Your first Reds game

Barnsley 2 Charlton 1 - December 1985.

 

A 3-0 win at home to Brentford at Easter in the Division 4 promotion season of 1967/8. Two by Winstanley and one by Allen Bradbury, or vice-versa, or a Roy Ironside hat-trick. Who knows? We had a fourth disallowed but I bet even Big Lil can't remember who put that one in. Could've been the young lad Preedy. I hadn't even seen a football match on telly at the time, the first I watched being the Man Utd vs Benfica European Cup Final a few weeks later. Or the Cup Final between Old Etonians and Coronthian Casuals. Ra ra the Colliers.

 

11 November 1980. A couple of weeks before my 7th birthday

Barnsley 5 Hull 0

Trevor Aylott got a hat trick, was a Tuesday night and my dad and I sat in the west upper seats, we stood in the brewery from then on, you could acquire a cushion from a cupboard half way up the stairs, funny the things you remember!

 

My dad used to take me when I was still at junior school so it would have been 66 or 67 and I can't remember any opponents or results.... The first game I can remember was a 2-1 win against Rotherham in 1973 when I went with a load of mates from Wath Grammar school. We divided up and stood at opposite ends then stood together in the brewery stand at half time.

 

My granddad and dad used to take me down to Oakwell when I was very little but I cant remember the opponents or when these games were. The first games I remember seeing were the big cup matches of 1960/61. I went to the Bradford City 1 Barnsley 2 game which was definitely my first away match. I went to the Luton game which we won 1-0 through a Jackie Lunn goal. We drew away at Leicester in the quarter finals but the replay at Oakwell was in the afternoon because we had no floodlights.I think there were over 38 000 for that game. Loads of kids wagged it off school but my dad wouldn't let me so I was gutted. Cup games were huge back then and we often had good cup runs. Rosettes were a big thing and there'd be traders selling them, pin badges and scarves at the end if Grove Street. Quite often we'd draw a big club like Man United and there'd be 38 000 crammed into Oakwell like sardines.

 

It was terracing but was closed we only had East Stand open- possibly West Stand maybe???

 

Reds v Rotherham 1-0 ...1970

cant remember who scored tho...

 

0-0 home to Crewe Alex 1966/67 4th division mid table finish riveting but kept on going with my dad

 

Evans scored - attendance 11552

 

2-1 win vs Portsmouth, August (I think) 1998. Missed our 1 season in the top flight by months ffs.

 

1910 FA Cup final replay at Goodson Park. Lost 2-0 to Newcastle and got mugged by Joey Barton’s great-grandad whilst walking all the way back to Barnsley, though got lost and ended up in Hull. Many years later, they built a road to follow my journey. It was initially to be called Julian Broddle Avenue, but someone changed it to M62.

 

December 1990 at Oakwell. Won 1-0 against West Ham.

 

1-0 against Notts County. April 1991 - Brendan O'Connell with the goal.

 

Barnsley 1 wolves 3 1997

 

First home game Man Utd F.A. cup think it was 1964.First away game Port Vale with my grandad and uncle,forgot what yr but think Barry Thomas and Johnny Evans played.

 

Being originally from Norwich, my first reds game was actually a 0-0 draw at Carrow Road in 1999. I can’t remember anything from it though.

I moved up to Barnsley June 16 2001 and my first game at Oakwell was a 3-2 win over West Brom in October that year. I can’t remember much from this game either apart from Neil Clement curling in a free kick for them.

I was under 10 years old still at this point so hopefully that excuses my poor memory of the games!

 

First two gamers watching Barnsley was Torquay v Barnsley in March 61 result 1-1

Second game was Torquay v Barnsley on 7th September 1961 result 6-2, I remember this game more than the first.

Both these games were at Torquay, so I joke can anyone beat my first game watching Barnsley were nearly 300 miles from home?

Reason for this was because we were living in Newton Abbot at that time, so my dad took me to watch the Barnsley games.

Shortly after that game, our family moved to Essex for a short period and my Dad took me to watch the Tottenham Double side, including the best forward I have ever seen, Jimmy Greaves. That though is another story.

During our time in Essex, we came upto Barnsley to see family. On one of these visits it enabled my Dad to take me to the return game with Torquay game in May 62 and saw the reds get revenge with a 4-2 win.

We moved back to Barnsley in early 1963 and that’s when I started going with my Dad to watch Barnsley on a regular basis.

 

Thinking back to my first game watching the Reds in 1988 after visits to Hillsborough and Elland Road,
one of the main attractions of going back to Oakwell for me, was the cost.

In lieu of the Miners strike and the devastating effect it had on attendances, I bet it was a real struggle
to recruit players that could keep us in Division Two and pay the bills. Always remember, the Social Club
around where the Club shop is now, was a hive of activity prior to kick off which must have helped the Clubs
finances.

Can't for the life of me remember how much it was to enter the ground, but I believe for my son and
myself it was very cheap. Anyone remember exactly how much it was.?

 

Barnsley 2 Barrow 3, 10th August 1968. Johnny Evans and Allen Bradbury scored our goals.
My first away game was a few weeks later at Rotherham on 31st August. We drew 0-0. However, Barnsley played in all white that day and I was furious! My dad explained to me that because Rotherham played in all red, Barnsley had to change into their 2nd kit. But I wasn't having it! "Barnsley play in red and white. It should always be the other team who changes their colours!"