broomhillblade
On the move
Since there's not a lot happening at the moment, here's something I wrote 15 years ago:
I was ushered to the front of the steps at the Bramall Lane end of the ground and saw the match peering between the railings, along with many other boys of a similar age. Dads stood a few rows behind, keeping a fatherly eye on their charges. There was no segregation of fans in those days, but youngsters were always looked after.
I was hooked, and from then on we went to Bramall Lane every Saturday to watch the first team one week and the reserves the next.
Of that season, one match stands out - my first Christmas Day game. The opponents on 25th December 1948 were Bolton Wanderers and we had to walk to the ground since the trams weren’t running. Most spectators did the same, since few owned cars in those days, but even so, nearly 40,000 packed into the ground. As we entered the hallowed terraces a brass band was playing Christmas carols. Everyone was in festive mood and everywhere were the sight and smells of recently unwrapped Christmas presents – new leather gloves, scarves, slim Mannikin cigars, and the occasional hipflask of something strong being passed around among friends.
I think the teams kicked off at 11.00am. I forget if the pitch was muddy or frozen, but there would have been very little grass on it by that time in the season. Bolton went ahead in the first half but the Blades’ winger, George Jones, levelled the scores in the second. Afterwards we walked home again. Never did a Christmas dinner taste so good!
Christmas matches had been a feature of football since its early days. In Sheffield United’s first season they played no fewer than six games (mostly friendlies) in an eight-day period from 21st to 28th December 1889. Remarkably, the records show that several players took part in all of them!
Throughout the 1920s and 30s Christmas Day and Boxing Day matches were a popular feature and the pattern of playing the same team, home and away, on successive days (unless a Sunday intervened) was established. Crowds of 30,000-plus became the norm at Bramall Lane for these games (the game against Arsenal on 25th December 1931 drew a crowd of 49,737).
The Blades played their last Christmas Day match, away against Grimsby Town, in 1958. From then on, the main focus switched to Boxing Day, with the return game being played two days’ later, although back-to-back games were scheduled occasionally, right up to 1969.
Today, when managers and players complain about “too much football” one can imagine the old-timers responding with “you don’t know you’re born”.
However, the Christmas spirit lives on unabated in the Boxing Day matches. New gloves and scarves have been replaced by replica kits, and maybe the latest piece of electronic technology, but youngsters today are probably no less excited than I was on that magical Christmas morning, 58 years ago.
My first Christmas match
It was during the 1948-49 season, around my 9th birthday, that I became a Blade. My dad felt it was time to introduce me to the bitter-sweet joys of being a Sheffield United supporter. I remember he told me I would be seeing the “finest inside forward in the country”. That was Jimmy Hagan, of course.I was ushered to the front of the steps at the Bramall Lane end of the ground and saw the match peering between the railings, along with many other boys of a similar age. Dads stood a few rows behind, keeping a fatherly eye on their charges. There was no segregation of fans in those days, but youngsters were always looked after.
I was hooked, and from then on we went to Bramall Lane every Saturday to watch the first team one week and the reserves the next.
Of that season, one match stands out - my first Christmas Day game. The opponents on 25th December 1948 were Bolton Wanderers and we had to walk to the ground since the trams weren’t running. Most spectators did the same, since few owned cars in those days, but even so, nearly 40,000 packed into the ground. As we entered the hallowed terraces a brass band was playing Christmas carols. Everyone was in festive mood and everywhere were the sight and smells of recently unwrapped Christmas presents – new leather gloves, scarves, slim Mannikin cigars, and the occasional hipflask of something strong being passed around among friends.
I think the teams kicked off at 11.00am. I forget if the pitch was muddy or frozen, but there would have been very little grass on it by that time in the season. Bolton went ahead in the first half but the Blades’ winger, George Jones, levelled the scores in the second. Afterwards we walked home again. Never did a Christmas dinner taste so good!
Christmas matches had been a feature of football since its early days. In Sheffield United’s first season they played no fewer than six games (mostly friendlies) in an eight-day period from 21st to 28th December 1889. Remarkably, the records show that several players took part in all of them!
Throughout the 1920s and 30s Christmas Day and Boxing Day matches were a popular feature and the pattern of playing the same team, home and away, on successive days (unless a Sunday intervened) was established. Crowds of 30,000-plus became the norm at Bramall Lane for these games (the game against Arsenal on 25th December 1931 drew a crowd of 49,737).
The Blades played their last Christmas Day match, away against Grimsby Town, in 1958. From then on, the main focus switched to Boxing Day, with the return game being played two days’ later, although back-to-back games were scheduled occasionally, right up to 1969.
Today, when managers and players complain about “too much football” one can imagine the old-timers responding with “you don’t know you’re born”.
However, the Christmas spirit lives on unabated in the Boxing Day matches. New gloves and scarves have been replaced by replica kits, and maybe the latest piece of electronic technology, but youngsters today are probably no less excited than I was on that magical Christmas morning, 58 years ago.
