I noticed Southport have got through to the FA Cup Round 1 - nice to get them again

Lots on here will not remember that marvellous Saturday afternoon at Oakwell - 26 November 1966. It was the day after my 14th birthday and the Reds were slowly backing away from the abyss that they had been teetering on the edge of. This recovery was only possible because of the £10,000 cash injection by Geoff Buckle and Ernest Dennis which was immediately splashed on a terrific pair of strikers - Barrie Thomas and Johnny Evans.

They made an immediate impact and the transformation in the club's fortunes created a dramatic rise in attendances. From pulling in two or three thousand per match the First Round tie against fellow Fourth Division side Southport attracted over 11,000. I was there and was thrilled by a 3-1 win. From memory I think Thomas got two and Evans the other one, with big Jim Fryatt scoring for them. They were league leaders at the time so it was some victory. Just for nostalgia reasons I would love to see us draw them again at Oakwell.

As a footnote, we beat Port Vale in the next round after a replay (1-1 at home and 3-1 away). Then we got a big (ish) draw for the 3rd Round - Second Division Cardiff. Over twenty thousand turned up for this one and we were unlucky to only get a 1-1 draw. Unfortunately we then went out at Ninian Park, losing 2-1. The Thomas and Evans era had begun and we started to climb the league again.

 

Question ?
Ernest or John ?
Biggest influence on bfc being in existence today ?
Ernest for me .

 

Definitely Ernest because without that £10k cash injection the club might have gone out of business. There should be a statue of Messrs Buckle and Dennis outside the ground to reflect the significance of their contribution.

We were in big trouble when Patrick Cryne stepped in to save us but that earlier rescue act was no less remarkable. There was a Green Un cutting that I pasted into the scrap book for that season that was headed “Crisis May be the end of the Reds” (or words to that effect - I passed my scrap books on a few years ago). We really were THAT close to losing the club.

 

It'd be a good away game that (nice place), IF they can quickly put up a stand, or two, to fit us in ☺