24-09-2020, 16:32
1st game was Leicester 6-2 in '58 (I think it was 1/6d for kids, and we walked the 1/2 mile or so from Handsworth). We trailed Dingles for the Title, but ended up 4th. I was too young (8) to appreciate that Team, but we had Howe, Barlow, Kevan, Robson, and everyone's favourite Ronnie Allen, as England Internationals.
We moved to Solihull soon after, but got 2 buses to watch most Home games. Most memorable was Spurs Boxing Day '63. Spurs were THE team at the time (Greaves, Blanchflower, Mackay, etc), and we came back from 2-4 to draw 4-4.
I was a Brummie Roader on the 1st day in '64, singing songs about Astle, Hope, Kaye, Clark, and Bomber. Then, when I started Work I followed them Away as well on the Throstle Club Coach, hardly missing a game in '68.
And the Cup Final - if not the best - was certainly the most memorable, especially as we took over the West End that night. A good 50 Albion coaches left Hyde Park Corner at Midnight and the singing and dancing up Oxford Street was a lifetime highlight!
The League Cup Final 2nd Leg 2 years earlier wasn't bad either!! 1-2 down from 1st Leg we smashed West Ham 4-1 in the Home Leg and you could probably have heard the singing back in Handsworth. The football played in that era was just awesome - I think Pulis would have struggled to remould that Team to his own style.
I started playing Saturdays (as well as Sundays) in the mid-70s after losing faith under Don Howe's management, but I'd go to the evening games. Valencia (as Drewks mentioned) was a favourite, when the best Brummie Road song got sung:
We queued for best part of an hour because of a Ground Admission problem at the Brummie Road (whether or not a carful of Ticket Staff had got held up in the traffic, I don't know. But the BRE had just 1 Entrance Gate working, and the crowd were swaying all over the Road, kept in check by 4 Police Horses). Just as we were getting really restless and agitated, someone started this song going:-
"One Turnstile Open,
There's Only One Turnstile Open".....
even the coppers pissed themselves
Best match since then for atmosphere and jubilation, I thought, was beating Palace to get Promotion in 2002.
I don't get to many games now (avge 4 per season since I gave up my East Stand S/T 9 years ago to move to Cornwall) but I love every minute of the Games I get to.
Favourite all-time players: General, Bomber, Mulumbu, Zolly
We moved to Solihull soon after, but got 2 buses to watch most Home games. Most memorable was Spurs Boxing Day '63. Spurs were THE team at the time (Greaves, Blanchflower, Mackay, etc), and we came back from 2-4 to draw 4-4.
I was a Brummie Roader on the 1st day in '64, singing songs about Astle, Hope, Kaye, Clark, and Bomber. Then, when I started Work I followed them Away as well on the Throstle Club Coach, hardly missing a game in '68.
And the Cup Final - if not the best - was certainly the most memorable, especially as we took over the West End that night. A good 50 Albion coaches left Hyde Park Corner at Midnight and the singing and dancing up Oxford Street was a lifetime highlight!
The League Cup Final 2nd Leg 2 years earlier wasn't bad either!! 1-2 down from 1st Leg we smashed West Ham 4-1 in the Home Leg and you could probably have heard the singing back in Handsworth. The football played in that era was just awesome - I think Pulis would have struggled to remould that Team to his own style.
I started playing Saturdays (as well as Sundays) in the mid-70s after losing faith under Don Howe's management, but I'd go to the evening games. Valencia (as Drewks mentioned) was a favourite, when the best Brummie Road song got sung:
We queued for best part of an hour because of a Ground Admission problem at the Brummie Road (whether or not a carful of Ticket Staff had got held up in the traffic, I don't know. But the BRE had just 1 Entrance Gate working, and the crowd were swaying all over the Road, kept in check by 4 Police Horses). Just as we were getting really restless and agitated, someone started this song going:-
"One Turnstile Open,
There's Only One Turnstile Open".....
even the coppers pissed themselves
Best match since then for atmosphere and jubilation, I thought, was beating Palace to get Promotion in 2002.
I don't get to many games now (avge 4 per season since I gave up my East Stand S/T 9 years ago to move to Cornwall) but I love every minute of the Games I get to.
Favourite all-time players: General, Bomber, Mulumbu, Zolly
Start every day off with a smile and get it over with