I think the re-launch of the Official Newcastle United magazine is a good idea and they are looking for contributions from Newcastle fans to publish. I would encourage you to send something in and support the clubs official magazine. Full details here
I have sent in the description of the first Newcastle match I ever attended so see if it gets published. Thought I'd put it on here to share with you.
Also thought it would be interesting to hear from some of our members on their memory of their first Newcastle match also
You know those games where the build up starts from the previous Saturday and the anticipation and excitement increases as the week goes on such that by Friday night you can’t sleep for thinking about the big game the next day.
This was just such a game though a very long time ago. It was season 1964/65 with Joe Harvey as manager but beginning to build the team that was to win the Inter Cities Fairs Cup four years later.
Newcastle were down in Division 2 and battling with Bolton and Northampton Town (who ?) for promotion to the top Division. Bolton were in town on 16th April 1965 and it was a real promotion decider, with only 3 games of the season left Newcastle just needed to win to gain promotion.
Me and my mate Paddy fancied this match big time as every one was talking about it but there were a couple of problems. Like we had never been to a Newcastle match before and also I was only 9 and Paddy only 10 and we had no adults to take us. Oh and we had to somehow find the gate money as our parents didn’t have much money those days, even though it was probably only about 20p for us to get in.
Undaunted we got the bus from High Heaton where we lived into the centre of Newcastle and followed the crowds to the stadium. Somehow we ended up in the Gallowgate end to the right of the goal near the corner flag which in years to come became the place we always went to.
All went well till we actually got up the steps and into the stands which was when it hit us that actually with the kick off imminent the stands were actually packed like sardines with huge blokes and we were just two small boys standing at the back unable to see anything.
There was a crowd of 52,960 that day which was about as much as the ground would hold and the Gallowgate end was all standing with big concrete crush barriers strategically place around the terracing.
We began to squirm our way through, down the front desperately trying to avoid being picked up by the blokes as was the tradition in those days in a big crowd as everyone would hold their hands up and roll the small kids right down to the front.
We got down the front amongst the kids before kick off and could eventually see the pitch for the first time which was quite an experience. What struck me was the peanut sellers. In those days there were no refreshment areas to pop out to for a bag of crisps and a coke. It was basically so crowded you stood with your hands pinned to your side unable to move. But the peanut sellers walked round the side of the pitch and if you wanted a bag people threw their money at him from somewhere in the crowd and he in turn threw a bag of peanuts back roughly in the direction of where the money had come from. I was amazed and wondered just how money and nuts ever found their rightful owner.
The atmosphere was awesome but as the match got under way we soon became aware that every time something happened over at the left corner flag the whole crowd would surge forward to see and you had to gallop down the terracing with the crowd. Then as the ball cleared the whole crowd would then surge back and you had to sprint backwards to avoid being pushed over and trampled to death. So much for the concrete crush barriers !!
I can’t exactly remember how long it was into the game that the world exploded but Willie Penman put Newcastle into a 1-0 lead in the first half and the whole ground went wild and we started galloping big time down the terracing again. This time a small boy near us fell and hit his head off one of the concrete crash barriers and split it open with blood everywhere. He was helped to the front and carried away by the St John’s ambulance bloke.
That was enough for us, absolutely terrified by this stage and seeing the boy just like ourselves covered in blood we scarpered, pushing our way through the sardine packed crowd and felt great relief as we asked the bloke on the gate to let us out into the open street.
We decided to walk home which again in years to come was to become our normal habit after a game. Then we arrived home just in time to see a big banner across the tv local news broadcast “Newcastle are up”.
Hurrah, with a second half goal by Jim Iley we won the match two nil and clinched promotion. Bolton never really recovered from that defeat and fell away finishing in third place 6 points behind runners up Northampton and 7 points behind Division 2 champions Newcastle United, howway the lads!!
Newcastle’s team that day included the famous defence of Gordon Marshall in goal, right back David Craig, left back Frank Clark. Right wing half Stan Anderson, centre half John McGrath and left wing half Jim Iley. Believe me that was some line up for division 2 in those days. Rest of the team was Robson, Hilley, Cummings, Penman and Knox.
Leading the Bolton forward line that day was a certain Wyn Davies who Joe Harvey was later to sign and make into a traditional Geordie centre forward legend. The Welshman of course was to terrorise European defences with his aerial ability during our momentous Inter Cities Fairs Cup winning campaign.
As for Paddy and I, well we went on to hardly miss a home match from that point on and when we were older went to many away matches together as well. It’s amazing to look back and think at 9 and 10 years old we did all that on our own and we never told anyone we were too frightened to watch the whole match and had left early, but I guess the secret is out now !!!
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