I have a memory that's so bad, friends show me photo's of me at games I deny being at. I took the opportunity to go to the very last competitive game played at Boothferry Park. It was October 3rd 2003, the reserves played a fixture against Barnsley in front of a few hundred people who were all in one part of the west stand as the rest of the ground was unsafe. Needless to say, we lost2-0 and Isiah Rankin scored the last two competitive goals at Boothferry Park. It was one of the best decisions I made. The place was a shambling wreck. I took the opportunity to explore the south stand and a few other bits I shouldn't have been in. It truly exorcised any ghosts. It was like the funeral of a good friend that had had a full and eventful life, but letting them rest in peace was the right thing for them. After that, I reckon I scored the last televised goal at Boothferry Park. It was a penalty in front of the south stand. I'd gone to the ground and found I could walk straight in. I worked out where the bit of East stand terracing I'd watched games from was, and stood there a while before deciding on one last pitch invasion. The grass was probably still there under all the weeds. I headed to the south stand and then, like you see on films, a punctured ball was near enough on what looked to be where the penalty spot should be. I'm sure I could feel the crowd hush as I composed myself and slotted it home. I later found out someone had set up a camera to film the demolition. The ground was resecured after I left, and the heavy stuff moved in to turn off the life support.
It's owned by someone in Beverley. It's one of the items the supporters' trust lined up for a pop-up museum we were hoping to stage at the library at the front of West Park, but they wouldn't let us use the venue in case it upset AA. We haven't given up on the idea, but that was the ideal site and we haven't managed to find a suitable alternative yet, it's a pity as we also lined up almost every Hull City kit too. We will be putting everything up on an online museum at some point though.
When BP closed my overwhelming passion for the game started to wane as well, I never took to the KC despite all the fantastic success that has happened in comparison to BP but also football was changing. It is no longer the game I once worshipped instead of characters we have cheaters, instead of robust no nonsense challenges we now have players rolling about if you blow in their ear. There was a goalie who played in a cup final with a broken neck now they go off with a sprain, the wages of some of the 'stars' are more in a week than us plebs earn in a year and instead of being excited at waiting for an edition of MOTD or a Sunday match featuring Hull City on Anglia Television you can now watch on a mobile phone until its coming out of your eyeballs. We are slowly but surely creeping towards the style of the American football culture, other sports are being channelled in the same way. The simple pub/club games of darts and snooker now have all the razzmatazz of the Superbowl and our football is heading in the same direction. Pray tell me what use is there interviewing footballers or their managers after the game when there is nothing to say but the usual whinging if you loose or we controlled to game so deserved to win type of comment, and no I don't watch those bits anymore they are so much nonsense. Why do I still watch at all? Good question but as I say I don't have the overwhelming passion that use to consume me from Monday to Sunday any more I'm ambivalent, I have sat down to watch some matches and become so bored watching passing going backwards and players hardly getting over the half way line that I have given up and read a book. You now get information of assists, distance covered on the pitch and the way the pundits use computer wizardry to explain what is in essence 11 players kicking a ball from one end of the field to the other is just symptomatic of the game in general, hyperbole. Yes maybe I should give up altogether but I still look out for City's results week after week and where at one time I was bereft at the end of a season, good or bad, at the thought of cricket through the summer months now although cricket is still there football seems to be a year round thing but at least I don't have to watch whilst the sun is out and I don't.
The one in the Street Life Museum ( If it is still there) is the opposite side name plaque to the one that used to hang above the players tunnel at Boothferry Park. Locomotives had two, one on each side of the engine. Paul Duffen did not buy it back. The original was sold by Martin Fish and replaced with a plastic replica which was paid for by the purchaser of the original plaque as part of the deal. The replica cost £300. Fish tried to cover up the sale and when it was blown he said the club needed the money which was said to be in the region of £10k. I'm sure the fans could have collected £10k to keep the plaque. No other football club have sold theirs, only Hull City. Fish sold it to a collector who sold it on to a Railway Museum. All the details are well covered in the book 'From Boothferry to Wembley'
That plaque at the Streetlife Museum says it's one of two and that the other is at the KC. Maybe the privately owned one in Beverley is the replica one.
The one at Boothferry Park during the last years was plastic, it was always a guy from Lincoln and another somewhere else that escapes me now that people were looking to deal with.
There is something wrong with that if it is supposed to be the original Hull City name plate. Same thing they got wrong on the replica.
The Street Life information needs updating then because the plaque WAS at Boothferry Park and it has never been at the KC.
Found something in the garage today that brought back some more. Terry Neill's time. Bob a goal ( to build up a transfer fund?). Signing Billy Baxter and Ken Knighton and feeling we were at last on the way to Div 1. The massive let down of losing 1-0 at home to Oxford after winning the midweek battle of Bramall Lane. I was at a 'corporate' a few years back in London. After the prawn sandwiches we had the chance to mingle with some if the 'star guests'. We had Martin Chivers on ours but I made my way to Terry's table and joined the queue of Arsenal fans. Finally got to the front, thanked him for all he did for us and he signed a miniature football we'd all be given as place settings. Terry signed 'Waggy and Chilo Magic'. And that's what I turned up in the garage today. I also always liked the playing of The Tiger Rag as we trotted out.
I never really take notice of the stickies except when it's transfer rumours, but today I noticed this one, I'm not after starting an argument here either, but after all the **** about name change threads, why is this one called "Tigers History?" I apologise if this has been brought up before but I'm not going through 34 previous pages to find it out.
