70's Terrace Wars

[SpiritofBurnden]

Bit before my time but Blackpool home and away sounded a bit tasty according to AVFTT:

 

 

At Bloomfield Road:

 

The Bolton game when they won 2-0 with a Whatmore brace (and its aftermath) is still to this day the worst and most widespread fighting I have ever seen at a football match. They had a huge following, but half the town turned out to meet them it seemed. Of course feelings were still running very high then regarding Kevin.

 

Bolton '77. 26,000 on at BR and we were packed on like sardines. Half the crowd though were Bolton!

 

The 2-2 draw v bolton, 25k crowd and horwich scum seemed all over the ground especially the west, not many in the east.

 

 

At Burnden

 

Burnden Park the only away ground in Lancashire where i always felt sure we were in for a kicking.

 

a 3-0 win at Burnden Park in about 1975; carnage afterwards on the way back to the station

 

That Bolton match definitely, didn't remember the score, spent all the match in the Bolton end fighting off repeated charges and dodging bricks, bottle and toilet seats.Then when we thought we were safe on the train, that got bricked as it left the station-Happy Days!

 

Burnden Park in '76. I was 15 and terrified. Could hardly have been a Pool fan there who didn't get a kicking. I was one of the lucky ones but only because I was quick on feet. Horrific.

[Traf]

They got what they deserved, I'd say.

 

Horwich Scum indeed.

[athywhite1958]

We were in the middle of a mass battle on the sea front one year, mid 70's, one of our lot got nicked and featured on Granada Reports on Monday, the biggest fine handed out to a football hooloigan ?275.00, and we know for a fact he didn't do anything!!

[bolty58]

An era I wouldn't have missed for anything. It was f?cking ace.

 

Every non Bolton fan I knew dreaded coming to Burnden. Even the older Millwall and Hammers I know down here go all solemn faced and refer to it as having been 'intimidating'.

 

69-70-71 especially. Zulu will remember

[oggybwfc]

Remember getting kicked out of their end and being escorted across to the Kop,a bloke from round the corner grassed me up to my Mam i got a right crack when i walked through the door.

[SpiritofBurnden]

Every non Bolton fan I knew dreaded coming to Burnden. Even the older Millwall and Hammers I know down here go all solemn faced and refer to it as having been 'intimidating'.

 

A Hull City fan mentioned recently that no club had changed as much since the introduction of all-seater stadiums than Bolton. He said that visiting Burnden was a terrifying experience back then. He also said that the first time he ever witnessed it kicking off properly was in '76 when Bolton visited Hull. Apparently there was a mass brawl after the game which spilled into the gardens of the houses nearby with people grabbing dustbin lids to use as shields!

[chillo]

i remember goin against leeds in the 70's when the match finished they started throwing bricks and stuff that they had broken up in the old railway

end , bolton fans just run onto pitch and started throwing em back at em they could'nt go anywhere because they were locked in (fish in a barrel )

come to mind but i got cracked round back of the head on way to ground of one the sheep shaggin bastards any way so fuck em

[RUREADY2ROLL]

Did anyone go to Blackpool vs Blackburn after our game at Oldham was called off early due to fog.

 

A few Bolton were in the side when it kicked off in the Blackpool end about 10 mins before kick off. The law removed about 150 and marched them round the ground to the Blackburn end (who was on the old kop; when they went past us I noticed a few of them and they were all Bolton.

 

Two minutes after they were shoved in the kop it kicked off with the Blackburn and for the whole game the law surrounded them.

 

Think it was 1977-78

[bolton va va]

 

That Bolton match definitely, didn't remember the score, spent all the match in the Bolton end fighting off repeated charges and dodging bricks, bottle and toilet seats.Then when we thought we were safe on the train, that got bricked as it left the station-Happy Days!

. Horrific.[/i]

 

 

The toilet seat one was funny. Blackpool fans went on the Lever End early, but when the Bolton fans arrived they smashed B/pool all over & their handful of survivors ended up pressed against the Burnden Paddock fence, with police protection. Some Bolton fans got behind them & a wooden toilet seat was launched into them frisbee-style & dropped one of them. ( Oddly, it turned out that the lad who got flattened was related to one of the Bolton crowd & he came to 1 or 2 Bolton games the following season )

 

Another time they arrived early & attacked The Painters, breaking a few windows but they couldn't get in. That day they got a kicking on the Embankment.

 

To be fair to them, in that era, apart from the big 4 who we rarely played, B/pool were the only n/west fans who showed up at Bolton, but on the 2 or 3 times they appeared ,they never lasted till the end of the game.

[bwfc2003]

Did anyone go to Blackpool vs Blackburn after our game at Oldham was called off early due to fog.

 

A few Bolton were in the side when it kicked off in the Blackpool end about 10 mins before kick off. The law removed about 150 and marched them round the ground to the Blackburn end (who was on the old kop; when they went past us I noticed a few of them and they were all Bolton.

 

Two minutes after they were shoved in the kop it kicked off with the Blackburn and for the whole game the law surrounded them.

 

Think it was 1977-78

remember that game well - we piled over from bolton in a brewery van driven by Quiggers - a bolton fan who had the misfortune of living/ working in blackburn - it kicked off with blackpool in their end then with blackburn on the kop

[leigh white]

remember that game well - we piled over from bolton in a brewery van driven by Quiggers - a bolton fan who had the misfortune of living/ working in blackburn - it kicked off with blackpool in their end then with blackburn on the kop

I knew Quiggers well, he also had a pub in B/Burn. I won a fortune the night we played them in our famous victory in his pub at cards, only to get arrested and having to fork out my winnings to get a taxi home from the police station.

[leigh white]

I went an Oldham-Bolton game on the Trans Pennine Express, an old bus service what went from Bolton to Stockport in the 70s via all the old mill towns in Lancs. The game got called off, and Bolton fans in town was deemed easy pickings, it was a fucking nightmare until a pub was found on Rochdale Rd and the Oldham lot backed off when the Bolton numbers had built up.

[peebles]

A Hull City fan mentioned recently that no club had changed as much since the introduction of all-seater stadiums than Bolton. He said that visiting Burnden was a terrifying experience back then. He also said that the first time he ever witnessed it kicking off properly was in '76 when Bolton visited Hull. Apparently there was a mass brawl after the game which spilled into the gardens of the houses nearby with people grabbing dustbin lids to use as shields!

 

Couldn't be more true.

[leigh white]

One match at Burnden Park v Bristol Rovers, the Gasheads got chased out of the Embankment before the game had started. A mate who was walking down Manny Rd thought the game had been called off when he saw all the Bristol fans walking back to town.

[bolty58]

I knew Quiggers well, he also had a pub in B/Burn. I won a fortune the night we played them in our famous victory in his pub at cards, only to get arrested and having to fork out my winnings to get a taxi home from the police station.

 

 

Great bloke Quiggers. Some memorable trips 'north' with the lad.

[bolty58]

A Hull City fan mentioned recently that no club had changed as much since the introduction of all-seater stadiums than Bolton. He said that visiting Burnden was a terrifying experience back then. He also said that the first time he ever witnessed it kicking off properly was in '76 when Bolton visited Hull. Apparently there was a mass brawl after the game which spilled into the gardens of the houses nearby with people grabbing dustbin lids to use as shields!

 

 

Some of the wildest (fondest) memories were v. Hull City. Half a dozen Bolton running a hundred or more of em off the Lever End; some mad battles up at their place; silly c?nts turning up at Burnden for a Cup game with gold sprayed afros..........

 

I never remember them coming to Burnden and having a quiet day out. Always fun and games days as were the visits of Brum, Derby, Villa, Leicester and Sheffield United.

[smithills_gent]

Tony O'Neil, leader of Man Utd's hooligans in the 80s and 90s on the match at Bolton in 74/75 when he was 16 and learning the trade so to speak.

 

"With it being a local fixture all the firms headed there under their own steam;there was no set plan to meet.Everyone was with their own pals from their own area.We got in Bolton's covered end early behind the goal.We hung about and gradually Bolton fans filtered in.It wasn't on top (ie Man Utd getting battered) but a few kids were giving us verbals.Next thing, my mate was being slung round by one of them and we were having a little go.It stopped and the coppers came in but didn't throw us out.We got a little more verbal but stood our ground and there were not enough of them to overrun us.

We could see more Reds coming in through our side, in twos, threes, fives.All of a sudden they all piled in from the other side and charged into the stand from the left and into Bolton.And who should come surging past but the lad who started the first bit of trouble with us.We were running towards the trouble, Bolton were running away and we were armswinging as they went past.The kid who had given it the big un got laid out.Then I butted this kid at the back and he was fucked.A flying headbutt one of many I have done.He went down and then were all over them.The papers later reported that United rampaged through the town and fought on the terraces.74 people were ejected, 50 treated for injuries and 46 arrested"

 

btw O'Neil left Millwall at half time to go home that season so intimidating and outnumbered were Man Utd fans on a midweek night at the Den.

[athywhite1958]

Tony O'Neil, leader of Man Utd's hooligans in the 80s and 90s on the match at Bolton in 74/75 when he was 16 and learning the trade so to speak.

 

"With it being a local fixture all the firms headed there under their own steam;there was no set plan to meet.Everyone was with their own pals from their own area.We got in Bolton's covered end early behind the goal.We hung about and gradually Bolton fans filtered in.It wasn't on top (ie Man Utd getting battered) but a few kids were giving us verbals.Next thing, my mate was being slung round by one of them and we were having a little go.It stopped and the coppers came in but didn't throw us out.We got a little more verbal but stood our ground and there were not enough of them to overrun us.

We could see more Reds coming in through our side, in twos, threes, fives.All of a sudden they all piled in from the other side and charged into the stand from the left and into Bolton.And who should come surging past but the lad who started the first bit of trouble with us.We were running towards the trouble, Bolton were running away and we were armswinging as they went past.The kid who had given it the big un got laid out.Then I butted this kid at the back and he was fucked.A flying headbutt one of many I have done.He went down and then were all over them.The papers later reported that United rampaged through the town and fought on the terraces.74 people were ejected, 50 treated for injuries and 46 arrested"

 

btw O'Neil left Millwall at half time to go home that season so intimidating and outnumbered were Man Utd fans on a midweek night at the Den.

 

I was carried out of the Lever End on a stretcher, unconscious with a broken leg, the bastards set my silk scarf on fire whilst I was being carried out. Another reason to hate the filthy vermin.

[SpiritofBurnden]

Some of the wildest (fondest) memories were v. Hull City.

 

The Hull City fan in question also said this of Bolton supporters:

 

Do not be fooled by their comedy accents. They have a sizeable yob element amongst their support.

[paulhanley]

I only really started watching Bolton in 77 as a very young lad.

So early memories of life for me included:

 

* Being knocked to the ground in the Lever End in the middle of an enormous battle between Bolton and Chelsea in 77.

* Observing the brick throwing and rioting mentioned above in the Leeds match (78)when Bolton came from 0-1 down at half time to win 3-1.

 

Most of my terrace wars memories are from the 80s - but I have the clear impression that the 70s were far, far worse.

[bolty58]

I only really started watching Bolton in 77 as a very young lad.

So early memories of life for me included:

 

* Being knocked to the ground in the Lever End in the middle of an enormous battle between Bolton and Chelsea in 77.

* Observing the brick throwing and rioting mentioned above in the Leeds match (78)when Bolton came from 0-1 down at half time to win 3-1.

 

Most of my terrace wars memories are from the 80s - but I have the clear impression that the 70s were far, far worse.

 

 

Or far, far better, Paul. Depends on your point of view

 

69-70-71, I'd be buzzing about the next match from Monday. Excitement growing all week. Docs soaking in Ox Blood; making sure the collar on the Ben Sherman was ironed to a razor edge; up to Cains for a number one and shaved parting; half inch turnups on the 501's pressed to perfection. Leg it into town looking immaculate in either a Harrington or sheepskin and then f?ck it all up with a ruck the first chance you got

 

As Zulu and a few others on here can testify, those 3 years in particular just had to be the maddest. Some very vivid memories. My next door neighbour from Tintern Avenue running alongside two St. Johns carrying a stretcher with a stabbed Leicester fan on it. Neighbour belting the wounded with a half housebrick at about every third step. Derby gypos having a go in the Lever End and the OB fighting alongside us! Bike chain and studded belt wielding B?stard Rovers rockers and Bolton Boot Boys colliding outside the club main doors on the car park - carnage. Too many to list. Fun and games every weekend - home or away.

 

I often wonder how I came out of all that with nothing more than minor stab wounds in the shoulder and top lip and a scar on me forehead from a glassing. Never even a broken bone. Miraculous.

 

Wouldn't have missed it all for the world.

[paulhanley]

Or far, far better, Paul. Depends on your point of view

 

69-70-71, I'd be buzzing about the next match from Monday. Excitement growing all week. Docs soaking in Ox Blood; making sure the collar on the Ben Sherman was ironed to a razor edge; up to Cains for a number one and shaved parting; half inch turnups on the 501's pressed to perfection. Leg it into town looking immaculate in either a Harrington or sheepskin and then f?ck it all up with a ruck the first chance you got

 

As Zulu and a few others on here can testify, those 3 years in particular just had to be the maddest. Some very vivid memories. My next door neighbour from Tintern Avenue running alongside two St. Johns carrying a stretcher with a stabbed Leicester fan on it. Neighbour belting the wounded with a half housebrick at about every third step. Derby gypos having a go in the Lever End and the OB fighting alongside us! Bike chain and studded belt wielding B?stard Rovers rockers and Bolton Boot Boys colliding outside the club main doors on the car park - carnage. Too many to list. Fun and games every weekend - home or away.

 

I often wonder how I came out of all that with nothing more than minor stab wounds in the shoulder and top lip and a scar on me forehead from a glassing. Never even a broken bone. Miraculous.

 

Wouldn't have missed it all for the world.

 

Had I been more than a toddler in 70/71 and had I not been a lifelong coward I'm sure I'd have been involved!

 

I read an Oldham fan's book (Carl Spiers) about their doings over the years. He was very clear that Bolton were top dogs outside of the Big 4 from Manchester and Merseyside and was pretty graphic about some of Bolton's visits to Boundary Park. Reckoned by the 80s they'd turned the tables.

 

This about the first game of 71/2 season, Oldham 2 Bolton 2.

"We ran down to Boundary Park all excited and paid in to the Chaddy End and what I saw would never leave my memory. The Chaddy End was full of Bolton fans, thousands all across, singing, roaring etc. They took the Chaddy good style. I had never seen such support. I remember it was a red hot day and any resistance from Oldham got destroyed, including the Glodwick Mob hammered and chased out of the Chaddy. I can still recall the awesome sight of thousands of Bolton fans punching the air in unison chanting "We are the Wanderers". It was a fantastic sight, there were so many and they had so much passion for their club, even to this day there are certain lads in Oldham who visually shake at the mention and the way they rampaged through Oldham kicking a lot of people to fuck. It gives me immense pleasure that by the late 70s things would turn around so much that we would be going to Bolton and having a go. But between 1971 and 75 they were top dogs for sure, very hard, big numbers and showed no mercy."

[jazza]

I enjoy reading the tales of that time... I've read a few like one about the ICF from West Ham and the Soul Crew from Cardiff (neither of which I can remember the name of)

 

Which are the best ones to buy?

[bolty58]

Had I been more than a toddler in 70/71 and had I not been a lifelong coward I'm sure I'd have been involved!

 

I read an Oldham fan's book (Carl Spiers) about their doings over the years. He was very clear that Bolton were top dogs outside of the Big 4 from Manchester and Merseyside and was pretty graphic about some of Bolton's visits to Boundary Park. Reckoned by the 80s they'd turned the tables.

 

This about the first game of 71/2 season, Oldham 2 Bolton 2.

"We ran down to Boundary Park all excited and paid in to the Chaddy End and what I saw would never leave my memory. The Chaddy End was full of Bolton fans, thousands all across, singing, roaring etc. They took the Chaddy good style. I had never seen such support. I remember it was a red hot day and any resistance from Oldham got destroyed, including the Glodwick Mob hammered and chased out of the Chaddy. I can still recall the awesome sight of thousands of Bolton fans punching the air in unison chanting "We are the Wanderers". It was a fantastic sight, there were so many and they had so much passion for their club, even to this day there are certain lads in Oldham who visually shake at the mention and the way they rampaged through Oldham kicking a lot of people to fuck. It gives me immense pleasure that by the late 70s things would turn around so much that we would be going to Bolton and having a go. But between 1971 and 75 they were top dogs for sure, very hard, big numbers and showed no mercy."

 

 

Not sure they were in the same year but I remember the OB making Bolton remove their boots and leave them lined up across the back of the Chadderton End. This incident was preceded by a half naked biker cutting a swathe through the Bolton hordes brandishing a sabre. He got clothes lined on his third pass - out cold.

 

On another occasion in winter, same thing happened again in the Chaddy and Man Citys mob turned up too due to their game being called off. They were sent packing as well.

 

We had some serious travelling support back then.

[paulhanley]

Not sure they were in the same year but I remember the OB making Bolton remove their boots and leave them lined up across the back of the Chadderton End. This incident was preceded by a half naked biker cutting a swathe through the Bolton hordes brandishing a sabre. He got clothes lined on his third pass - out cold.

 

On another occasion in winter, same thing happened again in the Chaddy and Man Citys mob turned up too due to their game being called off. They were sent packing as well.

 

We had some serious travelling support back then.

 

The blokes who wrote the Burnley and Preston hooligan memoirs both concede Bolton were top dogs as well, though most of their stuff is based on clashes in the 80s. We barely played either of them in the 70s, Burnley maybe a couple of times (certainly in the year we got promoted). The Burnley book repeats the Oldham claim that in the end they got the better of Bolton.