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Post by kevkj on Jan 7, 2024 22:56:02 GMT
I know the capacity when it closed was 9500 but does anyone know the capacity in.the 50s and 60s.
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Post by senojbor on Jan 7, 2024 23:06:12 GMT
I know the capacity when it closed was 9500 but does anyone know the capacity in.the 50s and 60s. They would just let people in until they closed the gates when they thought the ground was full so it's hard to know. We played Man U IN 1972 In a QF FA cup game and there was 49,192. Perhaps 15,000, it was jam packed and we won 2-1 |
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Post by suck_the_mop. on Jan 7, 2024 23:06:49 GMT
I know the capacity when it closed was 9500 but does anyone know the capacity in.the 50s and 60s. As many as they could get on no real health and safety or counting numbers in them days, I've seen 49 plus thousand in the vic in the 70s so i would say the boothen held at least 15-18 thousand back then. |
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Post by suck_the_mop. on Jan 7, 2024 23:07:29 GMT
I know the capacity when it closed was 9500 but does anyone know the capacity in.the 50s and 60s. They would just let people in until they closed the gates when they thought the ground was full so it's hard to know. We played Man U IN 1972 In a QF FA cup game and there was 49,192. Perhaps 15,000, it was jam packed and we won 2-1 Beat me to it mate.. |
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Post by senojbor on Jan 7, 2024 23:09:43 GMT
They would just let people in until they closed the gates when they thought the ground was full so it's hard to know. We played Man U IN 1972 In a QF FA cup game and there was 49,192. Perhaps 15,000, it was jam packed and we won 2-1 Beat me to it mate.. Couldn't remember the date, had to look it up. Long time ago, I was 16 |
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Post by andystokey on Jan 7, 2024 23:10:32 GMT
I know the capacity when it closed was 9500 but does anyone know the capacity in.the 50s and 60s. They would just let people in until they closed the gates when they thought the ground was full so it's hard to know. We played Man U IN 1972 In a QF FA cup game and there was 49,192. Perhaps 15,000, it was jam packed and we won 2-1 Man U used to cover the old Stoke End bank. There was definitely no limit there either. |
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Post by Robo10 on Jan 7, 2024 23:20:51 GMT
I'm a whippersnapper compared to some of you guys, but I can remember as a teen the Coventry cup 5th round 1987 (34k?) and there was no room in the Boothen, the first Vale derby 1988 was heaving too
Cant imagine 50k+ in the owd duck, even with the old Stoke end terrace
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Post by JoeinOz on Jan 7, 2024 23:28:23 GMT
It was always full. It was always noisy. It was always rocking.
Honest.
😉
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Post by suck_the_mop. on Jan 7, 2024 23:30:32 GMT
I'm a whippersnapper compared to some of you guys, but I can remember as a teen the Coventry cup 5th round 1987 (34k?) and there was no room in the Boothen, the first Vale derby 1988 was heaving too Cant imagine 50k+ in the owd duck, even with the old Stoke end terrace 31.000 i think for the Coventry cip tie and the vale derby in 88 stoke fans used to use stoke end terrace i used have a season ticket in there away fans used to be up the side of butler and seats in corner i think but they gave vale all stoke end for that and told us our tickets would be valid for boothen, so turned up and they wouldn't let us in boothen at first as they said we had stoke end tickets right confusion until eventually a senior steward tolt the turnstile operators to let people in with stoke end season tickets whether they were counted is anyones guess as like you say it was rammed that day. |
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Post by Scouse on Jan 7, 2024 23:31:30 GMT
It was always full. It was always noisy. It was always rocking. Honest. 😉 🤣 Been on it truly full ..early - mid 70s and truly empty ..84/5 .. by the close with reduced capacities it was sadly a shell of its former glory stood on the Stoke end ( town end ) v Liverpool the 46k game ..there was still space ..a beast of an end .. you always knew when the Boothen was truly full as the gangways disappeared as part of the crowd .. and there were a lot of gangways |
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Post by JoeinOz on Jan 7, 2024 23:44:48 GMT
I'm a whippersnapper compared to some of you guys, but I can remember as a teen the Coventry cup 5th round 1987 (34k?) and there was no room in the Boothen, the first Vale derby 1988 was heaving too Cant imagine 50k+ in the owd duck, even with the old Stoke end terrace 31.000 i think for the Coventry cip tie and the vale derby in 88 stoke fans used to use stoke end terrace i used have a season ticket in there away fans used to be up the side of butler and seats in corner i think but they gave vale all stoke end for that and told us our tickets would be valid for boothen, so turned up and they wouldn't let us in boothen at first as they said we had stoke end tickets right confusion until eventually a senior steward tolt the turnstile operators to let people in with stoke end season tickets whether they were counted is anyones guess as like you say it was rammed that day. Did you have a season ticket for the Stoke End stand but had to go and stand on a terrace? |
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Post by senojbor on Jan 7, 2024 23:46:08 GMT
They would just let people in until they closed the gates when they thought the ground was full so it's hard to know. We played Man U IN 1972 In a QF FA cup game and there was 49,192. Perhaps 15,000, it was jam packed and we won 2-1 Man U used to cover the old Stoke End bank. There was definitely no limit there either. There were loads in the Boothen that night |
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Post by march4 on Jan 8, 2024 0:29:32 GMT
Man U used to cover the old Stoke End bank. There was definitely no limit there either. There were loads in the Boothen that night I was in my usual place in the Stoke End. It was pretty full. |
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Post by gilberto on Jan 8, 2024 0:41:55 GMT
I was once told,I think by my grandad, that they could get 17,000 on The Boothen End and 15,000 on the Stoke End. Not sure if that was pre-war or as recent as the 50s. The record attendance was just over 51,000 vs Arsenal in 1937.
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Post by suck_the_mop. on Jan 8, 2024 4:24:16 GMT
31.000 i think for the Coventry cip tie and the vale derby in 88 stoke fans used to use stoke end terrace i used have a season ticket in there away fans used to be up the side of butler and seats in corner i think but they gave vale all stoke end for that and told us our tickets would be valid for boothen, so turned up and they wouldn't let us in boothen at first as they said we had stoke end tickets right confusion until eventually a senior steward tolt the turnstile operators to let people in with stoke end season tickets whether they were counted is anyones guess as like you say it was rammed that day. Did you have a season ticket for the Stoke End stand but had to go and stand on a terrace? No mate had a season ticket for the stoke end terrace as i say away fans used to be up the butler side at that time. |
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Post by JoeinOz on Jan 8, 2024 4:28:27 GMT
Did you have a season ticket for the Stoke End stand but had to go and stand on a terrace? No mate had a season ticket for the stoke end terrace as i say away fans used to be up the butler side at that time. 86/87 (Coventry) and 89/90 (Vale) away fans were in the Stoke end |
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Post by andystokey on Jan 8, 2024 8:27:49 GMT
It was always full. It was always noisy. It was always rocking. Honest. 😉 🤣 Been on it truly full ..early - mid 70s and truly empty ..84/5 .. by the close with reduced capacities it was sadly a shell of its former glory stood on the Stoke end ( town end ) v Liverpool the 46k game ..there was still space ..a beast of an end .. you always knew when the Boothen was truly full as the gangways disappeared as part of the crowd .. and there were a lot of gangways When you think about the bogs servicing the Boothen for that lot it's not surprising there were rivets of piss. |
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Post by tcdobinghoff on Jan 8, 2024 9:01:25 GMT
My memory might be playing tricks but I think part ,at least, of the Stoke End didn’t have any terracing. There was, as some posters have pointed out, little regulation of the crowd.
I rarely went in the Stoke End and can’t think where the sanitation was sited but I can confirm the state of the toilets under the Boothen - can smell it now if I close my eyes.
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Post by mickstupp on Jan 8, 2024 9:05:18 GMT
Did you have a season ticket for the Stoke End stand but had to go and stand on a terrace? No mate had a season ticket for the stoke end terrace as i say away fans used to be up the butler side at that time. The club put away fans in the Butler Street for a couple of seasons in the late 80’s. They reverted back to the Stoke End paddock in 89/90. We had season tickets in the Stoke End Stand but if we had a high profile game they would give the away team the whole end and move us over to the Butler Street Stand. |
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Post by Scouse on Jan 8, 2024 9:13:45 GMT
🤣 Been on it truly full ..early - mid 70s and truly empty ..84/5 .. by the close with reduced capacities it was sadly a shell of its former glory stood on the Stoke end ( town end ) v Liverpool the 46k game ..there was still space ..a beast of an end .. you always knew when the Boothen was truly full as the gangways disappeared as part of the crowd .. and there were a lot of gangways When you think about the bogs servicing the Boothen for that lot it's not surprising there were rivets of piss. TBH I didn’t think the Boothen was too bad for that .. on the terrace at least , probably due to by the time I regularly stood on it ( 71 > ) it’s numerous gangways and.crush barriers making it easier & quicker than some large terraces to leave your spot and get back to it again ..the actual loos could be a different matter , but in the main those on the concourse and door x by the Boothen paddock coped fairly well The Kop at Liverpool , from memory of the very few times I stood on it was a much wider terrace in comparison with only one main gangway running horizontally about 2/3 up the terrace , much few barriers and a boys pen in the corner by the main stand (boys pens at Liverpool & Everton where leathal den of thieves things ) hence the greater swaying and movement .. and rivers 😳 once you’d claimed your spot there really was no way out until the entire terrace emptied ..perhaps Stokies were just better toilet trained 🙂 Though do laugh a little to myself when people constantly bleat on about bigger concourses ..compared to facilities of days gone by ..remember the excitement when a ‘real’ burger option was first offered at Stoke instead of just water burgers .. smoking was another main bain of a packed terrace , particularly for damaged clothing when the donkey ( ncb ) jacket era ended For all that and the ( very ) limited facilities they where good days .. and the safety valve effect feeling that you could move ( but seldom did ) if you didn’t agree with the people close by shouldn’t ever be underestimated Fortunate to have been on a fair few of the many famous large terraces around the country before things changed for ever .. the Boothen on a good day was up there with the very best in the country |
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Post by raythesailor on Jan 8, 2024 9:24:22 GMT
I seem to remember that in the late 60s early 70s the Bothen was 2/6d in old money?
It was always packed with home and away fans.
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Post by suck_the_mop. on Jan 8, 2024 9:41:18 GMT
No mate had a season ticket for the stoke end terrace as i say away fans used to be up the butler side at that time. 86/87 (Coventry) and 89/90 (Vale) away fans were in the Stoke end Yeah we always got moved for high profile games. |
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Post by Robo10 on Jan 8, 2024 9:54:23 GMT
As Joe mentioned, I also stood on the Boothen for random Autoglass games where no more than 4-5k turned up in total! Some league games werent much better
As a nipper my Grandad had season tickets in the Butler Street stand, block C, row 2, we sat their until he passed bar 1 season in the new seating in the Stoke End, tbh you got covered in abuse, spit and beer from the away fans underneath so we didnt stay there long!
Great when a big game took place for atmosphere - I started at the back with loads my age bouncing up and down to 'Micky Mills/Alan Balls/Lou Macaris Red and White Army', before moving to just behind pillar C to the oeft of the goal as you looked at it - we stood there with mates and work colleagues until we moved
The smell of water burgers, fried onions, stale lager and fag smoke, and pretty much pissing into a gutter against a wall lol - very different times.
We tried a few games on the Stoke End Terrace, we actually saw the promotion game v Plymouth in there, we did the Boothen Stand Terrace for a bit by the away fans when were were 'brave' 15/16 year olds lol
We always ended up back in the Boothen after a few games
The cost was noticeable just in my time - it was 50p as an u16 (£2 for adults?) in the mid/late 80s, that was £3/£3.50 I think when we left, adults were £6/£7 - doesnt seem a lot but thats some inflation as the money started to intrude on the game. Then you see Fulham/Arsenal charging what they do for tickets today!
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Post by andystokey on Jan 8, 2024 10:11:19 GMT
When you think about the bogs servicing the Boothen for that lot it's not surprising there were rivets of piss. TBH I didn’t think the Boothen was too bad for that .. on the terrace at least , probably due to by the time I regularly stood on it ( 71 > ) it’s numerous gangways and.crush barriers making it easier & quicker than some large terraces to leave your spot and get back to it again ..the actual loos could be a different matter , but in the main those on the concourse and door x by the Boothen paddock coped fairly well The Kop at Liverpool , from memory of the very few times I stood on it was a much wider terrace in comparison with only one main gangway running horizontally about 2/3 up the terrace , much few barriers and a boys pen in the corner by the main stand (boys pens at Liverpool & Everton where leathal den of thieves things ) hence the greater swaying and movement .. and rivers 😳 once you’d claimed your spot there really was no way out until the entire terrace emptied ..perhaps Stokies were just better toilet trained 🙂 Though do laugh a little to myself when people constantly bleat on about bigger concourses ..compared to facilities of days gone by ..remember the excitement when a ‘real’ burger option was first offered at Stoke instead of just water burgers .. smoking was another main bain of a packed terrace , particularly for damaged clothing when the donkey ( ncb ) jacket era ended For all that and the ( very ) limited facilities they where good days .. and the safety valve effect feeling that you could move ( but seldom did ) if you didn’t agree with the people close by shouldn’t ever be underestimated Fortunate to have been on a fair few of the many famous large terraces around the country before things changed for ever .. the Boothen on a good day was up there with the very best in the country What a day this was www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/manchester-united-relegated-stoke-city-2064587 |
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Post by SamB_SCFC on Jan 8, 2024 10:14:07 GMT
Can anyone remember when, and why, the capacity of the Victoria Ground dropped from the 31,000 of the Coventry and 1988 Vale game to the 24,000 odd that it finished up with? My memories are vague as I was only a kid at that time but I don't remember any major layout changes in the ground that would facilitate a capacity drop of around 7,000.
I'm guessing it was Hillsborough related and we were forced to drop the capacity of our terraces?
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Post by JoeinOz on Jan 8, 2024 10:32:36 GMT
Can anyone remember when, and why, the capacity of the Victoria Ground dropped from the 31,000 of the Coventry and 1988 Vale game to the 24,000 odd that it finished up with? My memories are vague as I was only a kid at that time but I don't remember any major layout changes in the ground that would facilitate a capacity drop of around 7,000. I'm guessing it was Hillsborough related and we were forced to drop the capacity of our terraces? Hillsborough related yes. Official capacities permitted an amount of people per square metre of terrace. That number was reduced after Hillsborough. |
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Post by Robo10 on Jan 8, 2024 10:32:39 GMT
Hillsborough deffo for capacity reasons in standing terraces, the clock corner (between the Boothen and Butler Street) was condemned, they took seats away from Butler Street and build exec boxes etc
There were generally sections of the ground empty (Butler Street Paddock) as overspill I guess
Last massive away following I can remember was Man City in the Pink Panther v Bananas game (3-1 to us) - Boxing Day 1988? 24k there on the day but they filled the Butler Street Paddock and had pockets in other areas
"You can shove your fckin nanas up your arse...."
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Post by JoeinOz on Jan 8, 2024 10:37:20 GMT
TBH I didn’t think the Boothen was too bad for that .. on the terrace at least , probably due to by the time I regularly stood on it ( 71 > ) it’s numerous gangways and.crush barriers making it easier & quicker than some large terraces to leave your spot and get back to it again ..the actual loos could be a different matter , but in the main those on the concourse and door x by the Boothen paddock coped fairly well The Kop at Liverpool , from memory of the very few times I stood on it was a much wider terrace in comparison with only one main gangway running horizontally about 2/3 up the terrace , much few barriers and a boys pen in the corner by the main stand (boys pens at Liverpool & Everton where leathal den of thieves things ) hence the greater swaying and movement .. and rivers 😳 once you’d claimed your spot there really was no way out until the entire terrace emptied ..perhaps Stokies were just better toilet trained 🙂 Though do laugh a little to myself when people constantly bleat on about bigger concourses ..compared to facilities of days gone by ..remember the excitement when a ‘real’ burger option was first offered at Stoke instead of just water burgers .. smoking was another main bain of a packed terrace , particularly for damaged clothing when the donkey ( ncb ) jacket era ended For all that and the ( very ) limited facilities they where good days .. and the safety valve effect feeling that you could move ( but seldom did ) if you didn’t agree with the people close by shouldn’t ever be underestimated Fortunate to have been on a fair few of the many famous large terraces around the country before things changed for ever .. the Boothen on a good day was up there with the very best in the country What a day this was www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/manchester-united-relegated-stoke-city-2064587There was talk of the Manc derby being replayed. BUT when we beat them it became a moot point. So we relegated them. |
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Post by SamB_SCFC on Jan 8, 2024 10:39:46 GMT
Hillsborough deffo for capacity reasons in standing terraces, the clock corner (between the Boothen and Butler Street) was condemned, they took seats away from Butler Street and build exec boxes etc There were generally sections of the ground empty (Butler Street Paddock) as overspill I guess Last massive away following I can remember was Man City in the Pink Panther v Bananas game (3-1 to us) - Boxing Day 1988? 24k there on the day but they filled the Butler Street Paddock and had pockets in other areas "You can shove your fckin nanas up your arse...." I was there that day, my first ever game as a 5 year old! Remember the inflatables well, obviously didn't pay much attention to what was going on outside of that and certainly not the layout of the ground. When were the executive boxes built? I can only ever remember them existing, and the clock corner was always condemned and obviously had the clock on it in the time I can remember. Can you remember what year the clock was put in? It's interesting putting together the pieces of my vague childhood memories. I can remember well from 1991 onwards but before that is vague. |
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Post by Robo10 on Jan 8, 2024 10:47:36 GMT
I was an experienced 14 year old by then lol catching buses from Biddulph to Hanley and walking down to the ground - day or night matches - cant imagine letting my lad do that! The corp boxes didnt exist in the last season I sat in the Butler Street (1985), I've a feeling they were a Jez Moxey thing in the late 80s/early 90s Attendances were poor all through the early 80s so I cant remember if anybody stood by the clock in my time (had a ST aged 5 in 1979) - but I've seen loads of vids of the early / mid 70s where people are in it I cant remember the old Stoke End open terrace at all, only the newer stand, and there was a 'family stand' of sorts between the Stoke End and Butler Street (my auntie sat in there so I used to amble down from my seats to say hello) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Ground |
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