Boxing Day Memories

[speeeeeeedie]

My memories are more recent than the 60's.

Was it Boxing Day 1994 when the game at Ewood was called off? Rovers were playing Boro. The ref called it off about an hour before kick off. I think that the undersoil heating system failed.

I also remember beating Liverpool. It was the last full house I saw. 31,000 on.

 

[tomphil]

33 minutes ago, booth said:

I remember this...

 

The day Wilcox became a player and Shearer got his cruciate ligament injury after colliding with their goalie.

Amazing what can be achieved with a proper winger and as in Wilcox case he doesn't need to be the most skilled player in the team just quick, direct and hardworking.

Oh and bring back standing, what an atmosphere you forget just how good the old Ewood could be when people were up for it. The home crowd always got revved up for the likes of Leeds and Newcastle etc instead of retreating into their shells.

[Gav]

Shearer gave the Leeds fans some after his goal in the same way Speedie did against Newcastle - Good effort

[Claytons Left Boot]

There’s an account of the Turf Moor 3-2 win in 1977 in the Heaven, I’m in Heaven section on this site. I do however remember Exiled in Toronto’s tale (and I think I may well have been with him that day) of a Rovers fan dropping his trousers, @#/? into his pint pot and lobbing it over ‘no mans land’ to drop onto some unfortunate Clarette on the other side. Now, I would have paid several English pounds to witness that!

Edit - that’s shi!!ing, not pi**ing

[ossyian]

"Stevie Kindon walks on crutches" was another good un that day.  We had over half the crowd that day. Burnley town centre became Blackburn for the day

[tomphil]

But i thought Blackburn had never ever been to Burnley town centre .........

[Claytons Left Boot]

14 minutes ago, ossyian said:

"Stevie Kindon walks on crutches" was another good un that day.  We had over half the crowd that day. Burnley town centre became Blackburn for the day

Not so sure about that. The attendance was 27k, I’ve tried to calculate our following a few times over the years and have come up with around 12k. The gates on our side of the Longside were locked at 2pm and from then on Rovers fans got in wherever they could, mainly the Bee Hole End. We also had a section of the Cricket Field Stand and I’ve heard we had a few in the Martin Dobson Stand. It was certainly our biggest away following in my time watching the lads, ie. since 1966.

[old darwen blue]

12 hours ago, oldjamfan1 said:

Oh yeah I was there that day. Their Gary Pallister-inspired defence were on a record run of not conceding a goal I think, until Garner worked his usual magic. It finished 1-1 and we had all sorts chucked over the wall at us when we were locked in after the game, including a toilet!! A Darwen lad got to spend several days in the Royal Cleveland Hospital after getting dragged out of a minibus near the ground and kicked around like a football!

 

Tony Mowbray and Stuart Ripley probably played for Boro that day as well?

I was also there that day Andy and after the match whilst we cowered in my mates Mini waiting to get away it was the only time in my life that I have seen mounted Police retreating from a football mob. 

Remember “Who hung the monkey”?

[Exiled in Toronto]

On 2017-12-18 at 12:45, Claytons Left Boot said:

There’s an account of the Turf Moor 3-2 win in 1977 in the Heaven, I’m in Heaven section on this site. I do however remember Exiled in Toronto’s tale (and I think I may well have been with him that day) of a Rovers fan dropping his trousers, @#/? into his pint pot and lobbing it over ‘no mans land’ to drop onto some unfortunate Clarette on the other side. Now, I would have paid several English pounds to witness that!

Edit - that’s shi!!ing, not pi**ing

Yup, right in front on me. I got hit with a quarter brick and mate next to me with a golf ball, so they had it coming.

Snyone remember Halifax away in Furphy’s first year (or second)? 

[arbitro]

7 hours ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

Yup, right in front on me. I got hit with a quarter brick and mate next to me with a golf ball, so they had it coming.

Snyone remember Halifax away in Furphy’s first year (or second)? 

Was that the one where the deaf and dumb Rovers fan climbed on some type of scaffolding construction (perhaps a scoreboard)? For many visits to the Shay we never paid to get in. One time a fellow Darrener climbed over an exit gate and opened it and on several occasions we climbed a small wall. (there was a bus station there) scrambled down some shale banking and we were in.

[toogs]

Boxing day 2006. 

Tugay midfield masterclass. 36 years old. Astonishing. 

[Gone to seed]

On 12/18/2017 at 12:17, darrenrover said:

Boxing Day is shortly upon us, a day I always look forward to it, a day where families traditionally attend together and this year sees us face Rochdale!

I started down memory lane, thinking about Boxing Day games and 2 sprung first to mind:

The first is undoubtedly at t'Turf when we were 3 up at half time, Keith Fear (on loan from Bristol City?) missed a penalty to make it 4 early in the second half and after t'carrots scored 2, we were hanging on for grim death. Apart from perhaps at Gigg Lane, I don't think I've ever seen as many Rovers fans at an away game. I had to take a look and couldn't believe that the game was 40 years ago!

The other was a 0-0 draw at Sunderland when Jason Roberts missed when it was easier to score. A great day out for Darweners that, made special by the hospitality shown to us by Langley Park Miners Club both before and after the game.

What are others memories?.........

 

I  was there, bouncing around with my mates from Revidge / Shear Brow and singing 'Kindon's wife is on the game again' or something like that, up to the point where shouts of 'keaners, keaners' riled a police sergeant who got hold of my hair in a most unpleasant way and frog-marched me out of the ground. I guess I got picked on for being smaller than most at the time, and it certainly left a bitter memory of 't Turd in my mind. Had to skulk around the coach park for almost an hour before the Rovers fans piled jubilantly back on for the journey home.

[MarkBRFC]

43 minutes ago, toogs said:

Boxing day 2006. 

Tugay midfield masterclass. 36 years old. Astonishing. 

Brilliant, he played Gerrard off the park that day.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

8 hours ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

Yup, right in front on me. I got hit with a quarter brick and mate next to me with a golf ball, so they had it coming.

Snyone remember Halifax away in Furphy’s first year (or second)? 

I remember going to a 2-2 draw there around that time. I don't recall much trouble that day but then I never went looking for any.

[Dreams of 1995]

That Tugay performance vs Liverpool was immense. An absolute masterclass in keeping the ball moving. He ran that game against a Liverpool squad who had won the Champions League the season before.

Just looking at the squad as a whole we were truly blessed. A great time to be a Rovers fan!

[OJRovers]

7 hours ago, toogs said:

Boxing day 2006. 

Tugay midfield masterclass. 36 years old. Astonishing. 

Got the better of Gerrard and Alonso on that day. The step overs to beat Gerrard, then THAT PASS for the goal. Brilliant.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Great Video but genuinely hard to except how far our club has fallen.

Tugay

[4,000 Holes]

Superb thread this with some great memories! And we're glad to say that we've got a run-through of all the Boxing Day classics over the years in the next issue of 4,000 Holes which is appropriately available to buy on Boxing Day for just £1.50! Please pick up a copy before the Rochdale, Scunthorpe or Hull games. Thanks everyone for the continued support with the Rovers fanzine since 1989!!

[philipl]

9 hours ago, toogs said:

Boxing day 2006. 

Tugay midfield masterclass. 36 years old. Astonishing. 

Watched that with tears in my eyes.

My first season going to Rovers as opposed to following through radio or TV was 67/8. That was 25 years without top flight football which meant every second in the Premier League was magic and special for me. How I miss seeing Rovers players who can pass and move like that- I never cared if it was midfield bore fest, just seeing the blue and white shirts playing with that sort of control and speed of thought was always fantastic.

And it is why I feel mad as hell that Venky's, Jerome Anderson and Kentaro so unnecessarily criminally took Premier League football, Premier League club and the opportunity to watch players of the God like status of Tugay away from me.

It hurts, oh it hurts. And it is deeply personal. 

[dingles staying down 4ever]

22 hours ago, toogs said:

Boxing day 2006. 

Tugay midfield masterclass. 36 years old. Astonishing. 

My daughter was mascot for that game! 

[Ozz]

On 18/12/2017 at 14:09, Gav said:

 

I remember Leeds coming on Boxing day early 80's and boosting the average gate from 7/8000 to 20k! Not sure how many you got in the Darwen End and Enclosure back then, but i would imagine they had more on that day than we did, we won through, 2-0 I think.

 

Boxing Day 1984. The first time I'd seen over 20,000 on Ewood. Colin Randell with an overhead kick...then Noel scored an awesome header to win it 2-1. Brilliant brilliant game.

[McClarky]

The Tugay video is amazing. Considering that the ball is in play for about 50 mins in a game it’s quite incredible that 1 player can be involved for so long.  What a player.

[Gav]

Not sure what memories of this Boxing Day will remain intact come 27th? 

I hear a member of this site has 3 extra bottles of Benedictine on order just for the occasion, win, lose or draw  

[tomphil]

Read an old newspaper report of that Leeds game not long ago, can't remember if it was LT or LEP but I think it estimated the Leeds following at 7k. Also mentioned quite a few sporadic outbreaks of fisticuffs in the crowd so must've been a few groups of interlopers as was the norm back then I suppose.

[Cherry Blue]

Already mentioned a great day out on The Longside with us beating our neighbours in 1977, long before they had bragging rights to a big Tesco.

Remember we were 3 0 with only a thin line of police between both sets of supporters and as a kid feared what might happen if we scored another. We missed the penalty so my heart didn't sink. It did get a bit nervy though as we were pegged back to a 3 2 victory. Hence the song rings true ".....the Rovers sing, the Burnley ran away. And we will sing forever more because of boxing day!".

Fantastic day, arrived by car, free parking and no trouble as I can recall.