..

First County Visit:	Monday 14th May 1979
Competition:	Football League Division 4 – (Tier 4)
Result:	York City 1 – 0 Stockport County
Attendance:	2,089
Away Trip:	14
Away Day:	16
County Line-up	1 David Lawson; 2 Carl Halford; 3 John Rutter; 4 Andy Thorpe; 5 Nigel Smith; 6 Phil Henson; 7 Chris Galvin; 8 Mike Summerbee; 9 George Armstrong; 10 Les Bradd; 11 Stuart Lee
Manager:	Mike Summerbee
County Visits:	13

..

THE IDEAL AWAY DAY …

..

.

The quaint little streets, the vastness of the Minster viewed from the ground but most of all the Castle Museum.  A place of mystery and magic for a young boy, it left me transfixed and always wanting a return trip.  There were some of those and the Railway Museum became another favourite place. I don’t suppose that I ever outgrew the interest that those attractions presented.  Indeed as a father many, many years later it was a joy to introduce Rob and Mark, my two sons, to them. I still recall with affection the hours they spent in the Railway Museum, equally as rapt with the “iron horse” as had I been nearly 40 years previously.  

But at that tender age I never, ever imagined that there was somewhere else in York which would continually draw me back.  How could there be?  But there was, and about half a mile outside of those famous city walls lay Bootham Crescent.  The unprepossessing arena did draw me …. twelve times, (†), as it turned out, and if truth’s known quite a few more than that. On non County days it was always worth a look at the fixture list to see if the Minstermen were at home.  It was do-able by car in about 90 minutes, (and on one famous occasion when I only decided to make the trip at 1.45, in considerably less).

† It was twelve visits at the time of originally writing this piece in October 2016. I made it thirteen in the early weeks of the 2018/19 season, (postscript below). Not of course in the Football League – but in regionalised football. How far both Clubs had fallen…

.

.

As intimated in the tale of visits to Edgar Street, Hereford and York feature heavily amongst County fans “best days out”.  And York is definitely one of mine.  I’ve little doubt that the hostelries within the city walls are warm and inviting, but the real bonus of the trip was to go over that little earlier and just meander around the streets.

On some visits time was against enjoying the sights, and that could be problematical.  Bootham Crescent stood, and still stands, in a hotch potch of small streets.  Reaching it was always difficult, especially in the pre Sat Nav days.  Following the Tadcaster Road into York, past the Knavesmire, (home to York Races), and through the city walls at Micklegate was a recipe for a late arrival.  Once into the old city a one-way system presented itself. It would have done justice to the labyrinthine construction of Daedalus and Icarus. 

There was seemingly no escape, and if there was, a complete absence of any indication as to where Bootham Crescent might lie.  The walls defeated the age old trick of trying to catch sight of the floodlights.  Good luck rather than judgement was the key to exiting this maze, often driven by anxious looks at the watch whose hands were moving inexorably round to 3.00pm. Parking was no easier but early on in my visits I found somewhere near the hospital which served me well thereafter. It must have been half a dozen times before I found the trick to avoiding this torture. 

..

..

I offer it to any souls visiting Bootham Crescent for the first time and heading from the west of the city.  Turn left at the sign for the A59 before getting to the walls.  Follow the road and turn right at the first river crossing, Water End, and there your destination will hove into view.

I always felt that Simon Inglis, in his mighty tome “The Football Grounds of England and Wales” did Bootham Crescent a dis-service.  “To borrow a phrase from Oliver Goldsmith Bootham Crescent is ‘dull without a single absurdity’”.  Damning with faint praise indeed! Whatever the case, I liked it.  A smallish but traditional ground.  A Main Stand, and opposite the Popular Side where terracing had been replaced with seating to cater for a remarkable season when York found themselves in Division 2, (Tier 2), in the mid 70’s. 

.

.

It’s not unjust to say that between my first and last visits, spanning 35 years, no maintenance had been done on the latter, most of which now appears to be condemned. As to the Shipton Street Stand this is now covered, and has been named in memory of David Longhurst, who tragically passed away during a match against Lincoln on 8^th September 1990.  I can recall that afternoon.  I’d been at Spotland watching County go down by a single goal against Rochdale. 

Flicking on the radio at 5.00 was a time honoured tradition then in order to hear the dulcet tones of James Alexander Gordon let us know what had been happening at grounds up and down the country.  No internet then, and mobile phones, which now allow instant updates of scores, were a thing way into the future.  It was the Beeb to which we had to turn.  As Mr JAG got to Division 4 our ears pricked up.  The season was but young, (it seemed to start a lot later years ago).  Two games had gone before the afternoon’s action.  County lay 4^th, with a win and a draw, but Northampton and Doncaster, with 100% records were leading the way.  By virtue of the alphabet, York v Lincoln would be the last game announced. 

By the time it came to that, we already knew that Donny and the Cobblers had three wins out of three, and that Rochdale’s three points had propelled them above the Hatters, and saw them drop to 7^th.  James came to wind up the results before heading for tales of Celtic and Rangers dominating things north of the border.  With a somewhat sombre intonation the airwaves brought us “York City versus Lincoln City – Match Abandoned”. Strange that I thought. 

It had been a nice lateish summer afternoon, sufficiently pleasant to not have brought the coat out of its summer hibernation.  York was only 50 miles away, so unless there’d been some local storm surely it couldn’t have fallen foul of the weather?  Immediately after the scores it could have been John Inverdale, (who presented the programme around that time), who announced that the abandonment at Bootham Crescent was due to the death of David Longhurst. 

A sense of shock in the car – “that kind of thing doesn’t happen”; “surely not”; “he’s a footballer he must be fit”.  But it had happened, and on every subsequent trip to York I have always, without fail, glanced up at the “David Longhurst Stand” and reflected on how transitory life can be.

.

.

The first trip, back in 1979, was on an early summer evening.  The programme above had been printed for the original fixture back in January, which had fallen foul of the weather.  There must have been an economy drive at York – no reprint of a programme which was getting on for three and half months out of date.  Not that any revised editorial would have been that illuminating anyway.  Programmes in later years have developed more than somewhat – a plethora of information; statistics; goings on at the Club and of course the ubiquitous advertising.  York’s production in 1979 concentrated on the advertising.  Editorial was sparse, and couldn’t have occupied the compiler for more than 10 minutes.  The whole thing was presented on a single sheet, folded in order to create the illusion of a comprehensive publication.  Back in May 1979 we got the original plus a teamsheet run off on a Gestetner machine.  But it was a collectable as far as I was concerned and joined the thousands of others in repose in a box in the loft until being discovered as memories were being committed to a computer screen!!

Thirty three years elapsed between the first and penultimate County visit.  As it turns out that penultimate trip was getting on for 16 years since the one before it.  And it turned out to be a traffic nightmare.  Not in York, after all the foolproof route had been discovered years before.  An almighty pile-up on the M62, with tales of two hour delays, led to an emergency route exploring parts of Bradford and Leeds never ever seen before. 

Arriving in the environs of Bootham Crescent at 3.03, and the normal parking spot taken, presumably at least half an hour before, what could be done.  Well, contrary to my normal conservatism in challenging the forces of law, well the traffic police anyway, the car was abandoned no more than 10 yards from the entrance gate on Grosvenor Road.  In by 3.08, on an absolutely perishing cold afternoon, all was well.   Danny Rowe, current hot shot for AFC Fylde, put County in the lead, and with 20 minutes to go thoughts turned as to how long a departure could be left before the interest of the local constabulary fell upon the temporary parking spot. 

Five minutes from the end seemed to be the concensus between Jeff, Rob and Mark and so off we headed, rejoicing in an away win which was much needed in that first season in the Blue Square Conference, (Tier 5).  Pulling out onto the true and tested route, and desperately trying to find Radio York rather than listening to the dying embers of an FA Cup tie as Birmingham managed a draw at Chelsea, we needed to know how events had unfolded as the lights retreated into the distance. 

Local radio eventually told us that we had missed heartbreak.  The Minstermen had pinched a couple of goals in the last few minutes and more distressingly, for County fans that is, the York Post described the winner.  “In the sixth minute of stoppage time – one more than the minimum five that had been indicated by the fourth official – Matthew Blinkhorn headed in a dramatic winning goal”

It never seems like it at the time, but there’d been a fair few of those kind of finishes over the years.  But, I still like York, and quite possibly, there could be a visit in 2017/18.  Writing in late November 2016, it’s fairly evident that we’re not going to get promoted into the National League, (Step 5).  A couple of weeks prior to writing this piece I saw York head out of the FA Cup in a replay at Curzon Ashton.  It was the first game back in charge for a returning Gary Mills, and it looked like he’s got a real job on if York are to avoid joining us in National League North, (Step 6), unless there’s a sharp turn about in their form.  It’d be good to go back.

October 2016

..

Postscript (October 2018)

York didn’t manage to avoid joining us in the NLN, falling into it.  It was a fall almost as steep as County’s.  Two long standing FL clubs now plying their trade in the 6^th level of English football.  I did go back but not in 2017/18.  With personal health reasons preventing the trip that season the return had to wait until August 2018.   

Sadly it was not in the circumstances satisfactory to either York or County afficionados.  It was a National League North game which ended the same way as that first visit 39 years previously – a single goal win for the Minstermen.  It will be the last visit as York are due to move to an out of town ground in 2019). Bootham Crescent will be a sad loss. A proper old fashioned stadium, in the town will be replaced by an out of town breeze block edifice. It might be progress, but not in my book.

..

Further Postscript (March 2020)

As ever, with these kind of projects, the construction work for the new stadium at Monks Cross seems to have been bedevilled. A move there was originally scheduled for the 2019/20 season. It didn’t happen by then and it still hasn’t. So when County were drawn away at York in the FA Cup in November 2019 it was back to dear old Bootham Crescent. The game was on TV with a 5.20 kick off. It was a cold day, with the threat of rain. Feeling far less than 100%, and not wanting to risk picking anything up, that made my mind up. I forewent the chance of a last visit. And I was glad. My TV view showed that we were abject; failing to trouble the York keeper and then seeing loanee Joe Leesley see red. 2-0 flattered us.

..

VISITS

..

Day	Date	Competition	Tier / Round	Opponents	Res	F	A	Crowd	Away Day
Mon	14/05/79	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	York City	L	0	1	2,089	16
Sat	22/09/79	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	York City	D	2	2	2,443	18
Sat	18/10/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	York City	L	0	1	2,135	31
Sat	05/12/81	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	York City	D	2	2	1,754	51
Sat	14/01/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	York City	L	1	3	3,570	91
Tues	13/02/90	Barclays League Division 4	Tier 4	York City	W	3	0	2,256	185
Sat	14/11/92 (Highlights)	FA Cup	Round 1	York City	W	3	1	5,640	246
Tues	14/09/93	Endsleigh League Division 2	Tier 3	York City	W	2	1	3,606	267
Sat	01/10/94 (Highlights)	Endsleigh League Division 2	Tier 3	York City	W	4	2	3,790	287
Sat	04/11/95	Endsleigh League Division 2	Tier 3	York City	D	2	2	3,101	312
Sat	21/09/96 (Highlights)	Nationwide Football League – Division 2	Tier 3	York City	W	2	1	3,061	330
Sat	18/02/12 (Highlights)	Blue Square Bet Premier	Tier 5	York City	L	1	2	3,370	696
Tues	07/08/18 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League North	Tier 6	York City	L	0	1	3,218	828

..

ON MY JOURNEY WITH COUNTY AROUND 180 GROUNDS

..

Previously – EDGAR STREET Next stop – PRENTON PARK