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I wrote a reply to the playing style thread but then lost my internet & my lengthy ramble, so I thought I’d start again.
Football started for me in the mid-60s, running round, chasing a ball in the primary school playground, bloodied knees in the summer, holes in trousers in the winter.
We must have got our first black & white TV in around 1965, as the first ever game I remember was the 1966 FA Cup final between Sheffield Weds & Everton, quickly followed by the 1966 World Cup. I was Lev Yashin in the playground thereafter.
Two years later, at the age of 9, Cardiff City drew Arsenal in the 1968/69 FA cup. My uncle asked me if I wanted to go, I didn’t hesitate. I was a country boy, I didn’t know where Cardiff was, I’d never been to a city, it was all a great adventure.
In order to secure Arsenal tickets, Hull stubs were required (honestly). So on 28th December 1968, I discovered Ninian Park for the first time. I can still remember the team, and the goal scorers , Toshack, Clark, King, in the 3-0 win over Hull.
However it wasn’t that game that did it, that was one week later against Arsenal, 50,000 plus in Ninian Park, I don’t think I saw the game, too many tall adults, but the atmosphere oh the atmosphere, smoke, alcohol, swaying, singing, the crush, I’d never known anything like it.
I’ve no idea what style City played, Fred Davis stopped everything, Don Murray was a wall, get it out to the wings, cross it in for Toshack or Clark. Who cared?
That day transformed my life, 54 seasons later I’m still here.
By way of synergy, my lads first game was a certain 2-1 FA Cup win over Leeds United 35 years later.
If my memory serves me well, which I’m not 100% about, my first game was 52/53 season against Arsenal. It was a defeat 0-2 or 1-2. At my age I can’t remember what happened yesterday. Always running around from a young age kicking a ball though. Oh for those innocent days.
My first ever game was around 1978, a young girl names Jenny took my sister and i onto the grange end, i was 6 and my sister was 8. She was a Punk Rocker with green hair and was babysitting us. We played Orient (i think) as they were known then, sure the 'Leyton' bit came later.
First game with my Dad was 1982-City 3 Wigan 2 in the Canton End. Never forget it, Billy Woof with the winner, Big brown duffle coat my mother insisted i wore. The old man bought me a Panda pop, 1/4 of cola cubes and a pasty from Franklins. When City scored i thought that i would be brave and rattle the chain link fence with a few teenage Skin Heads. I duly came unstuck when my duffle coat toggle got caught up in the fence and i had to be disconnected by my father. What a day!
My first football memory is of watching the '69 Cup Final on telly - probably because my Dad had got hold of his first colour tellybox that year.
My first proper match was the following August on a family day out to Hereford stood on the open banking behind the goal for a FA Cup match against Rugby. I remember an ageing rather rotund bloke running the game from the back for Hereford before going up for a corner and smashing a header into the top corner. Dad explained it was some guy called John Charles!
The first trip to NP came the following February in torrential rain and with a pitch that was more mud than grass Cardiff beat Birmingham 3-1 with goals from King, Toshack and Bird. I remember Ronnie Bird's penalty to this day as it still thumped into the net despite hitting the woodwork and the 'keeper on its way in.
My father took me to my first Cardiff City game in March 1975 on the day before my eighth birthday. A trip to Ninian Park was his idea of a special treat. Sheffield Wednesday were Cardiff’s opponents on that glorious occasion. The Owls were rock bottom of the Second Division table, while the Bluebirds were one place above them. Predictably, the match ended in a goalless draw. The crowd jeered, slow hand clapped and chanted ‘what a load of rubbish’ at regular intervals throughout the ninety minutes. Midfielder George Smith ripped off his shirt and threw it at manager Jimmy Andrews after being substituted. His replacement, Johnny Vincent, missed a late penalty, and City were booed off the field following the final whistle. Both teams were relegated to the Third Division a month later.
I was fascinated by the last few games of the 1974/75 season. Peter Sayer scored the winner in my second game - a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth. However, it was the following season that sealed the deal. My father bought me a season ticket next to him and a couple of my uncles in Block C of the Grandstand. The team in 1975/76 was Adrian Alston, Tony Evans, Willie Anderson, John Buchanan, Phil Dwyer, Clive Charles, Mike England, Doug Livermore, etc. A 35,500 crowd against Hereford. Promotion to Division Two. Fantastic stuff.
September 1970 versus Birmingham City. The crowd, the noise, the smell plus 2 John Toshack goals and that was this 6 year old hooked for life. The second game I saw was the 5-1 beating of Hull, when Tosh scored a hat trick, and then he was gone! Forever my hero from autumn 1970. Watching the city over the last 52 years has probably seen more downs than ups, but that’s what makes the good times even better.
First game my Dad took me was against Hereford in the FA Cup First Round, November 1988. We were in the Canton Stand, attendance must have been around 3,000. I remember crying. Not much has changed in the intervening 33 years.
March 83 1 nil home win v Lincoln City. Promoted a couple of months later. Sold our best player Dave Bennett in the summer but got in a good replacement in Gordon Owen and had a decent next season in then Div 2.
However Ashurst went along with Owen for peanuts and the fall to near bottom of Div 4 was on. Terrible years with the odd promotion from Div 4.
Newcastle, first game of the 62/63 season (I’d been to a few Combination games prior to this), we’d just come down with Chelsea, Liverpool (I wonder how they fared) and Leyton Orient had taken our places in the top flight. My Dad & brother took me, 3-1 down half time, ended up 4-4. Ivor scoring on his debut against the club he’d just left, 26,000 crowd and we’d soon be back on the top table. That took a few years............
Late fifties December 27th. Cardiff City 1 - 0 Bristol City. Bloody awful game as I remember, the goal was an o.g. by the Bristol right full-back. Didn't put me off though.
Can’t remember my first ever game but the first one I went to by myself was Cambridge at home and we lost 0-1
10 January 1976
I was 7 years old and after much nagging my dad took me Cardiff v Brighton. He was a copper so probably asked a mate to let us in through a side gate rather than pay at the turnstiles.
We lost 1-0. All I really recall is Brighton playing in green so the keepers wore red shirts. I was also annoyed that Bill Irwin was in goal rather than my favourite player Ron Healey.
39 years later to the day, on 10 January 2015, was first game back in blue vs Fulham.
Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman
That Sheffield match was my first ever game at the City.
My recollections of the game are nowhere as comprehensive as yours, for example was it a midweek game, or Saturday?
I do remember that I went with my team-mates from the Junior school football team that I played for. I also remember that we had a match before the City game, and I had to have permission from my parents to go.
As we went, one of my team-mates (who had been to see the City before, so was obviously the main font of knowledge for the day) mentioned that he’d previously seen a guy getting his eye stabbed out by another guy wielding an umbrella. Needless to say, I was on the lookout for any umbrella wielding homicidal maniacs!
We ended up at the wall at front of the Bob-Bank, near the Grange-end side and had a great up close view of Willie Anderson during play.
I do remember it being 0-0 though, but the excitement of the floodlights combined with the atmosphere and the slight trepidation at the thought of being somewhere dangerous and the thrill of hearing the fans chanting as one voice got me hooked.
My Dad wasn’t interested in football, so that was likely to be my last ever game, but luckily the next year I was in high school and had a new friend who went to the games with his Dad and Grandad, and was invited to go with them. And like you, my first ever season was that 75/76 promotion season, with John Buchanan (along now with Whitts) becoming my favourite ever City player.
I would also like to add Albert Lamour to your list, cos I used to play Centre half, so I used to watch both him and Mike England closely.
Regarding Albert Lamour… whatever happened to him? In those days players would regularly turn out for the City and suddenly never be seen again, so I often wondered where he went?
It was a Saturday, definitely. It's funny, I can vividly remember loads of things about games way back then, but often next to nothing about games I've seen during the last ten years or even during the season just passed. I guess games at a young age leave an indelible mark on the memory, although in my case I've also done plenty of research into the Seventies era, which helps.
Albert Larmour finished his Football League career at Torquay and ended up settling there. His son Andy became a physiotherapist and happened to work in the physio department at Whitchurch Hospital for a spell during around 2005/06. I was waiting for a back operation at the time and he was my physiotherapist for about six months. We became friendly and I ended up getting a few old City programmes for him to pass on to his father. Albert had never kept any of the programmes from the games he'd played in during the Seventies and apparently regretted it in later life, so he was pleased when I managed to track down some of those on his wants list.
My first game was at home to Cambridge in '94....and we lost 7-2. Fun times.
The first game on tv I remember was the Arsenal v Liverpool FA Cup Final in 1971 when Charlie George scored the winner and lay down on the turf. I recall getting an ice cream just before extra time started.
My first live game was in November 1971 Wolves v Arsenal. Ray Kennedy put the gunners 1 up in the first half.
It started snowing. Wolves scored 5 in the second half and there were pitch invasions. I wore an Arsenal rosette and cried because I wanted Arsenal to win. Quite some first game.
My first time at Ninian was Saturday 10th April 1982 V Orient. I still remember the winning goal, Tarki Micaleff broke down the left wing and crossed for Peter Kitchen to head in at the Canton end. Final score 2-1 City. I've been completely hooked ever since.
Oosh haha that’s a rough one
First weekend of the premier league season my cousin took me to watch City play Darlington. It was a dour nil nil and we sat on god awful wooden seats in the grandstand. I came back for more punishment. We beat Bristol City 1 nil in my second game. We won the league but got dumped out of both domestic cups at the first round. Some things never change.
If you still keep in touch with his son, make sure that you let him know that people still fondly remembers his Dad playing for the City 👍🏻
First game I remember is the 77 Cup Final between Man U and Liverpool.
My parents had no interest in football whatsoever, but luckily only lived a mile or so from Ninian Park. First game down the City was v Burnley, May 79. City had been on a good run and for the first time in my life Cardiff City was talked about between me and my friends, so we all decided to go. Walked the mile or so and paid very little to get in. I was nearly 10. Due to bad weather earlier in the season I saw us play West Ham and Bristol Rovers before the season ended. Season must have finished at least mid May. To finish the season I then watched Wales smash Scotland 3-0 with a Toshack hat trick. Seems like yesterday.
Charlton home 1-1 March 1971.
City v Man City in August 1963, 1 month shy of 10. A 2-2 draw and hooked ever since!
Hereford April 1976. Second game, also Hereford. December 1976. Then I went to the Fulham game the week later. Three wins from three!
I'm not sure ifit was the first game I ever attended but City at home to Hamburg in the semi-final of the Cup Winner's Cup (in 1968) is the first one I remember. To save money on bus fares we walked from Ely down to the pipeline across the eponymous river and shimmy over the pipes to the other bank and then gravitate towards the floodlights like a moth to a flame....
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