[Archived] 30 Year Anniversary 29/04/10

[Plastic Head]

29 April 1980...Bury 1 Blackburn 2 (Crawford 2) Att 13369

Anyone else remember or attend this game?

I remember the wooden stand feeling as though it was going to collapse.

[philipl]

There were over 10,000 on. Bury scored first but we roared back with 2 to clinch promotion.

I remember looking up across to the corner of the stand and there was a telephone line from a pole to the stand roof which was whipping around like a child's skipping rope- that is how much that stand was moving as we bounced up and down!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I was there but not in that stand , we were on the terraces facing the main stand. Happy days, I could have sworn we won 3-1 but obviously we didn't. I was also at Ewood on the following Saturday when we lost to the same Bury team 2-1. Typical Rovers ! I can remember Steve Johnson the Bury centre forward getting two cracking goals and the Ewood pitch being like a desert. Garner scored for Rovers but it was too little too late. I've never seen a game stopped so many times for the ref to get dust out of players eyes, it was quite a windy day.

I was there for the Wrexham game in 1975 when we finally stopped the rot and began working our way back up the leagues. I couldn't make either Wembley or the great game at Preston.

[berkshireblue]

What a fine spring evening that was!!

Awesome 10,000 rovers fans

[whittle blue]

Heaven, I'm in Heaven

[ABBEY]

f me!!!!! 30 years ago...i feel old all at once , what a night that was i rember running on the pitch after the game and celebrating.

[imperial rover]

One of my first memories of Rovers this - and I was only 2 at the time! Obviously wasn't there though...

[Wild Irish Rover]

Oh my, those were the days! I remember travelling over with some friends from Blackburn, a crew from around Dukes Brow / the Alex as I remember. We decided, in our wisdom, and no doubt egged on by a few tinnies or so, to 'take the Bury end' before the start of the game. So, cunningly disguising our colours, we simply walked to that end of the ground, stood for a short while and then opened up with shouts of "The Rovers!" - There must have been some time to kick off, as I can't remember there being much of a reaction - most people just looked at us as if we were daft, then some big-ish spotty teenager with attitude threw handbags at 20 paces at us, before Mr GM Plod came and escorted us from the ground.

Needless to say we just hung around till there was a chance and nipped back in over the turnstiles, only missing about 5 mins of the game. The worst thing was my younger brother was there with my dad (who still goes as an 82 year old season ticket holder) and as soon as he saw me he said, "we saw you in the wrong end you tosser. Dad is going to wring your neck!"

Happy days. Andy Crawford - would have fitted in with todays ego-obsessed money grabbers eh? I wonder what he's up to now?

[Alan75]

30 years - heck it only seems like yesterday - happy times when football was a contact sport.

To this day I dont know how the stand behind the goals didnt collapse as it swayed to and fro.

[Neil Weaver]

Remember having to park miles away (near the motorway), then think we had to queue for ages to get in, and seem to remember we were standing on a terrace made of railway sleepers (surely that can't be right?). I know we were 1-0 down by the time we got in and it seemed there were only about a thousand home fans there. Only 30 years ago eh.......

[deryck guyler's spoon]

This makes me feel so old . I went with the Accy Blues on a double decker bus. I remember trundling through Haslingden, cheered on by some, given the V's by others!

[Ewood Spark]

During the pitch invasion following the final whistle I had the presence of mind to grab a handful of the grass from the pitch ... which I've still got to this day!

[67splitscreen]

During the pitch invasion following the final whistle I had the presence of mind to grab a handful of the grass from the pitch ... which I've still got to this day!

Sure it was grass and not weed, either way should make a nice role up after all this time.

[Gav]

What we'd give for some TV footage of the game, Granada must have covered it in some capacity.

[mhead]

We were down at pitch level opposite the main stand. It is probably the most one-sided support ever at a football match by the away fans.

It was so easy to get on the pitch at the end! Football is all about the 'ups' and the 'downs'...unlike the Manc plastics...and this night with Port Vale away and the Full Members Cup were the real ups from 1970 to 1990.

[soul boy]

f me!!!!! 30 years ago...i feel old all at once , what a night that was i rember running on the pitch after the game and celebrating.

Me & my dad too got on the pitch.who was the super linesman he should have been given a knighthood lol.

[Threepenny Bit Foot]

Wasn't it 3-1? Did Andy C miss a penalty at our end I seem to remember. Me, my brother and mates had a copper standing right in front of us who said 'anyone running on this pitch at the end will get kicked back over that wall by me!' When the whistle went me and a thousand others ran right past him - Happy Days!

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

What we'd give for some TV footage of the game, Granada must have covered it in some capacity.

Would love to see it,just before my time this.

[Plastic Head]

LET article today Bury Victory - Simon Garner

I suppose Andy Crawford was unavailable for comment.!

[riverside returns]

Haha, wild irish rover, you 'tosser'

[BRFC Casuals]

aah yes remember it well one of my first away games went with a PNE mad mate from Wigan cant believe its 30 years. Anyone remember us singing the countdown song ten more minutes to go then we`re in the second, nine more minutes etc or was that just me lol Spent most of the game worrying that the stand we were in was going to collapse was more than happy to invade the pitch at the end

[Ozz]

Great day this was. I was friend with Isla St Clair of the Generation Game on telly at the time. We had decided to walk backwards to Bury dressed up as the Dusty Bin off 3-2-1, for a laugh like.

It took us three days to get to Gigg Lane, but we did stop at every branch of Rumbelows on the way for a glass of Black Tower. Rumbelows were sponsoring us for a charity, I think it was another Stoke Mandeville hospital appeal or similar. Anyway we raised £12. It was all notes in them days, no pound coins.

When we got to Bury, we got in the home end, they were gibing out free black pudding and Isla loved a bit of blood so we had no choice really. After the match, we got in the changing rooms, sat with Noel and Howard taking about maybe me and Isla getting Larry (Grayson) to do a show to raise money for next season, buy a few players etc.

Then when it all died down, we found out there was an old WW2 secret tunnel direct from Bury to Chorley which had not been used for years and years, with a miniature railway system in. It was run by the guy who played R2D2 off Star Wars, who lived nearby-he was the only one small enough to be comfy down there for any length of time!

So we hopped on the subterranean iron horse and got home in 2 minutes flat. We were saying "Oh we wish we had known about this before setting off!". But apparently it only worked one way, so no problem with that in the end.

Good day out though.

[AggyBlue]

Bloody hell Ozzie you'll have to give me the name of your supplier, that must be awesome stuff:lol:

I was behind the goals and can't remember anything, as usual far too many cans pre match

[Wild Irish Rover]

Haha, wild irish rover, you 'tosser'

Lol. Nearly choked on me coffe when I read that mate.

Not sure if th'old feller would still remember the events; maybe I'll ask him when we're walking down to th'Arse tomorrow evening

See you there.

[john.leigh]

I was there with my Dad, we sat in the wooden stand that ran down the side of the ground, it was the only place they were still letting people into!

We were sat near the end with the Rovers fans, I remember watching the roof of the stand 'bounce' with all the jumping up and down - great days!!

I've still got the programme from the game & the promotion souvenir programme from the following home game

My Dad got me a Rothman's football yearbook that season, it has a record of every game in it (pre internet!!) I've still got it & treasure it dearly - Did you know we only scored 2 penalties that season & that Faz was our only ever present???

I remember being devastated when we went down at Bury & didn't really know what to do when we went in front & then when we went up -I was clueless - I'd never celebrated us winning anything before!!!!!!!!

I was going to Ewood in the 1975 season but I was too young to remember that promotion, I do remember us being relegated in the 1979 season though....