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Post by tijuanabrass on Sept 4, 2015 6:22:21 GMT
The walk to the ground along Campbell Road was always great with the crowds increasing around every corner. All the chippies and news agents would be full and the pubs would have people spilling onto the pavements. As you neared the ground as you neared the back of the Boothen Stand there was a shop and kiosks selling programs. of It was always mobbed in the streets at the back of the stand and my Dad would always point out famous footballers of the 50s and 60s who would be working their way through to the main entrance - Dennis Law, Pat Crerrand, Brian Clough. But there was one grey-haired chap that we would see quite regularly wandering in through the glass doors - Sir Stanley Matthews. There were no minders, no entourage and no fancy limousine dropping him off. One of the world's most famous footballers and the potteries favourite son ambling through the crowds to take up his seat in the stands in the mid 1970s. A man whose skills were recognised and acclaimed the world over coming to watch second division games at his home town club on a Saturday afternoon.
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Post by leicspotter on Sept 4, 2015 18:22:58 GMT
I too had my first Stoke "experience" as a young 'un on the Stoke End terraces (v Manure). My abiding memory is of how bloody big the players were At least twice the size of my old Dad! Maybe that comes from the perspective of looking up from the very front of the terrace which must have been several feet below pitch level. Oh, and for younger viewers, 'several feet' is around 1.5 metres
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Post by Skankmonkey on Sept 4, 2015 18:47:46 GMT
I too had my first Stoke "experience" as a young 'un on the Stoke End terraces (v Manure). My abiding memory is of how bloody big the players were At least twice the size of my old Dad! Maybe that comes from the perspective of looking up from the very front of the terrace which must have been several feet below pitch level. Oh, and for younger viewers, 'several feet' is around 1.5 metres Thats right. We kids were always installed down by the corner flag on the right while the adults stood further back on the terrace. We used to look up at these blokes taking the corner kicks and they were like giants to us. We'd often get a wink, thumbs up, or the odd "hiya". I can't remember any of us cheeking them back! Honest. <winky>
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Post by Skankmonkey on Sept 4, 2015 18:56:48 GMT
Just about the first memory I have involved the Stoke End at the Victoria Ground. It was a vast and intimidating arena. I am probably about 4 and I am wandering around the terraces with a bucket. The match has been over some time before. I am collecting cigarette butts. You see my Grandmother has bought a Rizzler Fag making machine and she needed a regular supply of snout and that is why I am collecting fag ends on the terraces. I am not sure what possibly contaminated salvia from Scouser, Mackem or Brummie (as we played Liverpool, Sunderland and Villa that season) Martha ingested in 1959-60 although it seems not to have done her any harm as she lived to be nearly 90. Still, she was happy smoking all this buckshee tobacco and I was willing to help. I recall being awed by the size of the Stadium and it turned out to be an early introduction to the trials and tribulations of being a Stoke fan. Did it all happen in black & white? It was all black and white in them days. Apart from your whites on the washing line. They were mainly grey.
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Post by Skankmonkey on Sept 4, 2015 19:07:21 GMT
Here's one.
Can anyone remember one bad winter when there was a backlog of fixtures (I think??) and Waddo had a load of antifreeze or petrol (or something) sprayed on the pitch to keep it playable? It did the job but it killed all the grass and come Spring it was like the flipping Somme.
I may have hallucinated this of course.
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Post by Skankmonkey on Sept 4, 2015 19:47:01 GMT
Some old fuckers on here lol Fair play lads. Still 20 in my head mate. Anyway youth is flipping wasted on the young. <winky>
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Post by bertiestan on Sept 4, 2015 19:48:51 GMT
Here's one. Can anyone remember one bad winter when there was a backlog of fixtures (I think??) and Waddo had a load of antifreeze or petrol (or something) sprayed on the pitch to keep it playable? It did the job but it killed all the grass and come Spring it was like the flipping Somme. I may have hallucinated this of course. What were you on then skank? It may explain if you were trippin or not
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Post by Skankmonkey on Sept 4, 2015 21:06:39 GMT
Here's one. Can anyone remember one bad winter when there was a backlog of fixtures (I think??) and Waddo had a load of antifreeze or petrol (or something) sprayed on the pitch to keep it playable? It did the job but it killed all the grass and come Spring it was like the flipping Somme. I may have hallucinated this of course. What were you on then skank? It may explain if you were trippin or not Dunno mate. It's a bit of a blur in parts if I'm honest. I did have a particular liking for Woodbines and OwdRodger though.
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Post by tcdobinghoff on Sept 4, 2015 22:22:54 GMT
Did it all happen in black & white? It was all black and white in them days. Apart from your whites on the washing line. They were mainly grey. Stoke was black in those days. All the public buildings were black - I went away once and when I came back they'd cleaned Fenton Town Hall - I was amazed, I thought it was built with black stone !!
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Post by block23 on Sept 5, 2015 9:09:28 GMT
First match was v Burnley, 1963?. A few years later when I was about 9 or 10, used to get the football special with my brother from Baddeley Green, dropped you right outside the Stoke End, where we always stood. We could only afford one way, so used to walk back home, took bloody ages! Can't imagine many parents letting a 10 year old walk 6 miles home after a match these days. Early teens , moved on to the boothen and I'm sure it was that experience that locked me into a lifetime of supporting the club, (couldn't have been the football). The atmospher in the ground, in the pubs in Stoke, and the walk to and from the ground always captivated me. I think I was one of the minority who never wanted the move. I accept a redeveloped Vic would have looked ugly by today's standards, and may not have worked, but the match day experience today, despite the obvious plus side of seeing PL football, just isn't the same. (Or I may just be an old fart bleating on about the past!)
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Post by lawrieleslie on Sept 6, 2015 8:24:14 GMT
Here's one. Can anyone remember one bad winter when there was a backlog of fixtures (I think??) and Waddo had a load of antifreeze or petrol (or something) sprayed on the pitch to keep it playable? It did the job but it killed all the grass and come Spring it was like the flipping Somme. I may have hallucinated this of course. Is this what you remember skanky? Attachment Deleted
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Post by lawrieleslie on Sept 6, 2015 8:26:18 GMT
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Post by alster on Sept 6, 2015 10:04:16 GMT
The old Stoke end was massive! Going to the bog was an Everest like expedition for a young un! It was also the home end so why the away supporters discarded their butts there I'm not too sure.
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Post by alster on Sept 6, 2015 10:07:57 GMT
First memories of the Vic were sitting on the wall pitch side in the Butler St paddock, unbelievably close to the players.
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Post by Skankmonkey on Sept 6, 2015 11:49:38 GMT
Here's one. Can anyone remember one bad winter when there was a backlog of fixtures (I think??) and Waddo had a load of antifreeze or petrol (or something) sprayed on the pitch to keep it playable? It did the job but it killed all the grass and come Spring it was like the flipping Somme. I may have hallucinated this of course. Is this what you remember skanky? View AttachmentI'm getting on a bit mate but not quite as much as that <smiley>! That looks to me like that terrible winter after the war - '47? Unless it's 1963 which is marginally before my time. I only have my phone, so I can't make out the player.
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Post by partickpotter on Sept 6, 2015 20:12:39 GMT
The old Stoke end was massive! Going to the bog was an Everest like expedition for a young un! You wouldn't want to be picking up fag ends from the Stoke End bogs. Or the Boothen End ones for that matter!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2015 22:55:37 GMT
How about queuing all through the night to buy a League Cup final ticket the next morning and singing, "Hey you, back of the queue," to chancers trying to jump the queue.
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Post by elystokie on Sept 6, 2015 23:07:08 GMT
How about queuing all through the night to buy a League Cup final ticket the next morning and singing, "Hey you, back of the queue," to chancers trying to jump the queue. Remember it well (thumbsup)
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Post by samba :) on Sept 6, 2015 23:09:53 GMT
How about queuing all through the night to buy a League Cup final ticket the next morning and singing, "Hey you, back of the queue," to chancers trying to jump the queue. Remember it well 1972?
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Post by elystokie on Sept 6, 2015 23:13:34 GMT
Remember it well (thumbsup) 1972? Of course.
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Post by samba :) on Sept 6, 2015 23:15:20 GMT
I watched that on YouTube once why did everyone sing you'll never walk alone at the end
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Post by elystokie on Sept 6, 2015 23:25:40 GMT
I watched that on YouTube once why did everyone sing you'll never walk alone at the end Lots of fans at different clubs sang it at that time.
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Post by samba :) on Sept 6, 2015 23:28:35 GMT
I watched that on YouTube once why did everyone sing you'll never walk alone at the end Lots of fans at different clubs sang it at that time. any idea when delilah started there are lots of rumours but do you know where it's actually from
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Post by elystokie on Sept 7, 2015 7:40:26 GMT
Lots of fans at different clubs sang it at that time. any idea when delilah started there are lots of rumours but do you know where it's actually from In a pub in Derby I believe, Stoke fans singing, landlord asked them to tone it down a bit, Delilah came on the jukebox and they sang along. TJ used to sing it in the supporters club at The Vic, don't know the date, pretty sure it was in the 80s.
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Post by Skankmonkey on Sept 7, 2015 11:43:20 GMT
any idea when delilah started there are lots of rumours but do you know where it's actually from In a pub in Derby I believe, Stoke fans singing, landlord asked them to tone it down a bit, Delilah came on the jukebox and they sang along. TJ used to sing it in the supporters club at The Vic, don't know the date, pretty sure it was in the 80s. Late eighties if memory serves. TJ used to lead it from halfway up the floodlights at some matches as well. <smiley>
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Post by elystokie on Sept 7, 2015 12:13:28 GMT
In a pub in Derby I believe, Stoke fans singing, landlord asked them to tone it down a bit, Delilah came on the jukebox and they sang along. TJ used to sing it in the supporters club at The Vic, don't know the date, pretty sure it was in the 80s. Late eighties if memory serves. TJ used to lead it from halfway up the floodlights at some matches as well. <smiley> Sounds about right, I seem to remember him singing it in the Supporters Club for a while before it reached the terraces, could be wrong, it was a long time ago. I also think the original was 'forgive me Stoke City I just couldnt take any more' - understandable, we were pretty shit.
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Post by foxfield on Sept 7, 2015 15:55:42 GMT
Here's one. Can anyone remember one bad winter when there was a backlog of fixtures (I think??) and Waddo had a load of antifreeze or petrol (or something) sprayed on the pitch to keep it playable? It did the job but it killed all the grass and come Spring it was like the flipping Somme. I may have hallucinated this of course. I'm not sure how good my memory is now but I think it was the latter end of the 1962/63 season. It was a long cold winter and there was little football for weeks. There was no under soil heating then and clubs tried all manner of ways to get their fixtures played. I think it was Everton that first used a chemical and claimed some success. I think the chemical was called K2R, or something like that. It was not successful at Stoke and only succeeded in killing what grass was still there. If I am right we went on to get promotion to Div 1 that season. Another memory I have is that only once can I remember attending an all ticket match that was a sell out. That was a cup-tie against Blackburn Rovers, 49,500 attendance. Having attended that one I am sure that I have been in crowds in excess of that figure, but not all ticket and a smaller attendance published.
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Post by Skankmonkey on Sept 7, 2015 16:27:18 GMT
Here's one. Can anyone remember one bad winter when there was a backlog of fixtures (I think??) and Waddo had a load of antifreeze or petrol (or something) sprayed on the pitch to keep it playable? It did the job but it killed all the grass and come Spring it was like the flipping Somme. I may have hallucinated this of course. I'm not sure how good my memory is now but I think it was the latter end of the 1962/63 season. It was a long cold winter and there was little football for weeks. There was no under soil heating then and clubs tried all manner of ways to get their fixtures played. I think it was Everton that first used a chemical and claimed some success. I think the chemical was called K2R, or something like that. It was not successful at Stoke and only succeeded in killing what grass was still there. If I am right we went on to get promotion to Div 1 that season. Another memory I have is that only once can I remember attending an all ticket match that was a sell out. That was a cup-tie against Blackburn Rovers, 49,500 attendance. Having attended that one I am sure that I have been in crowds in excess of that figure, but not all ticket and a smaller attendance published. Interesting. Thanks. If that's it I must have "remembered" it secondhand from gossip later on or from the news at the time maybe, in which case lawrieleslies photo above could well be correct! Funny how the mind works. I remember that winter though, the worst in my lifetime. Brrrr...
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Post by gonk on Sept 7, 2015 17:08:43 GMT
The old Stoke end was massive! Going to the bog was an Everest like expedition for a young un! You wouldn't want to be picking up fag ends from the Stoke End bogs. Or the Boothen End ones for that matter! The smell from those boiled onions from them hotdog /burger trolleys .If you ever eat one it would be coming back for days.So much for Health and Hygiene the blokes who sold them looked like they where from the sally army .
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Post by Skankmonkey on Sept 7, 2015 17:56:41 GMT
As foxfield mentions above, some published attendances seemed to bear no resemblance to the experience in the ground. It can't all have been down to hundreds of kids sneaking under, being passed over or jumping the turnstiles surely!
Another thing, when the blokes put Vale's HT score up via the score card thingummys didn't they usually get a loud cheer if they were winning same as Crewe.. Possibly ironic, but a cheer nonetheless?
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