FORUMS FORUMS



  
FORUMS > Warrington Wolves > The Arbitrary Wilderspool Nostalgia Thread
96 posts in 7 pages 
<<   PREV  NEXT   >>
RankPostsTeam
Player Coach129No
Team
Selected
JoinedServiceReputation
May 200916 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Jul 2015Apr 2015LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



Quote: magic piano "Yes there are many memories of Wilderspool, I share many of the ones already posted and many more. But before everyone gets too misty eyed let me say one thing. If Warrington RLFC had not moved from Wilderspool to the HJ Stadium when we did, the chances are the club would not exist now, certainly not in Superleague. No Andrew Johns, Matt King, Michael Monaghan, Adrian Morley. No Tony Smith. No back-to-back Cup Finals. No serious contender to win SL.

Memories are fantastic, but don't for a second think we would be better in the past.'"


Of course that is 100% true. I'd like to think that most posters on this thread fully acknowledge that fact and are just reminiscing about happy memories without genuinely pining for a return to Wilderspool (although there will be a few who are).

What's struck me is that it's not just the people who are 30+ who have such fond memories, there are quite a few whipper-snappers who only went to Wilderspool for a couple of years before 2003 who still recognise its magic and speak fondly of it, which is very nice to read.

We've come a long way and you can't go back, but it is nice to remember the past - especially when we're enjoying potentially our best season since 1973-74.

It's also worth stating that anyone can still go to Wilderspool to watch the reserves and Warrington Wizards play. It'll never be the same but it always gets my memories flowing and wandering through the old VIP and Players' Lounge in the Bevan Stand - which is now the public bar - always makes me wonder what the hell visiting VIPs and playing legends must have made of those facilities in the early part of the 21st century! That and the old "Exec boxes", i.e. the portacabins on top of Pondlife Corner. Never has a prawn butty corporate do seen such humble surroundings. Actually, they were probably salmon paste butties on paper plates.

One other memory / person to remember - good old Sheila from the Club Shop (RIP). I once went in there early on a match day to get a ticket and the original Starlights had just arrived for what must have been their first ever "gig" at Wilderspool. They got off their minibus and were looking around the terraced streets in pretty obvious disgust at where they were. One of them said in her southern accent "Euurrggghh - it's looks like f*cking Coronation Street round here". I went in the club shop and happened to mention that particular comment to Sheila and she went nuts and ran out of the shop after them calling them "Cheeky southern buggers".

The old club shop was ace. I remember every year when we used to get the new kits in and loads of people would be shoehorned in there, stripping off in the middle of the shop so they could try them on, then fighting over the one mirror to see if they actually fitted. When you were a kid, you always wanted the home and away shirts AND the shorts and socks, too! It must have cost my dad a fortune!

RankPostsTeam
International Chairman5085No
Team
Selected
JoinedServiceReputation
Feb 200223 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Oct 2014Mar 2014LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



Also remember queuing for tickets for the 1990 final went down in my lunch hour only to see the queue was half way down fletcher street with the tickets being sold in touchdown club. Took about 2 hours hence late getting back to work.

RankPostsTeam
Player Coach736
JoinedServiceReputation
Apr 200619 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Nov 2024Nov 2024LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



I always thought. Why couldn't we just buy the surrounding land and build upon wilderspool. as i said in my last post. We are losing the history of rugby league. And that is sad.

RankPostsTeam
Player Coach335No
Team
Selected
JoinedServiceReputation
Apr 200916 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Nov 2012Oct 2012LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



Lee Penny decaptitating Alan Hunte, Richard Henare scoring 'that' try and Roper's 90 meter dash with the bloody nose in the 1996 game against Saints

Ian Sibbit actually looking like he could play Rugby....

Signing Kevin Walters thinking he was going to be the main man!

The year after doing the same thing with Steve Blakely

Getting battered by Leeds IIRC and Matt Rodwell coming right up infront of the Fletcher Street ironicly clapping the fans even though if we could get over that wall, he would have been slung straight back to Penrith

Lee Briers in 2001 getting an interception once a week... and still being skinny enough to go the length of the field at this point

Danny Nutley... says it all

And i dont know why, but it sticks in my mind. The cup game against Halifax in 2001 with them playing in that orange jersey, and us beating them to go and play Bradford at Leeds

Graham Appo flipping the bird to the Widnes fans in 2003 and the try being disallowed

Our front row being held together by tape and bandages (Hilton and Fozzard)

Iestyn Harris.... W@nker

Gary Hulse coming through as another 'next big thing' in his first game against Cas

RankPostsTeam
Player Coach11464No
Team
Selected
JoinedServiceReputation
Jun 200519 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Aug 2024Aug 2024LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



Quote: Coops "Also remember queuing for tickets for the 1990 final went down in my lunch hour only to see the queue was half way down fletcher street with the tickets being sold in touchdown club. Took about 2 hours hence late getting back to work.'"


Me and my mates were first in that queue, went down early in the morning and when Doreen arrived she let us in and gave us a cup of tea as we were freezing.


Other couple of additions;

Terry O'Connor and Neil Cowie looking at one another and pointing when the Fletch chanted 'you fat b@stard'.

Steadman, Sully is a Wire etc.

Taxi for Goulding.

The Darren Burns 'ave it' moment.

I miss the place, the atmosphere was very special at times.

RankPostsTeam
Player Coach736
JoinedServiceReputation
Apr 200619 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Nov 2024Nov 2024LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



i wander if it is manned and if we could sneak in too have a look round the old place.

How much of our history have we taken the h.j???

Is that chair still there for example. (the one that that suvived the fire)

RankPostsTeam
Player Coach368No
Team
Selected
JoinedServiceReputation
May 200619 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Nov 2024Oct 2024LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



Some previous Wilderspool memories from years gone by (in no particular order):

1986 Premiership Trophy First round v Widnes. Ronnie Duane going over in the last minutes to snatch a win, the Fletch went wild and we dumped Widnes out. We went on to win the Premiership that season, beating the 'then' champions Halifax 38-10 at Elland Road.

1989 Lancashire Cup Semi-Final v Widnes. Widnes had just been crowned World Club Champions, played on a Wednesday night, the place was packed to the rafters and we absolutely hammered them!

1994 v Sheffield Eagles. Great atmosphere, even the old Championship trophy was wearing a Wire scarf that night!

1983 v Hull FC Challenge Cup Quarter Final. Capacity crowd, remember the referee caning us with the penalties and disallowing at least 3 tries. Felt cheated after that game.

1994 v Wigan on New Years Day. Losing 8-6 after Russel Smith gave Wigan a penalty in the last minute due to Cullen going in with his knees in the tackle. Never felt robbed like that before, cost us the Championship.

1988 v Wigan on New Years Day. World War 3, great game, Cullen chasing Goodway to the tunnel was amazing.

1981 (ish) v Hull KR in a John Player Trophy match. Wire were leading by a point with a couple of minutes to go when the referee awarded Hull KR a penalty about 35 metres out. George Fairburn goes for goal and he cannot miss. All he has to do is kick it from just to the side, 35 metres out and Hull KR win. He put the ball wide and the crowd go crazy.

1987 v Auckland on a wet Wednesday night. Don't think I have ever seen so much rain, everyone huddled together under the Fletch to try and stay dry.

1993 v Castleford in the league. It was played a few weeks before Christmas, was a tight game until Jiffy put a huge bomb up. Graham Steadman was the Castleford fullback at the time, he never looked comfortable under the high bomb and he dropped it. Cullen was on hand to pick up the loose ball and score at the Fletcher end to the side of the posts. The Fletch then start to chant "There's only one Graham Steadman", which he didn't like. I seem to remember he dropped a few more bombs in that match as well. Wire went top of the league after this victory over Castleford.

RankPostsTeam
Player Coach5643
JoinedServiceReputation
Aug 200519 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Jun 2020Jun 2020LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



Some brilliant memories...
the two I was going to post have already been done.

dirty Billy thompson and his scandalous Yorkshire Bias in that challenge cup Quarter final V Hull.
and the Streaker in the Cronulla game..stopping to get a drink of Water and Ettingshausen being in hysterics......

other than those my first game on my own without my dad in 1979 v Bradford Northern it was proper old school 2 red cards,and 2 stretchers required...

Chissies 50 yarder.....(and fat bald players in general like chissie and Ian van Bellen from the above Bradford Game)

but Like Brian Potter Says ...you cant go back... and already we are building HJ memories like Nat Wood scoring and running through the concourse and coming out the other side....

...and ...Andrew Johns nervous as poohing dog, trying to put the ball on the cone to kick off the leeds game....

but maybe thats for another thread...

RankPostsTeam
Player Coach759No
Team
Selected
JoinedServiceReputation
Aug 200519 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Jun 2013Jun 2013LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



Paul Marquet icon_lol.gif

I actually missed the wakefield game which was the last proper match at the zoo,due to me being in athens.

My last game was against halifax that same season and we battered them,i swapped ends at half time so finished up in the railway end,i was only 11 at the time and i can still remember walking out of the ground and knowing i would never be back again icon_sad.gif .

RankPostsTeam
Moderator39717
JoinedServiceReputation
Mar 200223 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Nov 2024Nov 2024LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED

Moderator


i wonder how he caught them tennis balls when he had no thumbs

RankPostsTeam
Player Coach2233No
Team
Selected
JoinedServiceReputation
Feb 201015 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Oct 2013Oct 2013LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



Brown sauce over peas over pies.
The smell of wintergreen near the tunnel.
The blokes who stood near us who would drink half a pint in one long sip.
Losing to Huddersfield having been well in front.
Beating Saints.
Meeting one of my best mates there.
Langer.
Last game (Wakefield 2003).
First game (Featnerstone 199icon_cool.gif.
Millward on the headphones to Long.
Nat Wood and Westwood waving on the pitch.
Fozzard's sending off v Leeds.

RankPostsTeam
Player Coach759No
Team
Selected
JoinedServiceReputation
Aug 200519 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Jun 2013Jun 2013LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



Quote: Catpiss #2 "i wonder how he caught them tennis balls when he had no thumbs'"

icon_smile.gif

RankPostsTeam
Player Coach1768No
Team
Selected
JoinedServiceReputation
Nov 200915 years
OnlineLast PostLast Page
Jun 2019May 2019LINK
Milestone Posts
0
100
Milestone Years
0510 1520 2530
Location
Signature
TO BE FIXED



Choose Life, choose buying a programme from a lad on the corner, choose walking down fletcher street seeing the preacher with saint or sinner banner, choose the superb club shop, choose getting in for £5 when your 19, choose a watered down pint of carlsberg, choose pie n peas and scraping a hole in the bottom of the tray, choose burning the roof of your mouth on a brew, choose changing ends at half time, choose Jonny Warbo,choose standing in your own s, choose a fantastic but dated scoreboard, choose beating Australia, choose watching Boyd bring the biff, choose Phil Blake's boot coming off, choose widnes on boxing day, choose Appo scoring going the full length, choose putting 50 on saints, choose last game against Wakefield, Choose WIlderspool.

96 posts in 7 pages 
<<   PREV  NEXT   >>
96 posts in 7 pages 
<<   PREV  NEXT   >>



All views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the RLFANS.COM or its subsites.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure that news stories, articles and images are correct, we cannot be held responsible for errors. However, if you feel any material on this website is copyrighted or incorrect in any way please contact us using the link at the top of the page so we can remove it or negotiate copyright permission.

RLFANS.COM, the owners of this website, is not responsible for the content of its sub-sites or posts, please email the author of this sub-site or post if you feel you find an article offensive or of a choice nature that you disagree with.

Copyright 1999 - 2024 RLFANS.COM

You must be 18+ to gamble, for more information and for help with gambling issues see https://www.begambleaware.org/.



Please Support RLFANS.COM


10.5849609375:10
RLFANS Recent Posts
FORUM
LAST
POST
TOPIC
POSTER
POSTS
Recent
Film game
karetaker
5766
Recent
Getting a new side to gel
Wigan Bull
2
Recent
New Kit
Cokey
70
Recent
Fixtures
Hockley Bron
12
FORUM
LAST
VIEW
TOPIC
POSTER
POSTS
25s
How many games will we win
Shifty Cat
48
42s
DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings
Theeaststand
4048
46s
Getting a new side to gel
Wigan Bull
2
1m
Rumours and signings v9
Mark_P1973
28902
1m
Salford
Smiffy27
59
1m
Pre Season - 2025
Hullrealist
191
1m
Ground Improvements
phe13
198
1m
Film game
karetaker
5766
1m
Opening Championship and League One Fixtures for 2025 Released
RLFANS News
1
1m
ALL NEW 49ERS ERA LEEDS UTD THREAD
tad rhino
2611
FORUM
NEW
TOPICS
TOPIC
POSTER
POSTS
TODAY
Shirt reveal coming soon
Khlav Kalash
2
TODAY
Opening Championship and League One Fixtures for 2025 Released
RLFANS News
1
TODAY
Getting a new side to gel
Wigan Bull
2
TODAY
Fixtures
Hockley Bron
12
TODAY
Writers required
H.G.S.A
1
TODAY
2025 Fixtures
Jemmo
1
NEWS ITEMS
VIEWS