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being formed as Christ Church Sunday School team, the
team originally were known as "The Reds"
because they wore red and white quartered shirts and
later white shirts with red spots on, which were supposed
to make them look bigger. They should have just used that
silky effect material that was so popular in the 1980's,
which certainly was snug fitting and made even the
thinnest player look large. After a
disagreement with the local vicar in 1877, they broke
away from the church and wandered in the wilderness
without a permanent home for 18 years before settling in
at Burnden Park. During this homeless period, one of
their pitches was adjacent to a piggery and clearances
were forever ending up amongst the slurry in the
pig-pens, with players trotting off to retrieve the ball;
attracting a new nickname in the process. Burnden Park
was originally used as a dump for barrels and cotton
bales from the local industry, but was covered with earth
and used as a football pitch, even though a railway ran
alongside the place in 1895. Within six years, it was to
stage a historic FA Cup final replay, when Tottenham
Hotspur overcame Sheffield United 3-1. The match holds
the record for the lowest attendance at an FA Cup final
(surprising after the first match attracted 110,000 at
Crystal Palace). The day that the match was held became
known as "Pie Saturday", stemming from the
over-estimation by the caterers at the club of the number
of meat pies required , leaving them with many surplus,
which had to be handed out free after the match. To this
day, Tottenham Hotspur still send a case-load of meat
pies to the poor and needy in the town to celebrate the
great day in their history.
"Professionalism"
was a thorny topic in the 1880's and Bolton were at the
forefront of the debate, eventually winning the right to
overturn the ban on professional players. Then, in 1888,
the club became a founder member of the Football League.
On the
pitch, the club spent almost 90 years in the top two
divisions league-wise, while in the FA Cup they were
finalists in 1894 and 1904, but had to wait until the
1920's before they tasted cup success. Only 17 men were
used to win the trophy three times in 1923, 1926 and
1929. The first of those victories came in the very first
Wembley FA Cup final against West Ham United, when
approximately 250,000 people (many climbing walls to
enter free of charge) packed into the stadium and a
Policeman on a white horse called Billy (that's the
horse, not the policeman) calmed the crowd and cleared
the pitch. The game kicked off 45 minutes late and
despite the ball bouncing off the fans alongside the
pitch, the match continued with Bolton coming out on top
2-0 before receiving the cup from King George V.
In 1928, David Jack became the first player to be
transferred for £10,000, when he left Bolton to join
Arsenal.
Another
large crowd saw an altogether blacker day in the club's
history, when in 1946 at a FA Cup quarter-final, 85,000
gathered to see the home side take on Stanley Matthew's
Stoke City. Overcrowding occurred as fans got into the
ground without paying and a gate was opened for someone
to get out, but many fans outside stormed in. The mass of
people led to two crash barriers in one corner of the
ground giving way and causing a crush which led to 33
people losing their lives. However, most of the crowd
(including a young Kenneth Wolstenholme) were oblivious
to the tragedy as the match continued, despite the bodies
being carried out from the terracing. Extensive changes
were carried out at Burnden Park as a result of the
disaster and a report produced after the event
recommended licensing of grounds and limitation on crowd
sizes.
The club
then went for a few years without any any achievement of
note, before they reached the memorable 1953 FA Cup final
losing out to Blackpool, but were more successful in 1958
beating Manchester United, with Nat Lofthouse scoring
both goals. The second caused great controversy, as he
bundled the ball and the goalkeeper, Ray Wood, into the
net. It was thought that a foul would have been given,
but none was awarded and following that incident, Bolton
thrust forward, really making Wood work.
Bolton
Wanderers have mainly resided in the middle reaches of
the Football League since the late 60's, despite a recent
flirtation with the Premier League, but their new Reebok
stadium deserves a team to match the brave new future the
club dreams of. 1999-2000 should have been one to remember, but defeats
in the semi-finals of both domestic competitions made it a nearly
season for the Trotters, especially when they went and lost the
play-off semi-final (in controversial style - two men sent off and
three penalties given against them) too . Sam Allardyce stuck at
his task and the very next season, fortune shined on the Trotters who
beat local rivals Preston to take their berth in the Premiership via
the play-offs.
Sam will be
hoping to avoid the yo-yo nature of the club's recent past, but will
have to have more than the shoestring budget he has been used to in
doing so. Some more shrewd purchases of players who seemed to
have seen better days saw Bolton trot into Europe and make a good fist
of their UEFA Cup campaign.
FAMOUS
PLAYERS :- David Jack, Ted Vizard, Nat Lofthouse, Tommy
Banks, Eddie Hopkinson, Francis Lee, Peter Reid, Herbert Nutson.
FAMOUS FANS :
- Fred Dibnah (Demolition expert), Emma Forbes (TV presenter), Paul
Nicholls (Actor - TV EastEnders), Vernon Kay (TV Presenter - UKPlay),
Peter Kay (Comedian), Stu Francis (Former Crackerjack presenter),
Kenneth Wolstenholme (Former Football commentator)
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