First match attended

[funny-old-game]

Another brilliant day in the life of a Rovers fan. Even though we were skint as a club everyone was in it together. So different to what we have now with the internal power struggles.

[arbitro]

2 hours ago, Gav said:

Did you go to the Port Vale away game Tyrone I think we won promotion at Vale Park?

That day is right up therein the Rovers memory bank Gav. A 4-1 win, carrying Stuart Metcalfe shoulder high from the pitch at Vale Park and Gordon Lee announcing to us from the Directors Box that we were the champions.

We were on the special train that day and the journey home was fantastic.

[wilsdenrover]

I’m so pleased my initial question has stirred so many fantastic memories.

 

[Eddo]

On 04/05/2025 at 19:30, rigger said:

Man city 1969 lost 1-4, but what an atmosphere, my mum took me.

Wow..................the game was postponed 4 maybe 5 times due to snow.

I was a ball boy at the Blackburn end..........where Jim Fryatt scored Rovers only goal.

[Paul Mellelieu]

I have no clear date, but I was taken to a reserve game to see how I got on and then to the real thing, aged 6/7, so in 1969/70

[simongarnerisgod]

7 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

No, I was working on Saturdays back then. I was at Gigg Lane when we won promotion under Howard Kendall though.

is that when we played bury twice in a week i, remember my dad telling me that rovers fans basically took over gigg lane and nearly broke the wooden stand because it was shaking under the all the fans jumping up and down☺️,crawford got the winner did`nt he????

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

is that when we played bury twice in a week i, remember my dad telling me that rovers fans basically took over gigg lane and nearly broke the wooden stand because it was shaking under the all the fans jumping up and down☺️,crawford got the winner did`nt he????

Crawford got both goals in a 2-1 win,

April 29th 1980. In front of 13, 369.

Rovers -

Butcher

Rathbone, Keeley, Fazackerley, Branaghan.

Brotherston, Kendall, McKenzie, Parkes.

Crawford, Garner.

Sub Thorley for Parkes.

We played Bury again at home on the Saturday 3rd of May and lost 1-2 ! 

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

The Bury home match was my first visit to Ewood - we may have lost, but it was a party atmosphere.

Everyone ran on the pitch - with my memory being how sandy it was 🙂

[Tom]

Tranmere at home 2-2 I’d guess 1990 when I was 6, first away game was also Tranmere away a few months later which I think was 0-0

Remember the ‘yellows’ chants and talking to Bobby Mimms in the warm up 

[rossyste]

My first game was the already mentioned Bury away promotion night 29th April 1980 aged 11. I was hooked.

My first Dingle game was the 27th December 1982 stood on the Bee Hole End with my dad as the away end was full to capacity, what a day that was on and off the field🤣

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

On 06/05/2025 at 22:20, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

The Bury home match was my first visit to Ewood - we may have lost, but it was a party atmosphere.

Everyone ran on the pitch - with my memory being how sandy it was 🙂

It was really sandy with a strong wind blowing. Something you never see today- the ref stopped the game 3 or 4 times to help get sand out of some of the players eyes with his hanky ! It’s funny the thing you remember. Oh and centre forward Steve Johnson ( ex-Rochdale ) scored two really good goals for them.

Edited 8 hours ago by Tyrone Shoelaces

[windymiller7]

I posted this in the Nostalgia Thread back in March. Many thanks to @Tyrone Shoelaces for the line up as I couldn't find it anywhere:

I must admit, I always thought my first game was in 1983 - I knew it was the 82/83 season, however it turns out it was actually 16/10/82. A 3-0 win against Chelsea, Garner with a brace & Kevin Stonehouse. I can't find the Rovers lineup for that day but the main things I remember was being in the old Riverside stand with my Dad with the smell of pipe tobacco wafting up every few minutes and a bit of a scrap going on in the BBE, presumably with some Chelsea fans who'd got in there.

I managed to find a few details from a Chelsea site, which shows a young David Speedie in the Chelsea team that day! Attendance? a whopping 6,062!

All that really mattered to me that day was that I knew I wanted to back again. I was hooked.

Line up as provided by Tyrone:

Gennoe

Branagan, Barton, Fazackerly,  Rathbone,

Miller, Randall, Lowey, Brotherston

Stonehouse, Garner

Sub Hamilton for Barton.

[simongarnerisgod]

1980`s,when a visit from chelsea had you reaching for clean underpants and every local headcase in the area seemed to mobilise 🙂

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

4 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

1980`s,when a visit from chelsea had you reaching for clean underpants and every local headcase in the area seemed to mobilise 🙂

I have a recollection (somebody else may remember year) , of Chelsea fans leaving the Darwen End and storming the Blackburn End. The good old days - at least they didn't throw slates on their own fans 😉

 

[LWX]

Pretty sure this was my first game, 1989 Watford, 2-2.

Went with my dad and my younger brother, I was 9. Walked down from my grandparents' place on Pritchard Street. Remember all the legs of people jumping up when we scored, and have a memory of a shot hitting the side netting and thinking it was a goal.

[47er]

18 minutes ago, LWX said:

Pretty sure this was my first game, 1989 Watford, 2-2.

Went with my dad and my younger brother, I was 9. Walked down from my grandparents' place on Pritchard Street. Remember all the legs of people jumping up when we scored, and have a memory of a shot hitting the side netting and thinking it was a goal.

6 players from that side would walk into our team now. 😨

[Upside Down]

On 05/05/2025 at 20:01, KentExile said:

I was "indoctrinated" from a young age.  Thankfully both of my parents were mental about football rather than religion etc 😉  remember being taken to games which I was too young to remember, but the first one I have a memory of beyond "going to the football", was a cup game at Ewood v Liverpool in the mid 80s.  I think it was a draw? I was still at primary school so my memory is very fuzzy on any other details

Football is a religion

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

6 hours ago, 47er said:

6 players from that side would walk into our team now. 😨

Think they are a bit old now 🤣

[47er]

1 hour ago, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

Think they are a bit old now 🤣

Nevertheless.....!!!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

12 hours ago, LWX said:

Pretty sure this was my first game, 1989 Watford, 2-2.

Went with my dad and my younger brother, I was 9. Walked down from my grandparents' place on Pritchard Street. Remember all the legs of people jumping up when we scored, and have a memory of a shot hitting the side netting and thinking it was a goal.

Rod Thomas for Watford. As a school boy he was going to be the next big thing. Ewan Roberts, another one of those scary centre forwards that played with their front teeth missing !

[TonyM]

Started off being taken by my dad to reserve games, which would have been at the end of the 60s, but first clear memory of being at Ewood was for Ronnie Clayton's testimonial game in 1970. 

[Claytons Left Boot]

On 06/05/2025 at 18:42, simongarnerisgod said:

is that when we played bury twice in a week i, remember my dad telling me that rovers fans basically took over gigg lane and nearly broke the wooden stand because it was shaking under the all the fans jumping up and down☺️,crawford got the winner did`nt he????

There must have been well over 10k Rovers fans in the 13k gate. We had both ends and both sides from memory.

 

On 06/05/2025 at 13:40, arbitro said:

That day is right up therein the Rovers memory bank Gav. A 4-1 win, carrying Stuart Metcalfe shoulder high from the pitch at Vale Park and Gordon Lee announcing to us from the Directors Box that we were the champions.

We were on the special train that day and the journey home was fantastic.

We could have travelled together for that one Tony. I was definitely on the special train with EiT and the rest. As you say, we were all on the pitch carrying Meccy off. 

Everything was top notch in those days. Rovers were on the up and the town was a great place for a night out. Loads of pubs and clubs, most lads followed the Rovers and everyone seemed to be pulling in the same direction. Cut one of us and we all bled type of thing.
 

[oneandycrawford]

On 06/05/2025 at 18:42, simongarnerisgod said:

is that when we played bury twice in a week i, remember my dad telling me that rovers fans basically took over gigg lane and nearly broke the wooden stand because it was shaking under the all the fans jumping up and down☺️,crawford got the winner did`nt he????

A good friend of our family was in charge of the turnstiles at Bury. He told us they'd asked their supporters if they would agree to swap into the away sections of the ground and the main stand so Rovers could have the rest of the ground - as Bury desperately needed the money!

You're right about the wooden terrace and roof on the Manchester Road end. We were in the main stand at that end and every time the Rovers fans jumped up and down you could see the roof move back and forwards. My dad was generally worried it might collapse!

Edited 7 hours ago by oneandycrawford
addition

[Aqualung]

16 hours ago, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

I have a recollection (somebody else may remember year) , of Chelsea fans leaving the Darwen End and storming the Blackburn End. The good old days - at least they didn't throw slates on their own fans 😉

 

I can't remember the year but the Chelsea fans who went into the Blackburn End were sat in the Nuttall st. Stand ( towards the bbe). 

Ten minutes or so before the end of the game they left and went in through the open gates to the Blackburn End. 

Simon Garners sister was injured iirc. 

[Claytons Left Boot]

2 hours ago, Aqualung said:

I can't remember the year but the Chelsea fans who went into the Blackburn End were sat in the Nuttall st. Stand ( towards the bbe). 

They certainly were. I was sat up in the Nuttall Street stand because I’d broken my leg playing football and I had a full pot on. It was  May 15th 1982. The Chelsea lads, all dressed in ‘casuals’ posh gear, walked right past me and I can remember telling a few of them to mind my leg. They were really polite and seemed nothing like football hooligans. They then proceeded to shin down over the front row and dropped onto the terracing in the Blackburn End enclosure and, from there, into the Blackburn End. How the Blackburn End ran away from that lot, I’ll never know.