Yep and the comeback against Derby, no tiptoeing through Kempton that day, N Doye's late winner against DQPR was closest we'll get to Kemptonesque these days. We are the Kempton Bootboys!
A few more memories ... In 1965 I had a serious accident; I managed to go under a car on Prospect Street, In those days, the Hull Royal Infirmary was where the Prospect Centre now stands so, if you are going to get run over, the entrance to a hospital is a good place to choose. When I was told I would be in traction for three months I felt depressed. However, after a few weeks, I had a bright idea; I sent a letter to Cliff Britton, the Hull City manager, asking if any of the players could visit the ward. I received a letter from Mr Britton the following day saying he would be at the hospital at 11.00 - that day! Pretty good post service in those days! The poor ward sister panicked but at 11;00 Cliff Britton arrived accompanied by Jock Davidson, Ken Wagstaff and Ray Henderson. They spent over two hours chatting to patients and staff, autographing plaster casts and generally raising morale. Hospital didn't seem such a bad place. Fans were not segregated in those days. On one occasion I was in the North Stand, under the clock (not my normal place), for a match against Sheffield Wednesday. A group of Wednesdayites were behind us and we tried to out-shout each other all afternoon. We won (I forget the score) and then it was handshakes all round - the best of pals! I used to meet some of my schoolmates in the East Stand, Round about 1959/60 we played Darlington in the Cup. The tie went to replay after replay. The fifth replay was at Boothferry Park and my bus was late so I missed the first ten minutes or so. Then Darlington scored. Ninety minutes passed and that was it - we were out of the cup so I set off dejectedly for the exit. Then my mates started laughing. City had scored in the first few minutes and they had deliberately not told me! There were no fancy electronic scoreboards or big screen TVs in those days. City went on to win in extra time and I still hate those b'stards from school for taking ten years off my life that night!
The 4-4 against the wendies boxing day not sure what year but will live with me forever especially coming back from 4-1 down with very little time remaining absolute class.
I had a Dad in name only, he was a waste of human life who never bothered with me or our kid. My best mates Dad took us to our first City game in 1980 along with his Dad. We walked over Woodgates bridge onto Spring Bank and along the old railway. Me and my mate walked a few steps behind his Dad and Grandad, the smell of cigars filled our nostrils as they both puffed away while chatting about the game. I always remember this walk which I took for many years whenever I smell a cigar. As the years passed the four of us walked that walk many times the number dropped to three as his Grandad passed away and then dropped to just two as his Dad also passed away during our last season at Boothferry with him missing the last three game at the old place. I can tell you they were hard to attend without him but we did because thats what he wanted. You can imagine the emotion of losing someone so close, so near to the time we were also losing our ground. I started off as a young lad watching from Kempton but as the years took there toll firstly on Grandad then on his Dad they moved into the South Stand seats while we stood in the South Stand. As you can imagine for many reasons the KC will never be our home as much as what Boothferry was to me. Boothferry was not just a ground. Boothferry was part of our lives, and is part of who we are now, I learned so much about the football in those walks to and from our home and during the games. For me Boothferry oozed football out of every brick, post, turnstile and blade of grass it was the best place in the world as a kid and nothing changed as I grew older.
Oh my god the toilets ! Half time,and the lights were out,so it was pitch blackness. They were jam packed full of drunken City fans,and you had to shuffle you're way through the fat ****ers,to find relief. The stench of those bogs was staggering. You know what though ? The banter,even in there,was often hilarious.
Due to the disgusting conditions described not everyone bothered using the facilities. When you suddenly felt the back of your calves getting warm and wet, you feared the worst.
Now living in Australia, I was back in December and me and a mate went round the new estate,eerie.I could not understand though why there was only one players name Jensen way.I heard about him from my parents who introduced me to City. Was born in Gypsyville so used to try to get autographs growing up, . Remember knocking on Mick Milners house outside the ground,getting his autograph, he was having dinner at the time but still signed. Remember being gently scolded by a man in the crowd.It was a reserves match just after JFK was shot and they had a minutes silence.He told me next time take your cap off son. First big game v Everton FA Cup 3rd round, lady from Everton throwing Toffees into the crowd, Billy Wilkinson RIP scoring the opening goal with a header at Bunkers. Crying like a baby losing to Stoke 3-2 in 70. Wednesday 4-4 Winning 25 quid in 68 with Golden Goal Waggy scoring 86:31 in the 5-2 win. I don't mind the KC but long term memories are etched forever. Finally it was good to be back in December for the WBA game, dire game but good to be back with the family!
I remember a fourth div game, sat in the south stand seats. I went off and brought back a bag of crisps at half time. I got sat back down,just after second half kick off,and started munching said potato product. The people sat in front of me turned around and gave me a dissaproving look,like i was making too much noise,and disturbing their enjoyment of the game. I felt like i was at the cinema. There was a fantastic atmosphere at BP usually, but not always.
My wife is a Darlington fan and we have discussed if we ever were at any match together before we met in South Africa in 1967. The only possibility was the 5th replay in 1960 which was played at Middlesbrough not BP which City won 3-0. The match you were describing was most likely the first one which I saw at BP resulting in a 1-1 draw. My wife saw the replay in Darlington. The 3rd match was played in Leeds and the 4th in Doncaster.
Fantastic thread this...perhaps one of the mods (OLM, Ricardo etc) should throw these posts - some great memories- into the History sticky thread after a couple of days. My memories go back to the late Carter era, but my earliest real memories were just after he left. The era of Brian Bulless, Bill Bradbury ( my hero - comedian a la Rodney Marsh, but a wonderfully gifted player, ), Paul Feasey, Les Collinson, Doug 'Nobby" Clarke, Jock Davidson etc.etc. How could I forget Billy Bly & Frank Harrison ? Granddad started taking me (6 or 7 I was - walked from Anlaby Common to BP and back every home match). We stood right behind the North Stand goal for the whole match, but I can't recall which way City kicked off in those days. If we lost it was a miserable treck back - granddad was a moody bugger at the best of times), and he stood right behind the North Stand goal. Crowd size varied from feast to famine size during the mid to late 50's, but started picking up in the early 60's. By the late 50's I was cycling from Hessle, down Boothferry Rd, to the matches, and remember the (what seemed like) millions of bikes packed in householders back gardens - probably cost tuppence for a slot. How anybody found their own bikes after a match was a miracle - they all looked the same. If I was in **** during the week, my ma used to say - "You're not going to City on Saturday as a punishment". Usually by 2 or 2:30 on the Saturday afternoon I'd persuaded her to let me go out to Hessle Recker to watch Hessle Old Boys, or the best team in the district Kingburn Athletic. Of course, once out of sight of home, I'd piss off down Boothferry Roadon my bike to the City match. She was never the wiser, I think ! There were sometimes benefits to this....in those days they'd open the gates at half-time and let the punters in for free. If I got there 20-25 minutes late, I'd wait until half time & spend the cash on 5 Park Drive. I remember the Roller Harold Needler used to park on the cinders outside the Park - licence plate # HN 888 if I recall. A few years later there was another flash car ( maybe a Jensen Interceptor) with the plate HN 8 parked next to it...probably his son's. A couple of mates & me always paid to get into the ground and shot up to the top of the North stand. As soon as the attendants turned their backs, we'd shin over the barriers into the North Stand seats, and as the game progressed made our way down to the front end of those seats to get a better view. Then came Chilton, Houghton, Waggy, Butler, Neil etc etc. By that time I'd emigrated to Leeds so hitch-hiking to the games was de rigueur. At half time I remember them putting up the HT scores of other games. My mates and me once got a bloody long word out of the letters and scores at a particular game: "HooJooKo1L11M01No1PooQ". It became our "in-word". Daft bastards we were. Happy days.
That Darlington game was in '60. Still shares the record (with two earlier games) for most replays in the FA Cup proper, but the overall record is 6 replays for one of the preliminary rounds between non-league teams.
Sounds more like the Threepenny Stands at the Boulevard, but I'm sure it happened at BP too...but at least it wouldn't be the lasses !
One of the best articles (and thread) I've read on these forum as I have prattled on about the uniqueness of Boothferry Park for long enough. We never reached the heady heights of the KC mob but the KC will never have the feeling of home that BP did no matter how long it is there, this article captivates exactly what it meant to us old ones (although of course we weren't always old) but childhood memories do live on. When I was skint I could still go and see at least half a match as the gates were opened to let anyone in, but I made sure I had enough to get in for most games even if I did have to give up goodies in the process. 1958/59 my first season and I still scan old photos of the kids on Bunkers Hill (South Stand) to see if I can spot myself as yet I haven't been able too. But I do have a bit of a claim to fame my mate and I were featured on the front page of the York daily rag as we made our way from the train station to Bootham Crescent but in later editions the same picture is on the back page. Still have a couple of copies of that very paper and the photos I sent for, the year was 1966. Reading the posts on this thread make me feel good inside as even though I don't personally know any of the posters we could have actually stood together or even spoke all those years ago and the common bond is still there. In later years I got posh and joined the social club above the North End stand and at half time use to go for a quick half, if you got to the bar early enough that was. Occasionally after the match was over you may have seen one or two of the players but that was all stopped by Terry Neil, shame really. I have been back despite what the wonderful Paul Heaton wrote and tried to visualise where I was stood on the estate in relation to the old ground and got some queer looks from the residents in the process. I still say the old BP could have been developed, Cleggies field was behind the railway sidings, I used to live down Hawthorn Ave in those days, and if I remember there was a gate at the bottom of Kempton Road bordering the field. Thanks OLM for bringing this article to a wider audience but well done to the KC generation for propelling Hull City to the higher echelons of the football world in England. BP never experienced such things although we did occasionally have 1st division opponents in the FA Cup and other competitions of the day and now and then international matches. Much of my experiences were the cut and thrust of 2nd and 3rd division but none the less exhilarating or memorable for that. I saw some of the best stars of the day at BP and some of the worst, comedians abounded on those concrete steps at both the North and South ends of the ground and even in defeat comedy would emerge at some point. And there was lunacy in the form of idiots who thought it was great fun to stand at the back of a crowded South Stand and push the person in front of them and then watch the domino effect as boys and girls in front of them tumbled forward causing chaos. Fortunately these idiots were soon spotted by those sat in the seats and the perpetrators were held until the police arrived. But overall I would do it all again through the bad, and my there were some very bad times, to the relatively good, I felt sad when the bulldozers arrived and even more sad when those pylons finally fell. But like the house in which I was born down Hawthorn Ave BP is no more and time moves on but fortunately the memories, and even some photos, the recent Billy Bly sweet shop was one, lives on.
My first game was January 1970 I got a half season pass it was like a raffle ticket book !! Although the old place was showing it's age I never wanted to go to the KC because I thought it would be souless.
They should get back to that. None of this penalties rubbish. They should always have the replays a few days later. If the police can't organise themselves to turn up it's tough!
We all have many great memories from our time at BP and as quiet / sombre the KC can be it has proved the catalyst for a fantastic period in the clubs history. Pity the East stand at KC is not all standing as I am sure we could recreate The Kempton atmosphere once more. My only regret is my 3 young sons who attend games with me never had the chance to sample the delights of BP.
