bantamspast programme notes

Rotherham United

2009-04-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

In this, the last home match of the 2008-2009 season, City beat Rotherham 3-0.

In the final part of our Odsal odyssey we chart the departure of the Bulls from Valley Parade and the proposed Odsal Sporting Village. Ground sharing between Bradford’s two professional sporting clubs is back on the agenda, but despite the grand plans for Odsal, it’s debateable where the shared ground will be.
With the collapse of the Tesco development at Odsal in 2002 the council came under increasing pressure to fund a return of the Bradford Bulls to Odsal. Though the Bulls had received £1.2m from the council to compensate them for their two year sojourn at Valley Parade, they also wanted the council to foot the bill to bring Odsal up to standard. Bulls chairman Chris Caisley even threatened to take the Bulls out of Bradford. In truth it was probably a bluff to increase the pressure on the Council as they assed the options. The council revealed that repairs and improvements to Odsal would cost at least £660,000 just to bring the ground back up to the basic health and safety standards.
Chris Caisley claimed the Council was only prepared to do 'the bare minimum' for the club over the next decade-and-a-half: "That means spending a minimum amount on health and safety grounds. It will mean that after two years, capacity will drop from 25,000 to 14,000 and that in the interim period, there will be no bars and hospitality facilities open to the public. It doesn't seem to be a stadium for the World Club Champions, does it?
"It seems to me that over a number of years, and certainly throughout my involvement in the club, the Council has abrogated that responsibility to the point where it's allowed the stadium to rot, to become an eyesore in due course and, if their present plans are to be believed, to make it very difficult to sustain a business within that stadium."
Councillor Simon Cooke, Deputy Leader of Bradford Council commented: "We're obviously in a situation that none of us, not the Bulls, not the developers nor the Council or indeed the people of Bradford, wanted to be in and we have now got to work for a long-term solution. In the short-term, however, we have a requirement, and Chris has made it absolutely clear on a number of occasions that he wants to go back to play at Odsal, and I understand why he wants to do this, and why Bull fans want to do that. What we are doing as a Council is the bare minimum at this point necessary to enable him to get back and play next season.”
The shenanigans put even greater momentum behind the supporters campaign to return the Bulls to Odsal. The council eventually bowed to public pressure and in August 2002 announced details of the agreement that was to take the Bulls home. The council agreed to pay the Bulls £4.64m over two years. The deal attracted intense criticism from sections of the public, but the council said the deal would be paid for by the sale of land and properties owned by the council, as well as some borrowing. A 150-year lease was signed at a peppercorn rate, reputedly £1 per year. The council also spent £660,000 on health & safety work to bring Odsal up to standard for the 2003 Super League season.
The Main Stand was refurbished, with nearly 5,000 new seats and roof. New floodlights completed the refurbishment and all was ready for the triumphant return on 9 March 2003 when the Bulls met Wakefield Trinity. The improvements didn’t stop there. A two-storey corporate hospitality facility was later constructed on the site of the speedway pits at the Low Moor end of the ground.
The cost to the local taxpayer for the collapse of the Tesco development was immense. The Bradford Bulls received just short of £6m of public money between 2000-03. Another £1m was spent on a combination of bringing Odsal back up to scratch to facilitate the Bulls return and consultancy fees.
In 2004, when Bradford City was on the brink of closure, council leader Margaret Eaton told City fans that the council was unable to help out as City was ‘a private business’. Today in 2009 the council have set aside £15m of public money to help develop the Odsal Sporting Village. If the Sporting Village goes ahead it would mean that since 2000 £23m of public money will have been spent on Odsal related matters.
The council seem determined to press ahead with a development that has, at its heart, a brand new stadium for the Bradford Bulls. Yet reports suggest that Valley Parade – a virtually brand new 25,000 capacity all-seater stadium – is for sale for around £2.5m.

Lincoln City

2009-04-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

This match resulted in a 1-1 draw.

We continue our Odsal odyssey with the National Superdome and the Tesco developments. As ever the ‘Wembley of the North’ was to prove elusive.
In the mid-1990s the Government invited applications for a new national stadium to replace the aging Wembley. Former Bradford City director John Garside fronted a bid to make Odsal the National Stadium. In April 1995 £200m plans for an 80,000 all-seater ‘Superdome’, covered by a sliding roof, was unveiled to a sceptical public. Deadline after deadline passed without any progress. Eventually Odsal failed to make the national shortlist, and despite assertions that the project would go ahead regardless, it inevitably fizzled out.
One casualty of the Superdome was the Bradford Dukes speedway team. The reigning British Champions, they were forced to vacate Odsal in 1997 to facilitate preparatory works. The Dukes had a lease that was renewed yearly by the Council, the lease was suspended with the expectation that the Dukes would return once the Superdome was built. However, they were never offered the opportunity to return to Odsal even after the Superdome scheme officially died on 31 December 1998.
Allan Ham, team manager of Bradford Dukes, appealed to the Council to come up with possible sites for a track in a bid to re-launch the club. Ultimately, he was unable to find a base anywhere in West Yorkshire. Devastated fans wrote to Bradford Council to protest. Craig Asquith of Netherlands Avenue, confined to a wheelchair since his speedway bike went out of control and crashed into fencing at Odsal Stadium, said: "I believe a way must be found to save speedway in Bradford. Odsal was one of the best tracks in the world and it was lost all because of a development which didn't go ahead."
Leeds based Sterling Capital emerged in December 1999 as the new developers for Odsal. The redevelopment was to comprise of a 26,000-seater stadium, 28,000 parking places, a Tesco supermarket and multiplex cinema. On 23 August 2000, the Telegraph and Argus revealed: “Bradford Council has agreed, behind closed doors, to contribute £110,000 to a study of the [Odsal] site”. The editorial wondered what the point was of yet another site study?
In November 2000, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Council, Sterling Capital and the Bulls. £1.2m was paid to the Bulls to facilitate their two year move to Valley Parade. Councillor Barry Thorne said: "We have no objections to them receiving these payments. What we do not want is for this to come out of the limited leisure budget, which is already having to make cuts." Bulls chairman Chris Caisley said any figures were part of a confidential contract between himself and Bradford Council. However, it would not remain confidential for long. In August 2001 Keighley Cougars, who were fighting to stay afloat amid huge financial problems, complained that the Bulls were being given preferential treatment. Chris Caisley blasted: "It is uninformed rubbish and I wish that people would get their facts right before making such statements. The truth is that we have actually saved the Council money by moving to Valley Parade because they would have had to spend millions on making Odsal safe for us to stay there this season. Our current arrangement with the Council dates back to the re-development of Odsal for the 1986 World Speedway Championship.
"Under that agreement we gave up revenues from the bars, car parks and other events within the stadium. In return we have been compensated for that loss and that deal still forms the basis of our current financial arrangement. We have not received any extra monies above and beyond what we were entitled to under that arrangement."
The Cougars had meetings with the Council asking for financial assistance to get them through a ‘difficult period’ but they were informed that it was not possible. Cougars chairman Bob Chapman said: "We do not begrudge the Bulls the money they have received from the Council but it would have been nice if we had received a small percentage of that."
The Bulls temporary move to Valley Parade divided the Bulls fans, one said: "You can get 24,000 in and get a lot of noise. A lot better than Odsal." Others disagreed: "I don't like Valley Parade. I've always been a Bulls and Park Avenue supporter, but never City." Though the Bulls were to remain unbeaten in the Super League at Valley Parade, the fans began to hanker for a return to their spiritual home.
Bradford Council's regulatory committee eventually gave its backing to the Odsal scheme. The final hurdle was the approval of Steven Byers - the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. The £60m scheme was reliant on the retail development, but with Government policy against further out-of-town developments in February 2002 it was announced that the scheme would be subject to a public inquiry.
The decision to hold an inquiry caused the scheme to collapse. BBC North Sport reporter Tanya Arnold explained: "It's the fact that it's had to go to a full planning inquiry - a long and costly affair. What they say is that it is additional costs, timescale, delays and uncertainties created by this that have meant they, and the co-developers Tesco, have decided not to proceed. They just don't want to go into that inquiry which I've heard could cost up to £1million."
The announcement put the future of Odsal Stadium in jeopardy, with Bradford Council's Chief Executive, Ian Stewart, describing the plans as 'dead in the water'. A question mark even hung over the Bradford Bulls themselves. Since the start of the 2001 season, they had been playing home games at Valley Parade. But with the Bantams in administration, and the football club up for sale, the future of that arrangement looked uncertain.
Dave Hatfield, Rugby League correspondent for The Independent, said it was unclear what effect the developments could have on the team: "They're going to have to work out where they're going to play rugby. I know that their contract with Bradford City was only for this season. They don't even know who they have to negotiate with, so that's all up in the air. As for returning to a patched-up Odsal, it's an unattractive proposition."
As we will see in the final part, that ‘unattractive proposition’ became a reality.

Brentford

2009-04-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

A late goal by Peter Thorne earned City a 1-1 draw.

We continue our look at the public investment into Odsal Stadium by moving into the 1980s. The era of the World Speedway Final and, of course, our own term at the ground.
The 1985 World Speedway Final seemed to offer the opportunity at long last to develop Odsal’s undoubted potential. On 15 May 1984 the Telegraph & Argus reported that Odsal was set to become Britain’s national speedway home, a £1.5m transformation (financed in part by a substantial EU grant) would increase the capacity from 25,000 to 40,000 in time for the 1985 World Individual Final.
The 50-year-old Main Stand was to be demolished and replaced by open concrete terracing. Under the terracing new dressing rooms were to be built. The North Stand was to be refurbished, giving it a new roof and a 6,000 capacity. The rugby pitch was to be moved slightly to accommodate a newly laid speedway track. Crush barriers were replaced on the Rooley Avenue end. It was the most comprehensive refurbishment of the stadium for decades.
After years of prevarication, the council seemed to have finally grasped the Odsal nettle. The council took over day-to-day running of the stadium from Northern, whose staff transferred to the council’s payroll. Liaison with stock cars, and the all-important speedway, passed to the council.
Arguably, Odsal’s proudest day since the staging of the famous Challenge Cup Final in 1954, came on 31 August 1985 when 37,000 fans enjoyed the new, albeit basic, facilities, to witness the World Speedway Final. Of course, a few months earlier Valley Parade had been devastated by the terrible fire that caused the deaths of 56 fans. Although City played a handful of games at Leeds Road, Huddersfield and Elland Road, Leeds, Odsal was the obvious venue for the Bantams whilst the future of Valley Parade was decided. On 23 September 1985, a Football League delegation visited Odsal to view the stadium in order to pass it fit to host City’s home games. Segregation fences were erected on the old Main Stand side and 1,000 uncovered seats were bolted onto the terracing.
Odsal’s first professional football match came on Tuesday 8 October, when Brighton were the visitors in a League Cup second round tie. It was hardly an auspicious start, the game was played in a torrential downpour and City lost 0-2 in front of 5,368 spectators. Fans of both City and Northern viewed City’s Odsal sojourn gloomily. The latter felt put out by the erection of segregation fences at ‘their’ ground, whilst the former were busy lobbying hard for a return to Valley Parade and the construction of a stadium as a fitting reminder to the 56 fans who had died in the fire.
The thoughts of City fans were expressed by former City Gent editor John Dewhirst, writing in When Saturday Comes.
“Our first season away from Valley Parade was one of despair. The local authority appeared reluctant to assist in the redevelopment of our home ground, and it seemed that we might have to watch our football at the inhospitable Odsal stadium.
“Followers of the Bantams were active in petitioning for the return to Valley Parade. The initial hesitation of local government to provide money alienated people who pointed to the fact that enormous amounts of money had been spent on restoring a Bradford theatre. Correspondence to the local press included the usual sermons from the law and order brigade, demanding why public money should be used to assist a private limited company.”

Of course, City eventually returned to a rebuilt Valley Parade, made possible by a grant from West Yorkshire County Council. Back at Odsal Bradford Council seemed determined to press ahead with improvements. Between 1986-90 £3.5m was spent and in 1990 the World Speedway Final returned. 26,418 saw the final, some ten thousand lower than the 1985 final. Steep prices rises were blamed with fans having to pay £35 for a seat and £17.50 on the terraces. Without doubt it priced out many locals who may have been attracted to watch the novelty of a World Final on their doorsteps.
The council signed a new agreement regarding the running of Odsal in 1986. As former Northern chairman Chris Caisley explained the rugby club would received annual payments as compensation: "We gave up revenues from the bars, car parks and other events within the stadium. In return we have been compensated for that loss”.

The agreement was due to run to 2019. There’s no doubt that it was an excellent deal for Northern as by 2001 the annual payment they received from the council had grown to £337,000. In time the council were to rue signing the deal, it placed Northern in a very strong bargaining position and it caused huge resentment from Bradford City and the Keighley Cougars who received nothing like that kind of support from the public purse.
In truth City’s decision to return to Valley Parade had undermined any chance of the Odsal development reaching its potential. With Valley Parade rebuilt as a modern stadium the likelihood now was the Northern would come the other way and Odsal abandoned. However, with so much public money invested in Odsal, the council obviously wouldn’t want to be linked to such a spectacular failure. The political impact would have been enormous. So, they were forced to plough on. In the Lincoln programme we will relive the Superdome, the death of the Bradford Dukes and the Bulls at Valley Parade.

Port Vale

2009-03-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

City went on to lose this game 1-0.
With the debate about Odsal Stadium raging, we thought it would be timely to bring you a comprehensive history of public investment at Odsal. Some may wish to contrast it with policies towards Valley Parade.
Bradford Northern were formed when Bradford Rugby Club became Bradford Park Avenue AFC in 1907. The disenfranchised players and supporters of Bradford RFC formed the new rugby league club. The infant Park Avenue football club refused to let Northern share the Park Avenue ground, so Northern were forced to find a home at one of Bradford’s existing stadiums. They played one season at Greenfield Stadium at Dudley Hill. However, poor attendances forced them to move to Birch Lane at West Bowling. With good access to Manchester Road, attendances improved, but the tight ground was never really suitable for professional rugby.
Salvation came in 1932 when Ernest Call, Bradford Corporation’s director of public cleansing, floated the idea of turning Odsal tip into a stadium by the means of controlled tipping. Call, a keen Northern supporter, approached the club’s chairman Tom Smith and, despite much public scepticism, work commenced and on 23 June 1933 Northern signed a 10-year lease.
In return for providing the ground, the council received a mere 1% of gate receipts. In 1937 the switching of a scheduled England v France international to Halifax, forced the council to address the state of the pitch, which had been unsatisfactory since the opening day. They installed a drainage system and, as their contribution to the work, Northern increased their payment to the council to 4% of gate receipts. The council’s investment continued the following year, when they spent £3,000 on terracing the Rooley Avenue End and constructing a stand on the Hospital side.
The sheer scale of the new ground began to attract proposals for grandiose developments. No fewer than fifteen separate plans were put forward in the first ten years of the grounds life. These included a 1930s plan to cover the entire bowl and create a massive multi-use complex, including ice skating rinks, dance halls and other sports, as well as the rugby pitch.
The ground became a multi-sport venue when a 390-yard speedway track was laid. Bradford Northern’s Harry Hornby invited Johnnie Hoskins to bring speedway to Odsal. The Lord Mayor, Alderman Cecil Barnett, officially opened the track on 23 June 1945. Over 20,000 flocked to see the first meeting of the Odsal ‘Boomerangs’.
An earth slip in 1945 caused the rebuilding of the 8-year-old Hospital side stand. The £16,397 cost, included driving new piles, a virtual new stand and converting the wooden railway sleeper terracing to concrete on the northwest corner of the Rooley Avenue end. A further £5,650 was spent seating the lower part of the New Stand, as it inevitably became known. To prevent another earth slip, golden elder, flowering currant and gorse were planted to help absorb water from the banking.
Council engineer Wardley drew up a plan in September 1951 for a 92,000 capacity ‘European’ style stadium, at a cost of £250,000. In the event £50,000 was spent on terracing the Rooley Avenue end in 1964, before the Wardley plan was officially dropped the following year. Arguably, the Wardley plan was the biggest missed opportunity of Bradford’s sporting history. From almost that moment, any hope of a cohesive plan for developing a shared City of Bradford stadium was gone.
However, three years later only 324 souls witnessed Northern play Barrow in November 1963. Northern subsequently folded, but a quick reformation was wholeheartedly supported, as 14,500 saw the ‘new’ club’s first match. The council did their bit, spending £50,000 on new terracing.
The council paid out £40,000 for new floodlights in 1979 and they were officially turned on for the visit of St Helens on 29 November. Despite that investment the future of Odsal was far from assured, on 12 August 1980 the Telegraph & Argus revealed that the council were looking to sell Odsal to West Yorkshire County Council. Ironically, the proposal was for tipping household waste, the county had a chronic shortage of tipping sites and Bradford Council saw Odsal as the ideal site. They hoped to raise £5m and were prepared to offer Bradford Rugby Union Club’s Lidget Green (now Scholemoor) ground as a home for Northern.
The history of Odsal and the council will conclude in the Brentford programme.

Aldershot

2009-03-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

City went on to win this game 5-0.

The decision by the Council to put £15m into the Odsal Sporting Village will undoubtedly reignite the debate as to whether City should leave Valley Parade and share the huge stadium in south Bradford.
In later programme notes I will chart the history of Odsal, and the huge public investment that has been made in the stadium over the last 75 years, but for now we’ll look at City’s involvement thus far.
Ever since Odsal Stadium was developed in the 1930s, City have been linked with moves there on numerous occasions. Odsal was the central plank of a 1937 proposed merger between City and Avenue, the brainchild of Avenue chairman Stanley Waddilove, the new club was to be housed at a ‘continental style’ stadium at Odsal. The City board rejected the proposal on the grounds that one transfer could solve their financial problems. Additionally, City had recently purchased the freehold to Valley Parade and had undertaken ground improvements. Less understandable was the attitude of the Northern board, who opposed the plan on the grounds that they didn’t want a shared tenancy. One can only assume that the reality of maintaining, let alone developing, the huge stadium hadn’t at that time become apparent to the Northern board.
Twenty-four years later, Council Engineer Ernest Wardley drew up a plan in September 1951 for a 92,000 capacity ‘European’ style stadium, at a cost of £250,000. In the event £50,000 was spent on terracing the Rooley Avenue end in 1964, before the Wardley plan was officially dropped the following year. Arguably, the Wardley plan was the biggest missed opportunity of Bradford’s sporting history. From almost that moment, any hope of a cohesive plan for developing a shared City of Bradford stadium was gone.
But still the dreams of a ‘Wembley of the North’ persisted. Two decades on the Council convened talks with Northern, City and Avenue. On 21 October 1971 the Telegraph & Argus pondered ‘could Odsal be developed as a new multi-sport complex, catering for both soccer and rugby league?’ Alderman Newby, the instigator of the talks, said the likely £1m cost “would have to come from somewhere else, such as bringing in a development company”.
On 12 December 1972, a developer stepped forward, but rather than a shared arena, their plans envisaged Northern vacating their traditional home. The Telegraph & Argus reported ‘A £4m scheme for Odsal is being discussed between Bradford Corporation and a London company. Under the scheme there would be no place for Bradford Northern and rugby league at the stadium’.
Hackney and Hendon Greyhounds Plc proposed a 22,000 all-seater stadium, swimming pool, cinema and ancillary sports facilities. A condition of the scheme would be a new home for Northern at Park Avenue. The company was prepared to invest £3m, provided the Council contributed £1m.
Not surprisingly the scheme attracted huge controversy, which was fuelled further when City chairman, Stafford Heginbotham, discussed on YTVs ‘Calendar’ programme the possibility of City moving to Odsal.
On 2 January 1973, Alderman John Senior said the Council were not prepared to accept the scheme, unless the terms were improved. However, he was confident that Odsal “isn’t going to stop a hole in the ground forever”. By April the deal had collapsed, negotiations broke down when Hackney & Hendon Greyhounds wanted the Council to pay £3m towards the development.
In the early 1980s Odsal was refurbished in order to stage the World Speedway Final of 1985. On 31 August of that year 37,000 fans enjoyed the new, albeit basic, facilities, to witness a thrilling Final.
Of course, a few months earlier Valley Parade had been devastated by the terrible fire that caused the deaths of 56 fans. Although City played a handful of games at Leeds Road, Huddersfield and Elland Road, Leeds, Odsal was the obvious venue for the Bantams whilst the future of Valley Parade was decided. On 23 September 1985, a Football League delegation visited Odsal to view the stadium in order to pass it fit to host City’s home games. Segregation fences were erected on the old Main Stand side and 1,000 uncovered seats were bolted onto the terracing – it was planned to install 7,000 in the future.
Odsal’s first professional football match came on Tuesday 8 October, when Brighton were the visitors in a League Cup second round tie. It was hardly an auspicious start, the game was played in a torrential downpour and City lost 0-2 in front of 5,368 spectators.
Fans of both City and Northern viewed City’s Odsal sojourn gloomily. The latter felt put out by the erection of segregation fences at ‘their’ ground, whilst the former were busy lobbying hard for a return to Valley Parade and the construction of a stadium as a fitting reminder to the 56 fans who had died in the fire.
The Council initially didn’t hide its desire to see City move permanently to Odsal. The momentum seemed to be with Odsal, perhaps sensing that this was the big chance to finally realise the ‘Wembley of the North’ dream, plans of a £15m development were unveiled on 5 November 1985. The master plan was for two new 14,000 capacity cantilever stands, terracing behind each end and a 61,000 capacity by 1990. It was envisaged that Rugby League Challenge Cup Finals and FA Cup semi-finals would be staged at the new stadium.
Meanwhile a further £1m was spent to conform with new safety standards – bringing the total spent on Odsal to £3.5m. New boundary walls, turnstiles, exit gates, a bus lay-by in Rooley Avenue and access road were added.
But it wasn’t to be, the emotional draw of Valley Parade was too strong and in December 1986 City returned to a rebuilt ground. Given the subsequent developments at Valley Parade, the spectre of City at Odsal has receded for at least another generation.

Macclesfield

2009-03-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

A win for City: 1-0
On 18 March 2009 the museum will be hosting another ‘extra time’ event for seniors. After the overwhelming success of the first ‘extra time’, we are expecting a good turn out for the second event. The day is aimed at the over 50’s who might like to enjoy a social session at Bradford City Football Club.
The day begins in the bantamspast museum at 10am with tea and coffee. There will be a museum tour, a chance to meet players old and new, a showing of the DVD made about our community award and a tour of the ground. Lunch will be provided and the day will end around 1pm.
Anyone interested in attending is asked to book with Paula Helliwell. We need to know the numbers attending in order to provide refreshments. People can book individually or as a group. Please contact Paula before Friday 13th March on 07814 760198 or by email paula.helliwell@googlemail.com
Prior to the Aldershot game we will be showing more of our recently acquired photographs, this time concentrating on the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The presentation will also feature some film footage of that era and we are hoping that a few former players will be in attendance. The presentation begins at 1.30pm and as usual admission is free.
Finally, we’d like to send our best wishes to Gladys Hannah who recently had a fall and is currently in a nursing home in Manningham. Gladys’ fund raising over the years is the stuff of legend. There can’t be many people at Valley Parade who haven’t bought a raffle ticket from Gladys. Let’s hope that she will be back at Valley Parade to see our final push for promotion. Our thanks to Bill Roper for proving a photograph of a fund raising event from the 1970’s. Gladys can be seen in white alongside Trevor Hockey. Bobby Ham, sporting a moustache that wouldn’t have been out of place in a spaghetti western, is behind Gladys and on the right with the flowing golden locks is Garry Watson.

Grimsby Town

2009-01-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

City went on to win this game 2 - 0.
Before the First World War many clubs used to run annual club outings. It was an opportunity for fans to save up and travel en masse to a game that was often chosen by ballot.
In the spring of 1905 City’s away trip at Grimsby was chosen for City’s first ever club trip. Fortunately, City had hit a rich vein of form just before the trip, so with interest sky high three trains had to be laid on. Two left the Exchange station at 08.42 and 08.50am. The third left at 11.55am so those who worked Saturday morning could join the party. Several large firms allowed their workers to leave at 11.00am in order to catch the later train.
Over 2,000 made the journey to Grimsby, with 1,880 being booked from the Exchange station, with the remainder being sold via the booking offices at St Dunstans, Laisterdyke and Dudley Hill. The Bradford Boys team travelled with the supporters as they were playing Grimsby Boys as a curtain raiser to City’s match. The trains stopped at Grimsby Docks, New Clee and Cleethorpes. As they didn’t return until 8.45, 8.53 and 9.30pm, there was adequate time for the trippers to visit the delights of Cleethorpes and doubtless many of the local pubs.
The fans were in high spirits. Toyshops were invaded in search of anything that would make a noise. During the second half a deafening sound emitted from the City followers. In front of the press box there was a cornet, concertina, a huge bell, squeakers and rattles. Andy McGeachan scored twice as City made it three victories on the trot. At the final whistle the City fans poured onto the pitch and carried McGeachan and Jimmy Conlin off shoulder high. A similar attempt with James Garvey proved impossible due to the keepers’ bulk, so he was carried off feet first!
Earlier in the season City’s misfiring attack had been the subject of nightly letters in the local press. As City slipped down the table there was a real threat that the club would have to apply for re-election to the Football League. In those days the bottom three clubs and several potential new members of the Football League were subject to a vote of all the league clubs, with the losers being thrown out of the league. The victory at Grimsby pushed City further away from the danger zone. The scenes at the final whistle prompted the Bradford Daily Argus to comment that it was ‘difficult to realise that this was the team that had been so much abused, and this was the crowd that abused them’.
Picture shows City's wing wizard Jimmy Conlin who was carried off the Blundell Park
pitch shoulder high.

Accrington Stanley

2009-01-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

The 1970's was one of the low points in Bradford's footballing history. In 1974 Bradford Park Avenue went into liquidation and by the early part of the decade City were struggling in the lower reaches of the fourth division. Crowds at Valley Parade were among the lowest in the club's long history. It was quite a come down for a city that had once boasted two top flight football clubs and the FA Cup winners.
The turning point came with City's amazing run to the quarter final of the FA Cup in 1976. The following season Joe Cooke's header against Bournemouth at Valley Parade was enough to secure promotion. For once there was a sense of optimism around the old ground and in recognition the Lord Mayor invited the City players to a civic reception. Our thanks to City stalwart Bill Roper for the photograph of the
reception and also to David Markham for identifying the players and officials.

Shrewsbury Town

2009-01-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

(This game against fellow promotion seekers Shrewsbury Town ended in a 0-0 draw)
Over the last few years City fans have become all too familiar with fundraising initiatives. Indeed, in 2004 supporters raised a magnificent £250,000 to keep the club in business. At the time it was the largest amount ever raised by football supporters in Britain.
Older supporters will remember the frantic fund raising efforts to keep the club afloat in 1983 and the sadder task of the Bradford Disaster Fund in the wake of the fire in 1985. To its immense credit Bradford Council, led by chief executive Gordon Moore, reacted to the disaster rapidly. Within 48 hours the ground had been laid for the hugely successful disaster appeal.
Bradford was galvanised by the appeal. In every walk of life people found a way to help. Across the country the disaster struck a cord, thousands of pounds poured into the fund. From impromptu whip-rounds, to a fundraising record in the top ten, the disaster appeal exceeded all expectations by raising £4m. Jim Greenhalf later wrote in the Telegraph and Argus: ‘Pity Poor Bradford, a 17th Century ghost is said to have wailed. The world did; but Bradford collectively turned tragedy into its finest hour. The £4m raised for the disaster appeal was duly distributed through a trust fund without the slightest controversy or complaint.’
The specialist burns unit at Bradford University, set up after the disaster, still leads the world in pioneering research into reducing scarring from burns and plastic surgery. Professor David Sharpe, the director of the unit, was consultant on call at Bradford Royal Infirmary during the weekend of the fire disaster. He led a team of surgeons from all parts of the country to help the injured supporters. He received the OBE in 1986 in recognition of that work.
Fund raising has a very long history at Valley Parade. Five months before Bradford City was formed, our predecessors Manningham Northern Union (Rugby League) Club were facing financial ruin. Their second division derby against Leeds on New Years Day 1903 attracted a healthy 6,000 spectators. An athletics festival was held after the match with a harrier’s race commencing immediately after the final whistle. Then the crowd poured onto the field for the highlight of the day - an archery fund raising event. A huge sixteen foot slowly rotating target, full of thousands numbered tickets which had been sold all over the country in the preceding weeks, was set up in front of the main stand. Members of the Manningham committee and selected prominent gentlemen from Bradford shot 150 arrows at the target. A Mr W Wisdon of Woolwich, London won the first prize of £85. Mrs Smith of 67 Preston Street, Bradford carried away second prize of an upright piano. Third prize, a dining room suite, went to R Dent of Station Road, Oxenhope. The competition was a huge financial success.
This influx of funds enabled the club to break even come the end of the season. Even Manningham’s debts had been cleared. It was crucial as it allowed the newly formed Bradford City AFC to begin life on an even financial keel. Though eight years later the club had established itself as one of the top five clubs in the country, and had won the FA Cup, its birth against the background of financial turmoil was sadly to be a reoccurring theme over the century to follow.

Morecambe

2008-12-28T15:00:00.000-08:00

The Manningham Mills Strike, which began one cold December day 108 years ago, had quite an impact on our predecessors Manningham Rugby Club. Financially the club was hit by a reduction in attendances and socially as many of club officials and players actively supported the strike.
The era saw a general rise in trade unionism, but locally, it had been slow to take hold, partially because during the boom years of the 1870s mill owners had been paternalistic, but with trade slowing, they were no longer willing to subsidise the local church, brass band, mechanics institute or cricket team. Also, the majority of textile workers tended to be women engaged in what was termed as unskilled work. In 1885 65,000 females were employed in Bradford’s mills, compared to 30,000 men.
However, when on 9 December 1890 wage cuts of 25% were announced at Manningham Mills, it sparked a dispute that was to change the face of industrial relations in Bradford and beyond. The cuts came in response to American trade tariffs. The reductions were to be implemented at Christmas. Five thousand workers walked out in protest. In a letter to the Bradford Observer mill owner Samuel Cunliffe Lister said the cuts were fair. He claimed that whatever the level of wages: ‘The women spend their money on dress and the men in drink’. A response in the Observer said: ‘In Mr Lister’s eyes, probably the spending of an extra shilling a week on dress and drink represent the acme of short-sighted and foolish self-indulgence, and the purchase of big estates seems the perfection of far-sighted thrift and philanthropy’. The average wage at the mill was 70p a week, Lister himself was estimated to be worth around £6m and had spent £750,000 on two landed estates in North Yorkshire.
Forty policemen would be on duty to keep strikers and workers apart during shift changes. Despite the police presence strike breakers were assaulted on a regular basis, sometimes a fair distance from the mill itself. Windows were broken in several homes where strike breakers were lodging. Eventually, one hundred and fifty beds were set up in the mill so the workers didn’t have to run the gauntlet of the pickets. However, given that 5,000 workers were on strike, a couple of hundred people working was nothing more than a token gesture.
A food depot helped to feed and clothe striking families. Local butchers donated meat and Dr Smith of Lumb Lane waived his fees when treating strikers who fell ill. A strike fund attracted donations from all over the north. A fund raising rugby match between Manningham & District and the Yorkshire Nomads was played at Valley Parade on 19 January. Appearing where the Manningham’s trio Firth, Hardaker and Redman. Over 1,000 spectators boosted the fund by £24. The Fattorini family, Manningham residents and well-known jewellers, also made a donation of £2 2s to the fund. Tony Fattorini had been involved with the junior Manningham Rangers club and joined the Valley Parade committee during 1891, the start of a long and fruitful relationship with Manningham and later Bradford City.
By April 1891 the authorities were trying to prevent rallies and public meetings taking place in the city centre. A weekly meeting was held every Thursday at the Star Music Hall, but they were halted when the Chief Constable threatened to withdraw the licence from the Star unless the striker pledged not to hold city centre meetings on Sundays. Those meetings attracted huge crowds and the police claimed that fire exits had been blocked at St Georges Hall and blasphemous language had been used at an open air meeting in Forster Square. The Chief Constable’s actions escalated the dispute into a battle for free speech.
In defiance of the ban 20,000 gathered in the city centre on 13 April. When the police broke up the meeting fighting left the Chief Constable injured and only the intervention of troops from Bradford Moor barracks disbursed the crowds. The following night mounted police cleared the square outside the Town Hall, but the police were beaten back and once again the troops were called in. The Chief Constable read the riot act outside the New Inn at the bottom of Thornton Road. One hundred and six men of the Durham Light Infantry fixed bayonets and charged the crowd. The police backed them up with repeated baton charges.
Almost overlooked during the dramatic confrontations was the fact that the strikers were slowly being starved into submission. The harsh winter had played its part in sapping morale and over 200 strikers had emigrated to the USA. After nineteen weeks the spinning hands gathered at the Valley Parade Skating Rink and voted to return to work. The strike crumbled, but in its wake the Independent Labour Party was formed, an organisation that evolved into today’s Labour Party.
The bitterness of the strike lasted for years. Among the ranks of the police who baton charged the strikers were three of Bradford’s international players acting as special constables. Also in the police line was Joe Hawcridge, one of the founders of the Manningham club, one can only guess at his feelings as he waited to face a mob that would have contained many of his former friends and neighbours?

Chester

2008-12-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

(This game ended in a goalless draw)
The museum recently hosted a history workshop involving students from the nearby Challenge College. It marks our first step towards a greater goal of an oral history project capturing the changing life in the shadow of Valley Parade over the last century.
On Thursday 27 November GCSE students from Challenge College visited the club to take part in an oral history workshop. For many of the students it was their first visit to Valley Parade, despite living in Manningham and Frizinghall. Ian Ormondroyd’s Football in the Community scheme gave them a ground tour; then we gave them a conducted tour of the museum. The day was rounded off with a discussion of some of the issues raised by their trip.
The day was resounding success and was enjoyed by both the students, museum volunteers and Supporters Trust members. The discussion part of the day was an eye opener for all concerned. The boys were the most animated during the museum tour, but the girls asked the majority of the questions during the discussion.
Alan Carling, chair of the Supporters Trust, presented the school with a copy of David Markham’s book ‘The Bradford City Story’. The book is now in the school library and will no doubt it will be a popular item.
Thanks are due to John Ashton, Alan Carling, Paula Helliwell and Mike Thompson for giving up their time to help make the day a great success. The feedback from the pupils was excellent with 100% saying they enjoyed the day. The event also helped the build firmer foundations between the museum, Supporters Trust and Football in the Community.
All in all, it was a positive first step towards our evolving goal for an oral history project which will look at the experiences - and changing face - of the communities that have lived in the shadow of Valley Parade over the last century. The area around the ground has seen huge changes, especially in the last fifty years. Deindustrialisation and demographic change being the main themes. We’ve seen people form all over the world live alongside Valley Parade – from Estonian’s to Bangladeshi’s, Caribbean’s to Irish. Not forgetting of course the British people who established Manningham as an industrial, working class and even upper class suburb of the city.
It will be a huge, but fascinating project. We will need volunteers to undertake research and interviews. We need to find people who live, or used to live, in the shadow of the ground to capture their memories. If you are interested in becoming part of the project, or know someone who used to live near the ground, please get in touch with myself at davidpendleton1@googlemail.com or call in at the museum before any match.

Changing Priorities; the FA Cup Today and Yesterday

2008-11-30T04:16:00.000-08:00

This article by David Pendleton originally appeared in the programme for the league game against Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday December 6th 2008.

Your team is top of the Premier League, but with the FA Cup on the horizon several top players are rested from vital league matches. Today, it’s unthinkable, but that is exactly what Bradford City did for several seasons in the years leading up to the Great War.
On 1 January 1910 City were sitting proudly on top of the First Division. The Bantams had scored twenty-five goals in just ten matches. New Years Day brought Manchester United to Valley Parade. Star striker Bob Whittingham had been playing for some weeks with a niggling ankle injury, so with the upcoming FA Cup tie in mind he was rested. The 25,000 crowd (incidentally over twice the size of the attendance at Old Trafford) had little to cheer as the two sides played out a tame contest on a mud bound pitch. City went down by two goals and it marked the start of a run of four league games when City failed to score. The sudden loss of form coincided with several injuries to key players.
The first round FA Cup tie against Notts County was switched to Valley Parade after City paid County £1,000. Fifty men were employed to clear snow off the pitch and then protect it with 50 tons of straw. Despite the fact that admission prices had been doubled, excursion trains ran into Bradford from Carlisle, Morecambe and Sheffield. R. Gregson, one of the England selectors, was at the match to run his eye over Bond, Lintott and Whittingham.
A muddy pitch spoiled the match and it wasn’t until County’s Cantrell was sent off that City found form. They scored twice within ten minutes of the dismissal to take control of the tie. Dickie Bond (pictured) did his England prospects no harm by scoring one of City’s four goals.
The second round brought with it heavy snowfall. The pitch was cleared, but this time all the loose slush and sand was removed. It was said to be as flat as a billiard table, albeit almost devoid of grass. With prices at near normal levels 28,000 witnessed the tie with Blackburn Rovers. It was a tight affair, but the Rovers forwards always had the edge. Though Frank O’Rourke scored for City, the home forwards rarely found the space they needed and were well marshalled all afternoon. City lost 2-1 and O’Rourke suffered a knee injury that was to keep him out for three weeks.
City ended the season in seventh place, respectable by any standards, but the fact that they had led the pack at the turn of the year, and had been in such fine form, caused one or two grumbles. However, the policy of resting players from league matches caused little or no comment.
The following season City would once again sacrifice their league position for cup glory. That year was 1911, when City won the FA Cup. The league title was at one point within their grasp, but the cup took precedence. Today we would sacrifice a cup run for promotion from the fourth tier of English football, how times change!

Chesterfield

2008-11-25T19:45:00.000-08:00

Fixtures against Chesterfield go back to City’s first ever season as a Football League club. The inaugural meeting between the clubs ended with a 6-2 thrashing for City.
Though City were never in any danger of having to apply for re-election during their first season in the Football League. The heavy home defeat caused disquiet on the terraces. The Bradford Daily Argus noted a ‘more than usually large exodus of those who felt inclined for the solace of the Belle Vue’.
The 2,000 boys at the Bradford End of the ground gave Chesterfield a sarcastic loud cheer when they ran out for the second half – those already in the Belle Vue probably made the right decision.
In the return fixture at Saltergate the sides played out a dull 1-1 draw. The latter set the scene for matches between the clubs as a succession of draws and low scoring games were the norm. That is until City won a thrilling match 4-3 at Saltergate in March 1907. Manager Peter O’Rourke was by then building the side that would take the second division title by storm the following season.
The forward line ran riot from the opening game of the 1907/08 season. Chesterfield were routed 8-1 at Valley Parade. Three goals in the first thirty minutes convinced even the most sceptical of City followers that something special was afoot for that season. Allerton born Wally Smith bagged four goals, George Handley a brace, Frank O’Rourke and Jimmy McDonald completed the scoring.
It was no one off, 7-1 against Stoke, 6-2 against Wolves, 5-0 against Leeds and Stockport. The aggregate score against poor old Gainsborough Trinity was 11-1.
City scored ninety goals en route to the Second Division Championship. Wally Smith and Frank O’Rourke rattled up forty-one league goals between them. George Handley weighed in with sixteen and Jimmy McDonald thirteen. It was an astonishing performance and one almost unparalleled in the club’s history.
Of the four attackers Wally Smith is almost forgotten today. Yet he scored 59 goals in 120 appearances. However, he struggled to find the net in the first division and was transferred to Leicester Fosse in January 1909. He later played for Hull City, but had to retire through injury in 1912.
Smith died at his Worksop home aged only thirty-four in 1917. Contemporary reports suggest that he may have been suffering from a serious internal injury throughout his career. He received it when shoulder charging Northampton Town goalkeeper Fred Cook. Whether it was ultimately responsible for his untimely death is unknown. However, with a goal in every other game Wally Smith deserves to be remembered. After all, not many footballers get the chance to shoot their hometown club into the top flight of English football.

Bury

2008-10-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

With the nights drawing in, leaves falling from the trees and a chill in the air, we are into the football season proper. The sunny days of August and September are behind us, early season optimism is settling down and the spring, with its promotions and relegations, seems a long way off.
At least in this day and age we don’t have to worry too much about the pitches as winter approaches. As recently as the 1980’s the style of play would be altered by inches of mud.
A good illustration of the conditions that had to be endured came during a First Division match between City and Bury in early 1910. The pitch was apparently almost totally devoid of grass and frozen solid. The forwards found it difficult to keep their footing on the treacherous pitch. Chances were few and far between and, with defenders able to quickly close down the naturally cautious forwards, a goalless draw was inevitable. The only real entertainment came when the ball became stuck in a trombone that was inexplicably lying alongside the pitch.
The game was a complete contrast to the goal feast the two sides had served up at Gigg Lane earlier in the season. Bury took the lead, but City soon equalised. Bury went 2-1 up, but back came City with another equaliser. Then Frank O’Rourke turned quickly in the box and fired City into the lead for the first time in the match. The home side made it 3-3, which set up a frantic finish as both sides went all out for the victory.
Fine minutes from time City’s big money signing, striker Bob Whittingham, set off on a zigzagging run towards goal. The ball was glued to his foot as he ghosted past several defenders and then unleashed an unstoppable shot that gave City a 4-3 victory. The press described Whittingham’s winner as one of the finest ever scored by a City player.
The 1909/10 season saw City finish in a respectable seventh position. Given that they had escaped relegation on the final match of the previous season, seventh place in the top division was a fabulous effort. However, there had been some disquiet on the terraces. City had been top of the table on New Years Day 1910, but a spate of injuries disrupted the side throughout the remainder of the campaign.
One extreme example of City’s misfortunes came when they visited bottom of the league Bolton Wanderers. A goalless draw at a relegation haunted club might not seem much to crow about, but City had to play the final fifteen minutes with nine men and two of those were nursing serious injuries. So in effect it was seven against eleven! In those days substitutions weren’t allowed, so teams had to struggle on.
The carnage at Burnden Park included George Robinson playing on with blood gushing down his face after a clash of heads. He did briefly retire to receive stitches at the side of the pitch. No sooner was the last stitch put in place, Robinson was back in the fray. City’s England international Evelyn Lintott was so seriously injured that the game was stopped. Lintott later commented that it was the first time he had known a game to be halted for an injury in his sixteen-year career. Lintott played on and was at the heart of the gallant stand in the closing stages of the game.
The injury was to have serious consequences for Lintott. He was sidelined for over six months and didn’t return until early 1911. By that time the team that was to win the FA Cup had been brought together and Lintott struggled to get back in the side. Prior to his injury he had been one of the first names on the team sheet, indeed he had been captain and his passing was at the heart of everything the side did. Into his shoes stepped Jimmy Speirs – the man who was destined to score the goal that would win the cup for City.
Lintott’s heroics at Bolton arguably cost him a place in the FA Cup winning side of 1911. That was some price to pay, but not as great as the sacrifice both Lintott and Speirs made in the Great War – as both men were killed in action.

Luton Town

2008-10-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

The return of home fans to the Bradford End of the ground has undoubtedly improved the atmosphere in the ground. Today it is the TL Dallas Stand, but to many it will remain the ‘Shed’ or ‘Bradford End’.
Though corporate sponsorship is now an essential part of every clubs income, the frequent re-brandings can cause confusion. A national newspaper journalist once rang me requesting directions to the Bradford and Bingley Stadium and asked why we had left Valley Parade.
Of course, traditions have to start somewhere. The Carlsberg Stand is still known universally as the Kop. Almost exactly 100 years ago the Bradford Daily Argus began calling the terrace the ‘Spion Kop’. Until that point it had been known as ‘Nunn Kop’ after its creator, City director John Nunn.
Nunn had commenced work in 1906 when he persuaded several companies to use the plateau at the top of the terrace as a free tip for ashes. Tipping continued for several months at a rate of 40 loads a day. Nunn’s Kop was finally completed in February 1907, when some 16,000 loads of rubbish and ashes had been tipped.
The complete rebuilding of Valley Parade in readiness for top-flight football in the summer of 1908 saw the Nunn Kop receive the latest concrete terracing. Probably because it was now one of the biggest and best terraces in the country, it was given the title ‘Spion Kop’ which it retained for the best part of eighty years.
The name Spion Kop hailed from the South African hill where a large number of northern troops had died during the Boer War. The odd name hails from the Dutch language, Spion is ‘spy’ or ‘look out’ and kop means ‘hill’.
Though the British actually won the battle of Spion Kop, they suffered such heavy casualties that the order was given to withdraw. After so much blood had been spilt, it caused a huge controversy, so much so that the Government of the day nearly fell.
The event was still fresh in the collective memory when it came to naming the many large terraces being built across the north of England and beyond. Whether the name was inspired by respect for the dead, or contempt for the General’s who ordered the retreat, is a moot question.
Today, the word Kop has entered modern language as an automatic reference to football terraces, whilst the battle itself is largely forgotten.

Bournemouth

2008-09-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

Once of a day every schoolboy used to pride himself in being able to recite the name of every Football League ground and all ninety-two club nicknames. It was of no consequence if you didn’t know whether Wellington was a famous general, a bomber or an item of footwear. However, if you didn’t know who played at Brunton Park, or know whom the Railwaymen were, your standing among your mates would plummet.
As soon as Manningham rugby club moved to Valley Parade in 1886 they were known as ‘the Paraders’. A nickname that continued when Manningham became Bradford City in 1903.
Though there have been other short-lived nicknames, the adoption of the ‘Bantams’ in 1908 stuck and, apart from occasional reversions to the Paraders, it has been City’s nickname ever since.
The reason why City were nicknamed the Bantams was lost in the mists of time. Some thought it was because a groundsman used to keep chickens under the main stand, others that City’s FA Cup winning team of 1911 contained so many small, but burly, Scotsmen that the name represented the fighting spirit of that team.
I was recently scanning through some old newspapers at the Central Library when I came across a report that gave the reason for the adoption of the Bantams nickname.
Apparently, City used to have a lucky silver horseshoe that they hung in their train carriage when on their travels. It had been with them when they won the Second Division championship in April 1908.
As we well know from recent experience, life for a newly promoted club in the top flight of English football can be tough in the extreme. By November 1908 City were firmly rooted to the bottom of the First Division. The free-scoring forwards of the championship season couldn’t buy a goal and there was a real fear City would be as good as relegated early in the New Year.
To add to their woes the lucky horseshoe had been lost. Up stepped the daughter of City director Tony Fattorini, whose company incidentally made the current FA Cup and Rugby League Challenge Cup. She gave the club a new mascot on the eve of their home match against league leaders Everton. The mascot was real live bantam. Its body was claret with an amber yolk, which matched the new shirt the club had adopted at the start of the season. The little bird even had white legs, the same colour as the player’s shorts.
As the Bradford Daily Argus commented: "Newcastle United have their magpie, Derby a ram, West Brom a throstle, Hull City a tiger and Leeds City a peacock. But now, Bradford City have a real live claret and amber bantam."
From that moment on City were known as the Bantams. It turned out to be a lucky omen. City saved their First Division lives with a dramatic last day victory over Manchester United at Valley Parade. The description of the tense scenes at that match reflect almost exactly those we witnessed on that unforgettable afternoon against Liverpool in May 2000, when David Wetherall’s header saved our Premiership status on that most dramatic of final day escapes.
One hundred years on, long after Miss Fattorini’s little bird has flown to that great hencoop in the sky, we are still the Bantams. Let’s hope the luck it brought a century ago remains with us through, what will hopefully be, a season that sets the club on the long road back to the summit of English football.

Notts County

2008-08-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

Put those long lazy summer days behind you. The football season is back. The fixtures are in the diary and that age-old Saturday routine begins once more.
With Premier League teams jetting off to all corners of the globe, to fulfil fixtures that are focussed more on replica shirts sales rather than meaningful preparation, it was good to see City playing Bradford Park Avenue and our claret and amber cousins Motherwell.
The Bradford derbies have a rich history, one that raged across all four divisions of the Football League. Given that friendlies against Halifax, Huddersfield and Leeds are now non-starters, thanks to policing bills and the like, I would like to see the Avenue game expanded into a mini-Bradford Championship. Involving a City XI, Avenue, Eccleshill United and Thackley. We have the Tom Banks Trophy, formerly played for between City and Avenue, in the museum and we would be delighted to make it available as the Bradford Championship trophy.
Of course, the traditional curtain raiser used to be the West Riding Cup. It heralded the coming season with its optimism, fresh faces, newly painted grounds and lush green turf. Inevitably, that bright feeling of innocence was soon tainted as the season got underway. But, in the bright sunshine of late summer, the West Riding Cup seemed to epitomise the rebirth that every new campaign brings.
After near one hundred years of competition it died an almost unnoticed death in 1999. It had become a Cinderella competition. A glorified pre-season kick-about, barely tolerated by the clubs, often featuring disinterested or second string line-ups. A shame really, as the cup itself was huge and beautifully detailed. My theory is that the more obscure the competition, the larger the cup is likely to be. Anyone who has seen the Zenith Data Systems Cup will be with me on this one!
We’ve had a quiet summer in the museum. Our small band of volunteers have been getting on with their lives, so at present very little has changed.

M K Dons

2008-04-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

With around 20,000 people visiting the museum this season, it would be fair to say that the move to our new home has been an unqualified success.
We are already planning for next season, opening with an exhibition featuring City programmes from 1903 to date. Also before the first league game of the season we will be hosting a City flag competition. Bring along your flags, large and small. The flags will be draped all over the museum and the most popular will win a modest prize.
The museum will have a presence at Thornton Local History Day on 28 June. The theme this year is sport and leisure, so we will be showing contracts and images from the life of City player and Thornton resident Donald Duckett. He played at Valley Parade between 1914-24, with majority of his 165 appearances being in the top flight of English football.
I would like to thank all the volunteers who have given their time so generously to the museum and café this season. In particular thanks are due to Leeds Metropolitan University, whose sponsorship pays the lease on the museum space.

Grimsby

2008-04-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

It all began on a Tuesday evening overlooking the Humber in the fishing port of Grimsby. Fully, 105 years ago on 1 September 1903, the first ever Bradford City team ran out in their claret and amber shirts at the beginning of a journey that goes on to this day.
Despite the opening match being on a Tuesday evening, interest was high, with the Great Northern Railway running a three shilling excursion to Grimsby Docks and Cleethorpes. It left Bradford at 12.10pm, arriving at Grimsby Docks at 3.10pm, over two hours before kick off. Two hundred and fifty fans, including several former Manningham rugby players, travelled on the train.
At 5.30pm City kicked off their first ever game. Around 10,000 fans witnessed the game and they sportingly cheered the visitors when the ‘Manningham’ jerseys came onto the pitch. The infant City side had adopted the colours of their predecessors Manningham Rugby Club. Indeed, throughout the first season City played in Manningham’s claret and amber hooped shirts.
Grimsby had been relegated from the First Division the previous season, so they were hot favourites to beat the Football League’s newest team. However, City did most of the attacking, but chances were repeatedly wasted. Old habits died hard, during a spell of City pressure a cry of ‘nah Manningham’ was heard. It was a keen game, but Grimsby deservedly won 2-0.
Among that first ever line up was George Robinson. He was to remain at Valley Parade for nineteen years, making 377 appearances, including the 1911 FA Cup Final victory. Even after his retirement, he worked in a garage near the ground and was a supporter of the club until his death in 1945.
Prior to the MK Dons game, City Gent duo Mark Neale and Mike Harrison will be giving a presentation on the ‘nearly’ season of 1987/88. Mark has recently discovered several press photographs from that season, which will illustrate the talk. We are hopful that players from the season will be in attendance. The talk begins at 1.30pm.

Barnet

2008-04-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

With only two homes games remaining, there’s not much time left to catch our exhibition about women’s football in Bradford. During the summer we are hoping that the exhibition will move to the home of Bradford City Women’s Football Club, Thackley AFC.
The women’s football club first team have one remaining Sunday fixture to play, when they entertain Scunthorpe on 27 April. Kick off is 2pm and admission is free. They also have two home fixtures against Curzon Ashton and Middlesbrough to arrange, keep an eye on the local press or www.bcwfc.co.uk for further details. The women’s football club recently won their section of the Valley Parade memorial tournament, when they defeated Bradford Park Avenue 3-1.
Joe Colbeck and Kyle Nix presented the trophies and even Stuart McCall managed to watch his son in action before making the trip to Rotherham. It was a successful tournament for City with the U14s thrashing Bradford Park Avenue 6-0 in their final. The U12s lost their final in extra time to Bradford’s twin town Hamm of Germany.
Players and officials from several of the clubs were at our home game with Chesterfield, where the Easter weekend was topped off with a home victory. Once again it was a magnificent effort from Carl Dalton and his team at Bradford Council’s Sport and Leisure department and the Prison Officers’ Association. In the museum we have on display the tournaments former trophies, which were retired to the museum last year following their replacement after twenty-one years of use.
Prior to the Grimsby game City fan Manny Dominguez will be giving a presentation on the campaign to bring back standing areas to English football grounds. The talk starts at 1.30pm and as usual admission is free.

Morecambe

2008-04-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

Undoubtedly, the real success at Valley Parade this season has been off the field. With the crippling debts finally cleared and the stunning success of the season ticket offer there is, despite the erratic performances on the field, a good feel about the club.
The relocation of the museum above the club shop has been an unqualified triumph. In conjunction with the volunteer run café, the museum is rapidly becoming the place to be in the hours running up to kick off. It’s noticeable that fans have been arriving earlier and earlier as the season has progressed.
With our regular presentations, exhibitions and good value café, there’s plenty to see and do. If you are one of the few City fans who hasn’t visited us yet, come along before the end of the season. We are far from a dusty archive, more a vibrant Bantams community, doing our little bit to help improve Valley Parade.
Next season we are planning a programme exhibition, featuring every design produced over the last 105 years. We already have the majority of the designs produced, but not being experts in the field of programmes, we would gratefully welcome any help offered. Please drop into the museum before any home game and ask for myself. Or email davidpendleton1@googlemail.com
Prior to the Grimsby Town game Manny Dominguez will be giving a presentation on the campaign to bring back standing areas to English football grounds. The talk will commence at 1.30pm and as usual admission is free.

Mansfield Town

2008-03-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

City’s FA Cup winning manager Peter O’Rourke shook the young goalkeeper by the hand. “In all the time you play football, you will not let as many goals in again”. In a wartime fixture City had just lost 9-1 at York.
Shipping nine goals was hardly the stuff of dreams for debutant keeper Ken Teasdale, but the warm words of O’Rourke went some way to tempering his disappointment. However, one month later Ken was between the sticks when City lost 10-0 at home to Bradford Park Avenue!
Ken Teasdale, one of the great characters of Bradford sport, recently passed away. Ken was Bradford City’s wartime goalkeeper, but will be best remembered by generations of local league players as a football referee and cricket umpire.
Ken played 71 games for City during World War Two. His debut in the nine-goal thrashing at York on 14 November 1942 warrants some explanation. York were one of the strongest wartime teams due to the close proximity of Catterick army barracks. Teams could field guest players and those who had service bases nearby often fielded several internationals.
City struggled to field a consistent team throughout the war as the majority of the players were scattered all over the world in the armed forces. However, results did improve and Ken retained his place until the end of the conflict when he returned to his job as a postman.
In 1996 Ken was one of Bradford City’s guests of honour when footage of wartime football was screened at Pictureville Cinema. He spoke fondly of his days at Valley Parade and caused much laughter with his story about letting nine goals in on his debut.
Ken was England’s longest serving and oldest football referee before he finally retired at the age of seventy-five. On the cricket field Ken was associated with the Bradford Central League as a wicket keeper, umpire and secretary between 1943-2007.
The thoughts of everyone at Valley Parade are with Ken’s family during this difficult time. Bradford has lost one of its truly remarkable sporting sons.

Dagenham & Redbridge

2008-03-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we launched an exhibition on women’s football in Bradford. Fittingly, the players, friends and families of Bradford City Women’s Football Club are our guests at this afternoon’s match.
At halftime there will be a five-a-side match featuring the women’s football club. One of the aims of the museum’s exhibition is to strengthen the relationship with the women’s football club. I’m delighted to report that after several positive meetings, the ties between City and the women’s football club are now the best they have been for a decade.
Bradford City Women's Football Club was formed in 1988 and were founder members of the Yorkshire and Humberside League the following year. Promotion and good cup runs set a high standard in the first season.
The late nineties saw the women’s U16 team play at Wembley as a curtain raiser to City’s play-off triumph. With over 30,000 Bradfordians beneath the Twin Towers, it was a huge publicity boost for the women’s club.
The following year the first team were promoted to the Women’s Premier League. It put them up against many semi-professional teams. For two seasons City held their own against the likes of the Doncaster Belles, Arsenal and Everton.
Another link with the Valley Parade team came with Lorraine Kennedy’s appointment as manager of the women’s team. It was a remarkable double, as her father Bobby Kennedy was City’s manager between 1975-78. Bobby is still fondly remembered as the manager who took City to the FA Cup quarter final in 1976.
The women’s football club has teams playing at U12, 14 and16 levels. The first team plays at Thackley’s Ainsbury Avenue ground on Sunday afternoons. Admission is free of charge, so why not go along and offer your support?

Bury

2008-02-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

Bradford City’s finest hour came in 1911 when we became the first winners of the current trophy. On display in the museum is the FA Cup Final ball and Jimmy Speirs winners’ medal.
The club’s ‘crown jewels’ recently travelled with the U-13 team for their tournament in Arizona. Mark Lawn and David Baldwin accompanied City’s youngsters. Apparently, David kept the 1911 ball on his lap all the way across the Atlantic!
The trip was a success on and off the field. City won the competition and the Americans were delighted to be able to see the ball and medal. Even the former England coach Steve McLaren, who was coaching at the tournament, joined the clamour to hold Speirs’ medal.
The forthcoming women’s football exhibition is on track for its 1 March opening. Last week Bradford City WFC chairperson Sally Chaplin and myself had a very positive meeting with David Baldwin. One of the aims of the exhibition is to bring the men’s and women’s clubs closer together, so it is pleasing to see that happening before the exhibition has even opened.
A roof-mounted projector will shortly be installed in the museum. In conjunction with a radio microphone and built in speakers, it will transform our pre-match presentations. The equipment comes courtesy of Leeds Metropolitan University. They are currently refurbishing a block of classrooms and the projector has become surplus to requirements. We would like to thank City fan John Lynch for sourcing the projector.
We have had the Telegraph & Argus that reported the fire disaster in 1985 reframed. The paper had been put in a second hand frame back in 2003 and to be honest it was a bit of a rough job. The new frame contains the entire paper. In effect it is a mini-time capsule and when it needs to be reframed in years to come someone will have a pleasant surprise.

Shrewsbury Town

2008-01-29T19:45:00.000-08:00

Looking across towards the Midland Road during the Notts County game, I couldn’t help recalling the last time we met County in the league.
On a cold Tuesday night in March 1996, then chairman Geoffrey Richmond boldly announced the building of the very Midland Road stand I was looking at. It was ironic that its eventual capacity would have comfortably accommodated the sparse attendance that witnessed City’s single goal victory over the Magpies.
Barely eight weeks later over 30,000 Bradfordians travelled to Wembley to see City defeat Notts County in the play-off final. It was the beginning of a dramatic decade that saw promotion to the Premiership, the complete rebuilding of Valley Parade and our European debut. The flip side was unsustainable wages and the eventual financial collapse of the club. Benito Carbone’s £40,000 a week wages are even more astonishing when viewed from our current position.
Apart from the unforgettable memories, one positive we have from our Premiership sojourn is the support levels the club still enjoys. Despite three relegations and two financial collapses in six years, as long as the fans stay loyal to the club, we have every reason to remain positive.
Supporters will have the chance to peek into the museum archive prior to the Bury game on 9th February. Images from 1903-22 will be shown on the big screen.
The presentation will cover the golden age of Bradford City. From the formation of the club in 1903, promotion to the First Division in 1908 and FA Cup win of 1911.