On the subject of Derby matches …..

[Rufus Smalls]

Whilst we are on the subject of Derby matches, the first one I ever attended was the one on the day after Christmas Day 1979 (I still can’t pronounce its proper title) which basically sealed my resentment of Wednesday.

I’m guessing there are loads of Blades on this site that attended that morning and still remember the shit we had to put up with on the first Monday back at work in the New Year. I was a 16 year old apprentice in a training centre full of Blades and pigs.

This got me thinking that ………. the match was almost 45 years ago and many Blades who attended this Sunday will not even have been born back then. Also, my dad attended with me who is now a fit and relatively healthy 86 year old but doesn’t get to many matches now.

So, out of the say, 10,000 Blades in the Sty that day he must be one of the oldest still living. Any examples of older Blades still going strong who attended ‘that fucking match’ ?

 

[Silent Blade]

Whilst we are on the subject of Derby matches, the first one I ever attended was the one on the day after Christmas Day 1979 (I still can’t pronounce its proper title) which basically sealed my resentment of Wednesday.

I’m guessing there are loads of Blades on this site that attended that morning and still remember the shit we had to put up with on the first Monday back at work in the New Year. I was a 16 year old apprentice in a training centre full of Blades and pigs.

This got me thinking that ………. the match was almost 45 years ago and many Blades who attended this Sunday will not even have been born back then. Also, my dad attended with me who is now a fit and relatively healthy 86 year old but doesn’t get to many matches now.

So, out of the say, 10,000 Blades in the Sty that day he must be one of the oldest still living. Any examples of older Blades still going strong who attended ‘that fucking match’ ?

I stood in the Leppings Lane corner for that match . Got stick from the Wendy fans in the Cemetery Road Park in Dronfield when having a kickaround. I worked in Chesterfield at the time and, luckily for me, there werent many Wendy fans at my work but got stick from the Chesterfield fans on Monday 7th January because we had lost 2-1 to them (I wasnt at the Saltergate match on 5th January as I was playing football at Stocksbridge and I got stick from the Wendy fans from my team as we were waiting to be picked up at Fitzalan Square)

 

[Digs blade]

Was 8 years old and playing darts in my bedroom. Saw the lad from across the road coming back home with his blue and white scarf on and looking up at me with a huge grin on his face. That’s where my friendship with him ended

 

[Argentinemanager]

I was also in the leppings lane quarter, the bit thats now sealed off, went with both united and wednesday fans, never saw or had any trouble even on the walk back to chapeltown, at the time i wasnt going to many games as played on saturdays so only went to midweek games or bank hol games

 

[Silent Blade]

I was also in the leppings lane quarter, the bit thats now sealed off, went with both united and wednesday fans, never saw or had any trouble even on the walk back to chapeltown, at the time i wasnt going to many games as played on saturdays so only went to midweek games or bank hol games

Did you play in the Friendlies League at the time?

 

[ancientblade]

Whilst we are on the subject of Derby matches, the first one I ever attended was the one on the day after Christmas Day 1979 (I still can’t pronounce its proper title) which basically sealed my resentment of Wednesday.

I’m guessing there are loads of Blades on this site that attended that morning and still remember the shit we had to put up with on the first Monday back at work in the New Year. I was a 16 year old apprentice in a training centre full of Blades and pigs.

This got me thinking that ………. the match was almost 45 years ago and many Blades who attended this Sunday will not even have been born back then. Also, my dad attended with me who is now a fit and relatively healthy 86 year old but doesn’t get to many matches now.

So, out of the say, 10,000 Blades in the Sty that day he must be one of the oldest still living. Any examples of older Blades still going strong who attended ‘that fucking match’ ?

we had 15k on leppings lane that day and still say to this day we wouldnt have lost if the incident in the first half where we hit the crossbar and missed the sitter of a follow up had gone in state of the pitch and giraffe necks bully boy tactics did for us that boxing day was a nightmare the following monday at work at stanley tools woodside we got some right stick

 

[Eyeball]

Whilst we are on the subject of Derby matches, the first one I ever attended was the one on the day after Christmas Day 1979 (I still can’t pronounce its proper title) which basically sealed my resentment of Wednesday.

I’m guessing there are loads of Blades on this site that attended that morning and still remember the shit we had to put up with on the first Monday back at work in the New Year. I was a 16 year old apprentice in a training centre full of Blades and pigs.

This got me thinking that ………. the match was almost 45 years ago and many Blades who attended this Sunday will not even have been born back then. Also, my dad attended with me who is now a fit and relatively healthy 86 year old but doesn’t get to many matches now.

So, out of the say, 10,000 Blades in the Sty that day he must be one of the oldest still living. Any examples of older Blades still going strong who attended ‘that fucking match’ ?

Me
I’m 67

 

[Cheets]

I was 9 years old and in the Leppings Lane corner. I can remember hearing the ball thump against the bar when we were attacking that end. I remember Curran's diving header. Got stick from my Wendy supporting older brother when we got home and then when we got back to school in January I got stick from everyone, even Liverpool and Man U fans. I'd have to wait til I was 21 before we got our revenge.

 

[Bert]

Bert had the worst location of all on Boxing Day.
On their Kop with his best mate Big Guv (RIP) who was a Wednesdayite.

 

[Sheffsteel]

I was also in the leppings lane quarter, the bit thats now sealed off, went with both united and wednesday fans, never saw or had any trouble even on the walk back to chapeltown, at the time i wasnt going to many games as played on saturdays so only went to midweek games or bank hol games

I was 15 at the time, waited outside the Leppings Lane end asking fellow Blades if they had a spare ticket.
No luck, so me and my younger brother (also a Blade) went to the SWFC ticket office and asked for tickets on the Leppings Lane end.
We were told they'd all been sold, so we asked for anywhere in the ground and were told there was only the Kop available.

So we went on their Kop and couldn't even see the pitch, the gangways were totally packed too, didn't see any of the goals or the action.
I wasn't wearing any colours but I remember seeing another young Blade (also about 15 year old) right at the back of their Kop wearing a red, white and black scarf. He wasn't given any hassle, which shows the sign of the times back then, when fans mixed much more, altho it was still a little risky.

 

[Bradfordblade]

I was there in the Lepping Lanes end on that horrible day. It was absolutely packed. You literally couldn't move. I was htere with my girlfriend at the time and her Dad. Her Dad was a Wednesdayite and I had to spend the rest of the day with him. As I recall, Sabella got kicked out of the game and Speight was badly injured, I was at the retuen fixture at the Lane. Looked like we might scrape a win until Curran scored a worldie. Before that I remeber seeing them beatus 1-0 at the Lane in the 60s. Must have been about 1967. Then there was a game at the Lane when we beat them 3-2. We went 2 nil up ealry on and they got it back to 2-2. Tudor scored the winner at the Bramall Lane end. I have never really enjoyed the derbies, except when we went 4-2 up at Swillsborough and Brown's volley. Games are often very tense and there is so much at stake! Going back to the Boxing Day game: I felt then that the Leppings Lane end was unsafe. Sadly it turned out to be the case.

 

[Cheets]

we had 15k on leppings lane that day and still say to this day we wouldnt have lost if the incident in the first half where we hit the crossbar and missed the sitter of a follow up had gone in state of the pitch and giraffe necks bully boy tactics did for us that boxing day was a nightmare the following monday at work at stanley tools woodside we got some right stick

Jeff Bourne hit the bar and John MacPhail hit the follow-up straight at Bob Bolder. Mick Speight's injury didn't help either.

 

[Silent Blade]

. Before that I remeber seeing them beatus 1-0 at the Lane in the 60s. Must have been about 1967.

Yes, September 1967, Ritchie scored, A lot of fighting before the match.

Post in thread '1967-68 (55 years ago) match reports and photos'

Sep 2, 2022

2/9/1967

Blades 0 Wendy 1 (Ritchie)

The Morning Telegraph page that contained match reports and photos of the above game was missing from the microfilm reel at the archives so I had to get the reports from the Star which isnt as good.

Thanks to spongebobblade for the below photo

















Scores, scorers, line ups and league tables are in below link...

• Silent Blade

• 

 

[paulblade54]

Me
I’m 67

Me im 70

 

[Dkc]

I was on the Leppings Lane end that day. A lot of things about football have changed but 45 years on the hatred between the two sets of fans is as strong as ever.

 

[Blackheath Blade]

I was 19 years old at the time and also on their kop for the game, along with my older brother and two mates. Cant recall how we got our tickets but we knew we'd have to behave ourselves to avoid any trouble.
It was like a fuckin bear pit that day. We'd gone into the game as favourites but Jack Charlton had his team utterly pumped up and prepared to brawl and maim their way to a victory.
Afterwards all of us headed back to The Commercial Hotel on Weedon Street where all the Wednesdayites (including my dad) had arranged a "welcome party" for us.
Since then, I've always hoped that we'd somehow get a four nil win against those fuckers to put that day to bed.

 

[Dkc]

I was 19 years old at the time and also on their kop for the game, along with my older brother and two mates. Cant recall how we got our tickets but we knew we'd have to behave ourselves to avoid any trouble.
It was like a fuckin bear pit that day. We'd gone into the game as favourites but Jack Charlton had his team utterly pumped up and prepared to brawl and maim their way to a victory.
Afterwards all of us headed back to The Commercial Hotel on Weedon Street where all the Wednesdayites (including my dad) had arranged a "welcome party" for us.
Since then, I've always hoped that we'd somehow get a four nil win against those fuckers to put that day to bed.

The 4-0 was their revenge for us beating them 7-3. Honours became even on that day.

 

[Blackheath Blade]

Did you play in the Friendlies League at the time?

I played in that league Silent. Late 70's/ early 80s.

 

[Silent Blade]

I played in that league Silent. Late 70's/ early 80s.

I played in the 3rd division. You played for Wincobank and Blackburn?

 

[itsinyerblood]

Me im 70

Me I'm 72, just saying.

 

[Speedracer]

Bert had the worst location of all on Boxing Day.
On their Kop with his best mate Big Guv (RIP) who was a Wednesdayite.

I was also on their Kop that day. I was 18 & playing for Hallam so couldn't get a ticket for our end, so my Wendy mate got me one & I went with him.
I remember being absolutely furious at what I was watching & the chants & comments around me riled me up even more, & rather stupidly unzipped my coat to reveal my red & white scarf underneath & turned to give those behind me a volley or two. Fortunately no-one said a thing & I lived to tell the tale!

 

[Paul1963]

I was on the Leppings Lane corner,went with a blades supporting friend from school,her watch stopped just as the teams came out and never worked again

 

[XH536]

Whilst we are on the subject of Derby matches, the first one I ever attended was the one on the day after Christmas Day 1979 (I still can’t pronounce its proper title) which basically sealed my resentment of Wednesday.

I’m guessing there are loads of Blades on this site that attended that morning and still remember the shit we had to put up with on the first Monday back at work in the New Year. I was a 16 year old apprentice in a training centre full of Blades and pigs.

This got me thinking that ………. the match was almost 45 years ago and many Blades who attended this Sunday will not even have been born back then. Also, my dad attended with me who is now a fit and relatively healthy 86 year old but doesn’t get to many matches now.

So, out of the say, 10,000 Blades in the Sty that day he must be one of the oldest still living. Any examples of older Blades still going strong who attended ‘that fucking match’ ?

"Why bring that up".
God horrendous experience.
Not the game, if you play that bad and have no luck, yeh expect to be trounced.
The bloody stand, (bottom half, standing then), dangerous and badly stewarded, as sadly it eventually proved.
Should have been flattened, redesigned and rebuilt by SWFC after the sad f.a.c semi final.
Forgot to say I'm 82

 

[Keen Blade]

Whilst we are on the subject of Derby matches, the first one I ever attended was the one on the day after Christmas Day 1979 (I still can’t pronounce its proper title) which basically sealed my resentment of Wednesday.

I’m guessing there are loads of Blades on this site that attended that morning and still remember the shit we had to put up with on the first Monday back at work in the New Year. I was a 16 year old apprentice in a training centre full of Blades and pigs.

This got me thinking that ………. the match was almost 45 years ago and many Blades who attended this Sunday will not even have been born back then. Also, my dad attended with me who is now a fit and relatively healthy 86 year old but doesn’t get to many matches now.

So, out of the say, 10,000 Blades in the Sty that day he must be one of the oldest still living. Any examples of older Blades still going strong who attended ‘that fucking match’ ?

10k Blades in the sty ?
No chance. We were near top of the league if not actually top.
From memory there were 49k that day , a record for a 3rd Division/ L1 match which will never be beaten.
Those days there was no segregation bollox or fuckin about with tickets in advance unless a game was designated "all ticket" and even then you rolled up and bought a ticket wherever you wanted.
I was in a big group of 12 mates of which half were pigs and half Blades in the North Stand.
I would say 25k pigs & 24k Blades.

Modern derbies are shit with just 3k away fans - old time derbies were real events.

 

[Keen Blade]

I was on the Leppings Lane corner,went with a blades supporting friend from school,her watch stopped just as the teams came out and never worked again

Spooky

 

[LSF]

Bert had the worst location of all on Boxing Day.
On their Kop with his best mate Big Guv (RIP) who was a Wednesdayite.

I too Bert was on their Kop with my Wednesdayite brother in law who made it fairly obvious I was a Blade every time they scored, which was how many times?? (I've erased it from my memory).

Still emotionally scarred to this day .

 

[Blade56]

I was a 16 year old apprentice in a training centre full of Blades and pigs.

Were you by chance at the EITB on Peter Street?

I was at that game. My Brother in Law who never goes to games rang me on our newly installed telephone (my mums pride and joy, love ya mum ) just to sing 4-nil.

Amazed me reading piggy’s comments that it’s still a thing with them, they even have an acronym for it, BDM. Best bit is I’m guess less than 10% of those fans on Sunday were born let alone went to that game, is that the highlight of being a pig supporter?

 

[Brookblade]

Yes I was there, unfortunately. I was16 year's old and still at school at the time. Went with my Dad, sadly no longer with us

 

[Paisley Blade]

10k Blades in the sty ?
No chance. We were near top of the league if not actually top.
From memory there were 49k that day , a record for a 3rd Division/ L1 match which will never be beaten.
Those days there was no segregation bollox or fuckin about with tickets in advance unless a game was designated "all ticket" and even then you rolled up and bought a ticket wherever you wanted.
I was in a big group of 12 mates of which half were pigs and half Blades in the North Stand.
I would say 25k pigs & 24k Blades.

Modern derbies are shit with just 3k away fans - old time derbies were real events.

I was in the North stand with my Granddad and Dad (RIPs). It was very much 50/50 in the end towards LL
Going back to school on Parson Cross after the holidays wasn’t a walk in the park.

 

[John Street West Terrace]

Whilst we are on the subject of Derby matches, the first one I ever attended was the one on the day after Christmas Day 1979 (I still can’t pronounce its proper title) which basically sealed my resentment of Wednesday.

I’m guessing there are loads of Blades on this site that attended that morning and still remember the shit we had to put up with on the first Monday back at work in the New Year. I was a 16 year old apprentice in a training centre full of Blades and pigs.

This got me thinking that ………. the match was almost 45 years ago and many Blades who attended this Sunday will not even have been born back then. Also, my dad attended with me who is now a fit and relatively healthy 86 year old but doesn’t get to many matches now.

So, out of the say, 10,000 Blades in the Sty that day he must be one of the oldest still living. Any examples of older Blades still going strong who attended ‘that fucking match’ ?

That was my first Derby to & remember it vividly sadly , I was in there South Stand with my brother as we couldn’t get tickets for the Leppings Lane , as an 11 year old it was only 2nd away game the first been at Millmoor when we won 2-1 and the wall came down . Yep & it’s safe to say my hatred for the blue & white c**ts was engrained from thst day forward .
PS a lot more than 10k Blades there that day