Were you at HP on this day in 1962 (January 20 1962) | PASOTI
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Were you at HP on this day in 1962 (January 20 1962)

Ottawa Green

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🏆 Callum Wright 23/24
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Sep 18, 2003
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I was :scarf: :scarf: :scarf: :scarf:

Well this one is Argyle Reserves' record attendance - 25,648 and unlikely to ever be beaten!

It came against Mansfield Town Reserves. It was a trick of the trade at that time; tickets were on sale for the first time, through the turnstiles, for the FA Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur (Jimmy Greaves and all) which was due, a week later.

Playing in front of such a crowd must have been an incredible experience for the young reserve players on both sides.

25648
 

Ottawa Green

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Sat Jan 6 FA Cup/3 Home West Ham United 27,534 3-0 Carter, Williams, Maloy

Sat Jan 13 Div 2 Home Newcastle United 17,457 1-1 Maloy

Sat Jan 20 1962 Argyle Reserves v Mansfield 25,648

Sat Jan 27 FA Cup/4 Home Tottenham Hotspur 40,040 1-5 Anderson

Total 110679 entered HP in a 3 week period, and i was there for all 4 games, memories
 
May 31, 2010
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Plymouth
I have the Football Herald for that day.
Leiper,Roberts,Davis,Casey,Wyatt,Buckingham,Jackson,Brown,Garden,RAK Williams,Thorne.

8 players with 1st team experience beating the bottom team 4-1 with goals from Garden 3 and Jackson.

Mansfield goalie was ex-Argyle Bob Wyllie.

Most people went home and didn't stay for the match, and others tried to get in twice and some succeeded. Many went home when the tickets sold out. It was a very wet day
 

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West Ham (3 v 0) was my first ever game at HP. Spurs (1 v 5) was my second.

No idea how my Dad got the tickets but I remember being sent from the back of the Devonport End on hundreds of shoulders until I arrived at the front (with all the other kids).

I've been thanking my Dad for this life sentance at 4.50pm every Saturday ever since. (Not).
 
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king97

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Went to these matches I was 17yrs at the time was working at the coop bakery peveral finished work at about 12.30 got my pasty couldn't wait to get to the ground for the spurs match.espacially greaves he was brilliant.
 
Jun 2, 2010
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I was there for all four games. That Reserve side would give the present team a run for their money.

Adrian Thorne came from Brighton. The press seized on the fact that he had gone to a Grammar School and he was often referred to as ""ex Grammar School boy Adrian Thorne". Perhaps they thought he should be playing rugby :)
 
Aug 2, 2011
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Yep, I was there for all 4 games. Stood under the floodlight pylon on the rail way sleepers for all the games bar the Spurs match when in the front row halfway along what is now the Lyndhurst.

If I remember correctly the Williams goal against the Hammers was a stunner from 30 odd yards.

In those days there was a football herald which use to go on sale couple of hours after the match finished.

Happy Days.
 
Feb 23, 2009
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Ottawa Green":3tfzlxfl said:
I was :scarf: :scarf: :scarf: :scarf:

Well this one is Argyle Reserves' record attendance - 25,648 and unlikely to ever be beaten!

It came against Mansfield Town Reserves. It was a trick of the trade at that time; tickets were on sale for the first time, through the turnstiles, for the FA Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur (Jimmy Greaves and all) which was due, a week later.

Playing in front of such a crowd must have been an incredible experience for the young reserve players on both sides.

25648



I was at both the Mansfield Town reserve game and the Tottenham game. Remember going to school and saying 'if they have 25,000 for a reserve game what do they get for a first team game'? Also recall getting to the Tottenham game at 8am to make sure we got down the front of the Lyndhurst!
 

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I too was there for all 4 matches. Those were the days....................................[/quote]

Ditto. Fond memories.
:sigh:
 
Oct 24, 2010
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Missed the West Ham game (forced to go to the pantomime at the Palace), saw the other three matches.
 

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I was at all 4 too. Remarkable events provide interesting stories. For the past few years I have been busy re-visiting those days for a book on that period and have come up with some interesting (to me anyway!) stories. I found one of the turnstile operators who was on the Barn Park gate for that reserve match. And he is still doing the job today. Alex Garden, the hat-trick hero that day, is alive and well in Aberdeen and loves to chat about those days. Perhaps one of the best ever players never to make a Football League appearance. Keith (RAK) Williams left Argyle immediately after that game but some months later hit the headlines of all the national papers. Adrian Thorne doesn't grant interviews but my short time on the phone to him revealed an interesting view of his relationship with one of his managers at HP.
I still believe that West Ham game to be the best display I ever saw from an Argyle side. I was able to ascertain that the players felt really let down by the crowd for the Newcastle game. After the display they gave against the Hammers to see 10,000 stay away was a bit of a disappointment. They had won 5 on the bounce and their only defeat in 10 had been to a late Ian St John goal at Anfield. Even Bill Shankly felt the goal was unfortunate for Argyle and Johnny Williams display that day warranted a mention in a book the great man wrote about that 1961-62 season.
Wonderful times.