in the pre-match warm up when Knighton kicked TC.

 

[Karaoke Blade]

Attended the match with my old man. We sat in the John Street stand, which was unusual as we usually stood on the Lower Bramall Lane End. There was no segregation in those days but I expect the big crowd probably put him off.
I couldn't believe how dirty the Hull players were, notably Knighton and Simpkins. Their tactics certainly unsettled the Blades and our unbeaten home record was lost. I later found out that this was the only game that season that 'Rose Garden' by Lyn Anderson wasn't played before the match. Perhaps we should resurrect it!

 

[Silent Blade]

10/3/1971

Leicester beat Wendy 1-0 and we slipped into 4th place. Another blow to our promotion chances. Any Blade cheering at Wendy's loss that night would be someone who doesnt understand the league table!



Cardiff beat Real Madrid in the 1st leg of the Cup Winners Cup quarter finals that night. I dont think I watched it on Sportsnight.

 

[The Vicar]

9/2/1970. My first night match in memory. My dad told me that he took me to watch Spain v Switzerland World Cup match at S6 in 1966. I think the match was played in the evening as it was played on Friday. I have no recollection of the World Cup match as I was only 4 years old. Now back to the Monday night fixture between the Blades and Swindon at BDTBL... I remember my dad pointing out Don Rogers' name on the back of the match programme and telling me that he is a really good player. I think he explained to me that Don scored 2 goals in Swindon's 3-1 win against Arsenal in the previous season's League Cup final. I dont think I was really aware that there is another domestic cup competition.

The only goal I could remember that night in the 2-1 defeat was Len Badger's equaliser at the Lane End. I am sure his shot caused a hole in the side netting and there was a delay in restarting the match as the ground staff repaired the netting

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This was also the first game that I ever remember being taken to.

I particularly remember the names Trollope & Horsfield! Small world!

 

[The Vicar]

Slightly off topic

49 years ago today. February 23rd 1972. Pele playing at Hillsborough.

Today. February 23rd 2021. Netflix release new Pele film.

I was there! Not sure why school gave us the afternoon off though! Maybe it was a school trip?

 

[Silent Blade]

13/3/1971

QPR 2 (Marsh 2) Blades 2 (Woodward, Hemsley pen)

After the heartbreaking home defeat to Hull 4 days earlier, my dad didnt fancy a trip to West London so we went to the Lane to watch our reserves beat Blackburn 5-2



Interesting that future Blade David Bradford played in the reserves match. I remember keeping my eyes at the Cricket Pavilion scoreboard for score updates on our match at QPR more than remembering any of the 7 goals in the reserves match.

About 20 minutes of play my dad heard from the spectators that our star defender, David Powell got carried off at Loftus Road and then passed the info to me. Not long after that we could see from the scoreboard that QPR were leading by a goal. During half time my dad then overheard more disturbing news and then told me "Powell has been taken to hospital!" Horrible news! Midway in the 2nd half it was revealed on the scoreboard that QPR added another goal. I was thinking "Three defeats in a row!" and our promotion chances were getting more remote.

After the final whistle at the Lane, before I made for the exits, I looked at the scoreboard for one more time and it was still 2-0. My dad and I then were about to turn left after leaving the exit on John Street and then all of a sudden there were excited shouts and confusion on the pavements so my dad and I rushed back towards the John Street Terraces, on the way I saw a tall man with tache at the exit raising both hands signalling "2-2", I was praying that he wasnt joking and then when I saw the 2-2 at the cricket pavilion scoreboard , it was a big swing from despair to joy and it was the same for others who had rushed back into the ground like my dad and I did! Sadly, it was Dave Powell's last 1st team match for us. I am quite sure he would have been a star defender for us in the 1st division if it wasnt for his injury. He moved to Cardiff City during the 1972-73 season and made 36 first team games for them in two seasons before retiring through injury. He was one of the policemen at match duty when we won 2-0 at Ninian Park in October 1976 (Simon Stainrod scored both goals, Gary Hamson's debut).

I dont remember being aware of Hull's surprise home defeat to Oxford.

 

[bornablade]

13/3/1971

QPR 2 (Marsh 2) Blades 2 (Woodward, Hemsley pen)

After the heartbreaking home defeat to Hull 4 days earlier, my dad didnt fancy a trip to West London so we went to the Lane to watch our reserves beat Blackburn 5-2

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Interesting that future Blade David Bradford played in the reserves match. I remember keeping my eyes at the Cricket Pavilion scoreboard for score updates on our match at QPR more than remembering any of the 7 goals in the reserves match.

About 20 minutes of play my dad heard from the spectators that our star defender, David Powell got carried off at Loftus Road and then passed the info to me. Not long after that we could see from the scoreboard that QPR were leading by a goal. During half time my dad then overheard more disturbing news and then told me "Powell has been taken to hospital!" Horrible news! Midway in the 2nd half it was revealed on the scoreboard that QPR added another goal. I was thinking "Three defeats in a row!" and our promotion chances were getting more remote.

After the final whistle at the Lane, before I made for the exits, I looked at the scoreboard for one more time and it was still 2-0. My dad and I then were about to turn left after leaving the exit on John Street and then all of a sudden there were excited shouts and confusion on the pavements so my dad and I rushed back towards the John Street Terraces, on the way I saw a tall man with tache at the exit raising both hands signalling "2-2", I was praying that he wasnt joking and then when I saw the 2-2 at the cricket pavilion scoreboard , it was a big swing from despair to joy and it was the same for others who had rushed back into the ground like my dad and I did! Sadly, it was Dave Powell's last 1st team match for us. I am quite sure he would have been a star defender for us in the 1st division if it wasnt for his injury. He moved to Cardiff City during the 1972-73 season and made 36 first team games for them in two seasons before retiring through injury. He was one of the policemen at match duty when we won 2-0 at Ninian Park in October 1976 (Simon Stainrod scored both goals, Gary Hamson's debut).

I dont remember being aware of Hull's surprise home defeat to Oxford.

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I remember being at that reserve match.

That Ted penalty would show its true significance in your next weeks installment Silent.

 

[XM657]

8/3/1971

The first Joe Frazier v Muhammad Ali fight. Frazier won despite that Ali lasted 15 rounds after having had his jaw broken by a punch early in the fight. My dad was interested in boxing so I was interested in what was dubbed at the time "Fight of the Century". I was nearly 9 at the time and I never thought anyone (except for women getting married) would change their name. For a while I thought Muhammad Ali and Cassius Clay were different boxers that looked very much like each other!

Silent ,what a great admission, about changing names and clay and ali being different boxers.
It's so true, I empathised straight away having thought on similar lines, although different subjects, on many an occasion when a kid.
Lack of information and an understandable lack of how the world really works, is the reason, soon to be put right by experience.

 

[Silent Blade]

I remember being at that reserve match.

That Ted penalty would show its true significance in your next weeks installment Silent.

Did you leave the ground after the final whistle thinking the 1st team lost ?

 

[Silent Blade]

Marsh's free kick goal to put QPR 2 up

 

[bornablade]

Did you leave the ground after the final whistle thinking the 1st team lost ?

No, pretty sure I stayed in to see the final result.

There often was a telephone ringing in the press box in the John Street stand just before the guy in the Pavilion came out with the 15 minute update.

It was never officially confirmed but the opinion was this was when someone had scored in the away match.

 

[DifferentClass]

Silent ,what a great admission, about changing names and clay and ali being different boxers.
It's so true, I empathised straight away having thought on similar lines, although different subjects, on many an occasion when a kid.
Lack of information and an understandable lack of how the world really works, is the reason, soon to be put right by experience.

Has any footballer changed their name while playing? The only one I can think of is Ian Moore (Ronnie's son) adding his wife's name to become Ian Thomas-Moore.

 

[Silent Blade]

Has any footballer changed their name while playing? The only one I can think of is Ian Moore (Ronnie's son) adding his wife's name to become Ian Thomas-Moore.

Ryan Wilson/Giggs

 

[Dnblade]

Has any footballer changed their name while playing? The only one I can think of is Ian Moore (Ronnie's son) adding his wife's name to become Ian Thomas-Moore.

I think Ian Storey Moore dropped the Storey to become Ian Moore aswell.

 

[ancientblade]

I remember being at that reserve match.

That Ted penalty would show its true significance in your next weeks installment Silent.

not certain but got a feeling i was at that reserve match as well the 5 - 2 scoreline rings a bell we used to get quite good attendances in those days for reserve games terrace was always quite full

 

[Silent Blade]

6/2/1971

Blades 2 (Woodward 2) Luton 1 (Jimmy Ryan)

I was expecting to watch the match from the BLUT but ended up watching the match from the John Street Stand West Wing (which was closed for safety reasons a few years later). The West wing is on the left of the below photo and it probably had the worst seats in the ground. Think all the seats in the BLUT were taken up by the time my dad and I arrived at the ground so we went to the JSS instead. I think we may have missed the kick off as I do not remember much about the 1st half.

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1st half action

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Early in the second half Woody ran in front of Chris Nicholl to meet Reece's cross to put us into the lead. On the YTV highlights in the next day the camera was unable to show Woody's first goal because for some reason the camera went out of focus as it swung to the left just after Reece crossed the ball and then when it was panned back to the goal at the Lane end, the ball was already in the net

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The 2nd goal was spectacular as I was right in line behind the corner Woody took, after he crossed the ball, my eyes were were focused on the ball and the goalmouth action and TC crossed the ball from the left, I hadnt really expected Woody to sprint towards the goalmouth and volleying in TC's cross. This time the TV camera had footage of the 2nd goal (4 mins 33 secs in below video)



Jimmy Ryan pulled back a goal for Luton, and then we had a great chance to go 3-1 up after Woody got tripped in the box after a solo run

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I wasnt aware of John Hope looking away from watching TC's spot kick until I saw the below photo in the next match's programme.

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TC was our penalty taker at the time but crashed his effort against the bar and the Luton players managed to clear away the rebound.

Some years later my dad recalled that Luton's Malcolm MacDonald was blabbing out in the papers early in the week saying that he found it easy to score against the 2nd division centre halves. Throughout the match Eddie Colquhoun had MacDonald in his pocket. After the final whistle Eddie sarcastically slow hand clapped MacDonald off the pitch and many in the crowd loved it!

We reached the top spot for the first time in the season!

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Screaming TC!


Supermac in Eddie's pocket!