The car was every young petrol-heads dream - on the site I took the pic from someone commented that Harold Needler had sweetened the player/manager deal with that car.
On coming to Hull to discuss the City manager's job Terry Neill said he drove over Anlaby Road flyover, saw the floodlights and felt a good feeling. That was until someone told him that was the Boulevard.
That is total bollocks. Fc 's lights in 1970 were stuck on a gantry on top of the two stands. You could see City six floodlights, the tallest in Europe, from miles around. The real story was about David Lloyd, when he first came to Hull after buying the club without ever being to or seeing Boothferry Park, or even Hull for that matter. He did turn up at the boulevard thinking Hull FC was Hull City and he couldn't believe what he had paid for such a pile of ****e. When he did finally arrive at Boothferry Park, v Notts County ? He said the pitch was better then the centre court at Wimbledon.
It was said with tongue firmly in cheek. I think Neill did say something on those lines, to that effect, when he saw the BP floodlights. I recall the groundsman's final day when he was presented with the gold watch on the pitch and did a lap of honour. He kept a superb playing surface. Like a snooker table it was.
John Cooper. He was the groundsman when we left BP and moved to the KC. Before JC I remember Craig Norrie's dad pitching in. I'm sure it was Stan Coombes who the lads from the social club under the North Stand at BP, the old Action Group lot, had a collection for on his retirement and presented him with a television. Beautiful pitches in those days.
Played on the old BP pitch a few times. As you say excellent surface When I went on the pitch after promotion at the kc it’s not even grass is it? More like astroturf
The difference is, at Boothferry Park the pitches were prepared to play football on and they had the summer to recover. At the KC/MKM they have to prepare pitches to be used all year round and to be also used for rugby league and if some of the local electorate had their way, every amateur cup final imaginable, not forgetting concerts too.
Stan Coombes was the groundsman for many years and think he lived in the house next to the entrance for the South stand in North Road. I think Stan retired late 70 's or early 80 's . Ken Norrie was one of John Cooper' s many assistants along with Mark Harrison ( he was one of those sacked by Ahab in 2017 ) and a young lad called Alistar .
