Tom Vale - my broom holder did it's time in the garage My first game was on the corner bank between the Shrodells and Rookery. I took my bobble hat too - but having looked up Watford in an old book on football of my brothers (dunno why I did not use the internet) I discovered we play in blue and white - the colours of my hat. When I got there I found I was about 6 years out of date and Reading were the ones playing in blue. That hat made a swift exit. The half time score system was good - even if sometimes it did not make it till the second half and the scores often feel on the ground.
That's right the second half had usually kicked before the scores were finally put up. As was stated earlier these scores followed a grid in the programme. I think the grid was A-Z but I'm sure there was never an (I) or (O) match displayed. Then on the way home my Dad would get the 5 o'clock edition of the evening paper with there results in the stop press section or would send me to the newspaper man on the corner to get the later classified edition with the full results and league tables. Then we always seemed to have smoked cod and doorstep bread and butter for our tea.
Not that much later leo - I remember doing it at Christmas time in 1962 & marvelling at the fact that ours was one of the very few games to have been played that day due to snow. A 5-1 thumping of Carlisle, revenge for a Boxing Day 1-2 defeat to them three days earlier...
Cheers, Charlie! I can't remember any floodlight games until the Liverpool League Cup replay when Bert Slater did a Gary Sprake from a corner. BB will tell me date etc, I'm sure. My mum came with me, and we stood on the VIc Road terrace, which was of course rammed. Whether I'd been to any other evening games before that, I'm not sure
The first games under lights were not until the mid 50s when the Southern Floodlight Cup was started. The first clubs to take part were: Aldershot, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Millwall, Orient, Portsmouth, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Watford, West Ham United. As not all clubs had lights at that stage league games just started earlier than 3.00 pm in winter. One big change that has come about is the length of games and half time intervals. There was not added time for each half and the midway break was just 10 minutes. You could be almost certain to leave the ground after 1 hour 45 mins whereas today it will be 2 hours.
Glad to oblige... 3rd September 1969 - it wasn't a replay either, we had beaten Lincoln in the earlier round, our only victory of the season at that point. Bert's last game for the club too - I can't remember why he was playing at all, possibly to allow him his final game against one of his former clubs...
Thanks BB. Thought it was 69. I think I had it as a replay in my mind because of the MUFC replay which I missed. I can't believe that I hadn't seen a game under lights before that, though. If only I could get at those pesky programmes...
The season before that, we had a three-match epic in the LC against Bournemouth, with all matches under lights - a tie we eventually won at Swindon's ground. I very nearly missed the home leg of that which was played on a Tuesday night. The Saturday before, we played at Southport & I had left Watford at 8 o'clock on the Friday night to hitchhike there. Got there at just before midnight on the Friday, but the return journey was more of a problem - eventually had to catch a train from Manchester on the Tuesday morning...
Anyone know when WFC started to have mascots? I was a mascot for the home game against Sheff W in May 81 (won 2-1) and I still have my commemerative Paddington Bear. In those days, it was only 5-7 year olds but my 8th birthday was in January 81, so when asked I had to say my birthday was in July. My boys were mascots for the league game against Wolves in October 05, which we won 3-1.
I think the first mascot was Ken Furphy's son (his name will come to me soon). He was our mascot for at least a season, probably two. A different mascot each match selected from fans was much later. You must have been one of the early ones, Barry.
He is Keith Furphy who, I believe, was last heard of coaching "soccer" in the USA - I may be wrong or he may have moved since.
Actually there were floodlight friendlies, I believe, going back to 53 or so before floodlights were allowed in competitive matches. I certainly used to have a Watford v. Hadjuk Split (Yugoslavia then) programme in a winter month where the kick-off was 7.30pm - unless they played in the dark or with torches/candles......
Even more amazing and seemingly from the dark ages was the fact that you could buy an evening paper just after a Saturday afternoon match finished and printed on the back page would be the Half-time scores! Quite a few times I was conned into buying such a paper with the "Final Classified Results", which turned out to be only half the story.
I remember standing on that cinder bend (although I cannot remember it being called that then) when I was around 12 stood with my Dad next to a QPR fan with a blue scarf - yes it was them we were playing and you could stand next to rival fans in those days. We came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 - our first win against QPR since before the war I believe. My Dad stopped me from dancing round the QPR fan as he was not a happy bunny. It was the same weekend as that Liverpudlian women who won the pools and spent it all inside a few months - can't remember her name - but they did make a TV drama about it later (Spend, spend, spend?) where the results were read out including the Watford one.
