(GROUND NUMBER 23)
Date of First Visit: 3rd APRIL 1972
THE BASEBALL GROUND, DERBY
DERBY COUNTY 0
NEWCASTLE UNITED 1 (Tommy Cassidy)
(OLD) DIVISION ONE
ATTENDANCE: 38,119 (3,000 (or so) Toon fans)
LOOK!----Because it waz that lang ago!--- aa cannit remember just who aa travelled doon with on the train for this one to Derby Station!?, but most of them were in 'steel cappers', crombies and wore their 'braces slack'!
But aa can tell yih this!--- I was NOT! impressed with mee forst ever visit tih the capital of Derbyshire and after a few 'Arthur Scargills' near Derby station (and a couple of confrontation's with the local 'dibble'!) we heeded nearer to 'The Basebaall Groond' for some more 'liquid lubrications!
(AYE!---ah CAN! (of course!) remember havin' a few 'gargels' , but who with iz any f*****s guess!???)
Row upon row of Victorian back to back terraced hooses with thick smoke billowin' from their chimney's and blackened soot covered factories, lined the route tih the groond .
(Ne central heatin' in them days!---just coal fires tih keep yih waam!)
("Ahh!---memories!?")
ANYWAY!---wih made for the nearest 'hootch-hostelry' tih the groond, which was appropriately caalled 'The Footballer' and in keepin' with the rest of the place it was a dingy rundoon hovel!, with threadbare carpets, ripped waallpaper and a (very!) smelly 'toolshed'---BUT!---it did sorve---BEER!
The lop-sided pub sign sported a Derby player kickin' a baall and az 'skinheeds' were aall the rage back then, a 'good kickin' was aalso on the cards for the Derby fans on their way tih the match from the notorious 'Leazes Boot Boys' who had wrecked Sheffield just two days orlier on April Fools Day! (see ground 22 archive report)
And predictably that's exactly what happened to some unfortunate Coonty fans who were ambushed in a dead end alley next to a huge foundry beside the groond and they ended up with 'Doc Marten boot' prints as unwelcome 'souvenirs' 'imbedded' in various parts of their anatomies!
The Toon fans were housed behind the goal in front of a double decker stand with the rest of the groond consistin' of a forther two double deckers a single deck main stand to wor reet and the groond was completely hemmed in by the factories and hooses. The double deckers towered ower the pitch blockin' oot any sunlight and this defiantly effected the playin' area
 |
| "SPOT THE MUD!" |
Groonds pitch in the '70s', is tih say that it resembled a 'glorified' ploughed field caked in thick mud!.
(Which doesn't say much for the rest of the place!---does it??)
This was a great advantage tih 'one' Brian Clough, who was Derby's manager at the time, and in the aad telly footage, yih can see that there was'nt a blade of grass on the pitch!.
'Cloughies' men were gannin for the Championship and had'nt been beaten at home for ower a year, so The Toon had an uphill task tih say the least!.
It had been 'chuckin' it doon' owerneet and the notorious pitch was like a quagmire as the teams ran oot.
The forst half ended goal-less, with the Derby forwards poundin' the Newcastle defence, but Willie McFaul and Bobby Moncur in particular, had blinders in the 'mud bath', tih keep oot the 'Ram Raiders'.
The deadlock was broken by The Toon in the 70th minute, when a Frank Clark free kick (ultimately) foond 'Supermac', who's raspin' shot was punched oot by County's keeper, but anly as far as Tommy Cassidy, and he calmly stroked the baall through the thick mud, and it rolled ever so slowly (and agonisingly!) ower the goal line and into the net for the one and anly goal of the game.
He was then mobbed by virtually the full team and it was quite a sight as 'they' rolled aboot and wallowed in the wet mud (as we 'rolled' aboot and 'wallowed' on the terraces!)
At the end they came off to a standin' ovation from the Toon contingent, but yi could hardly recognise them as they were aall caked 'up ti the eyebaalls' in 'yee naa wot'! ---'black 'n' white minstrel style'! (remember them!?)
21 year old Cassidy said later that it was!: "The greatest moment of my life!"
(A 'glorious mud' goal!---if ever there was one!)
Personally, aa would'nt gan 'that far'!, but it was still one of the great moments of that season.
(Except!---for the Derby fans---that is!)
Now!---how does that aad 'hippo' song gan again?
♫Mud!---Mud!---Glorious Mud!♪
♪There's nothing quite like it, for cooling the blood!♫
♫T'was a 'class'? goal from 'CASS', from a 'SUPERMAC' 'pass'?♪
♪And there let them wallow, in glorious mud!♫♫
After the match, 'Cloughie' said that he thought the Newcastle defence were brilliant, but bragged that Derby were still top of the League, and that's where they would stay!.
He was reet!---as they won the League in a nail bitin' end tih the season, by one point, from Leeds, Liverpool and Man. City.
(The Toon finished eleventh)
Footnote:
(The Basebaall Groond is no more of course, and was bulldozed in 1997 to make way for---THIS!▼▼▼) (another 'mud-bath'!)
©Fink™ (the mad-sad gr☺unh☺pper!)
☺☻☺☻☺
OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY GLOSSARY OF TERM & PHRASE
(for the benefit of 'Geordie readers'!)
wallow=stagger/stumble/flounder/lurch/welter/reel!
☺☻☺☻☺
'A to Z' GEORDIE GLOSSARY OF TERMS & PHRASES
(for the benefit of 'non Geordie' readers!) (in Alfie-betikal order!)
aa/ah=I
Arthur Scargills=gargles=beers
aye=yes
anly=only
aad=old
aall=all
aalso=also
aboot=about
braces slack=a skinhead custom
baall=ball
crombies= skinhead jackets
cannit=cannot
caalled=called
coonty=county
chuckin' it doon=raing very heavily
dibble=police force/men
forst=first
foond=found
groond=ground
gargles=beers
gan(in')=go(ing)
heeded=headed
hooch hostelry=public house
Leazes boot boys=Newcastle United hooligans
Liquid lubrications=beers
lang=long
mee=my
ne=no
oot=out
ower=over
owerneet=overnight
reet=right
rundoon=run down
sorve=serve
steel cappers=steel capped Dr Marten boots
Toon fans=Newcastle United fans
The Toon=Newcastle United FC
tih=to
toolshed=netty=gents toilet
the rams=Derby's nickname
up tih the eyebaalls=covered from head to footwaallpaper=wallpaper
wih=we
waam=warm
yi(h)=you
yee naa wot=you know what
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