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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2012 21:14:36 GMT
Thanks to Budleigh there’s been previous mention on this forum of Hallam FC’s ground at Sandygate in Sheffield. This is the ground where it is claimed football has been played continuously since 1860. Here’s a few pictures I took whilst out walking a few days ago. I’ll add more when I next see a game there. As you can see, the club make as much as they can of Sandygate’s longevity as a football ground which - quite possibly - is second only in the whole world to Cricketfield Road, Torquay (subject to FIFA ratification. I’m sure Jon’s “My Dear Sepp” letter is in the post). Look closely and you can see a cricket sightscreen on the football pitch. Hallam FC share Sandygate with Hallam CC (a club of even greater vintage) which causes all sorts of fixture problems at the start of each season:        |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2012 23:22:00 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2012 15:56:27 GMT
No sign of Clive so he must have been watching Scotland's latest failure at Hampden Park. Hallam probably didn't bother switching the deep fat fryer on in that case. I think they only do chips when they know he is coming.
Are Knaresborough known as the Old Mothers?
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Sept 12, 2012 16:01:15 GMT
Can you imagine such a sign being put up at Plainmoor? I suppose its nice to think the club considers its male fans as Gentlemen rather than thugs lol  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2012 17:29:26 GMT
Hallam is rather gentlemanly anyway so maybe the signs are directed at visiting ruffians from less-favoured places.
Ah yes, slightly disappointed that Knaresborough Town aren't sponsored by Mother Shipton's Petrifying Well. It would have looked great on their shirts during their debut season in the Northern Counties East League.
Indeed, Wildebeeste, no sign of Clive in last night's crowd of fifty-seven souls. So I guess he was suffering at Hampden.
Mind you I'm sure that, had he been there, he would have approved of the lukewarm rendition of the national anthem at Chesterfield on Monday.
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Post by stefano on Sept 12, 2012 19:35:50 GMT
So we now have Hallam FC with the oldest ground dating from 1860. Then we have Sheffield FC as the oldest club dating from 1857. I did pose the question who the hell did they play against then? A more pertinent question though would be where did they play? Although we had a football club in 1857 we did not have a football ground until 3 years later. Crazy! PS: Don't mention the 15thCentury Il Calcio in Piazza Santa Croce in Firenze, which is faithfully re-enacted on 24 June each year. Bet they have never heard of Hallam or even Sheffield!  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2012 20:29:44 GMT
Don't mention the 15thCentury Il Calcio in Piazza Santa Croce in Firenze, which is faithfully re-enacted on 24 June each year. Bet they have never heard of Hallam or even Sheffield! I did meet a Chinese student on the bus back from Stocksbridge recently and suggested to him that care be taken on discussing this matter when in Sheffield. Whisper it quietly but the Chinese may have a claim too. Again it looks like we're talking about continuity. Hallam's claim is based on Sandygate being used for football ever since 1860. Well, more or less anyway. Which, if there were gaps, surely strengthens the claim of dear old Cricketfield Road and countless others. What's more, thanks to disputes with the nearby pub which was the landlord, Hallam themselves had to play elsewhere either side of WW2. And, by all accounts, there were no facilities at Sandygate until they put up a loo block after the war. So, in that sesne, we seem to be talking more about a pitch as opposed to a ground. Sheffield FC used various pitches after 1857 and played amongst themselves (an alternative internet forum is available for those wishing to engage in schoolboy humour over this) by staging games such as "Married v Singles" and "Professionals v the Rest". Sheffield are playing Hallam in the county cup next month. I may go. Dare we call this the oldest fixture in the world? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2014 11:37:28 GMT
Fortified by a Jon-sized Wetherspoon's meal - Tuesday night is Steak Night after all - I paid one of my occasional visits to Hallam last night. This was for a NCEL local derby - of sorts - against Dronfield Town. 2-2: Hallam scored early and late; both Dronfield goals were the result of penalties conceded by the Hallam goalkeeper. His finest moment was not to concede a third penalty late in the match. Not the finest of spectacles but it is a pretty modest level of football.
I had a "senior moment" when I arrived. Not in the usual meaning of the expression; more a case of the woman on the turnstiles being unsure if I was entitled to reduced admission. To make it easier for her I took off my cap. She let me in as a concession.
Hallam is a curious club. Located in a well-heeled part of town there's a neat stand and a lovely little social facility. There's also a few trophies on display and, to boot, what other lower-tier NCEL club can boast a framed shirt signed by Diego Maradona by the entrance to the loos?
But, on the pitch, Hallam seem to be quietly slipping away and they've been in the bottom three for most of the season. There's also a propensity to play slightly inappropriate and rather too loud music over the tannoy. I'm not actually adverse to goal celebration music but, call me a spoilsport, it doesn't work wonderfully well when there is a crowd of 54. Perhaps the players enjoy it which may be the most important consideration.
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