20th Anniversary...

[Chris Black come back]

..of my first ever Rovers game last night, a 2-1 win against Hereford in 1992. Grant Morrow scored before Hereford equalised, then Kieron Brady won and scored a penalty on his debut.  Really struggled to remember the starting line-up, and reckon the following were included:

1. Crichton, 2. Brady, 3. Prindiville, 4. Reddish, 5. Richards, 6. Hicks, 7. ???, 8. ???, 9. Morrow, 10. ???, 11. Gormley
(Brady played at #2 but was either up front or on the wing), Quinlan & Hine were on the bench.

I'm still the majority of a midfield short, I'm sure Mike Jeffrey and Jamie Hewitt were injured, and don't remember Wing Commander Heritage playing. Anyone with a good memory (or Tony Bluff's History of Donny) help me out?

This was my first game as well. I admit that I shamelessly went on the back of the early season form of Mike Jeffrey which I had read about in Shoot. Predictably on turning up at the ground (Main Stand terrace, Town End side) he was bloody injured wasn't he! Remember Greg Down playing full back for Hereford that night.

Obviously hooked after that performance. Those two decades of watching Rovers divide quite neatly into a decade of almost unmitigated banality/misery and then ten glorious years since the 2002/03 season opened.

Looking back think that this initial ten years was character forming...

[SingingPostman]

It was a Sheffield County Cup Final for me v. Rotherham, about 1968.

I can't remember a thing about the game as I was only a tot but I remember walking up the back of the bank at the town end and as I got over the top, standing - probably open mouthed - at that fantastic green pitch. I was hooked from that second onwards and in all the years afterwards I would always get a tingle every time I saw Belle Vue under floodlights.

[Bentley Bullet]

My first game I remember properly was 1965/66 v Lincoln city, a 4-0 home win in the opening game of the season. The following Tuesday also at Home saw us win 4-0 again against Hartlepool(s!). That game was under the new floodlights.
We went on to win the league that season.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

April 11th 1966 Port Vale away and first home game on May 3rd v Barnsley.

All I can remember as a 5 yr old is packing in with my dad and a load of his mates in to a Dormabile at Top Rank bowling alley car park and heading off to Port Vale. All the talk was about a player called Jeffrey.

At the home game v Barnsley, I remember climbing up the rickety old wooden steps in the main stand at BV and being greeted with a carpet of an emerald green pitch...and been hooked ever since (with the odd break)   

Must have been the same season Bentley !

[Bentley Bullet]

April 11th 1966 Port Vale away and first home game on May 3rd v Barnsley.

All I can remember as a 5 yr old is packing in with my dad and a load of his mates in to a Dormabile at Top Rank bowling alley car park and heading off to Port Vale. All the talk was about a player called Jeffrey.

At the home game v Barnsley, I remember climbing up the rickety old wooden steps in the main stand at BV and being greeted with a carpet of an emerald green pitch...and been hooked ever since (with the odd break)   

Must have been the same season Bentley !

Yes mate, you are correct!
http://www.doncasterrovers-mad.co.uk/results_fixtures/1965_1966/doncaster_rovers/index.shtml

[1879Rovers]

First game was a friendly against Leeds, i think, c1968, pre-season.

Spewed my guts up in the main stand having had injections earlier in the day ahead of a flight to Spain !

I also loved the evening matches at BV. My particular memory was from the 70's (i think) where we won a good few games on the trot 1-0 and i remember crap disco music blaring after the final whistle as i wondered away from the pop side grinning.

I got sort of caught up in the problems with the Portsmouth fans after a match in the 80's (i think) and im sure there was a huge crowd for a friday night - those were the days.

The Portsmouth game I was refering to in 1979, there was a lot of trouble before kick off. I always remember my old man telling my older brother (who was taking me), 'Don't go in the middle of the fans,'

You can guess where we ended up. I was picked up by a bloke who ran to the front wall with it all kicking off behind us.

My old man never used to like me going to Donny v Portsmouth games around the late 70's and early 80's. They always seemed to bring a lot up and there was often bother.

I remember one drab 0-0 game against Portsmouth being on the Big Match (about 82)

[Filo]

First game was a friendly against Leeds, i think, c1968, pre-season.

Spewed my guts up in the main stand having had injections earlier in the day ahead of a flight to Spain !

I also loved the evening matches at BV. My particular memory was from the 70's (i think) where we won a good few games on the trot 1-0 and i remember crap disco music blaring after the final whistle as i wondered away from the pop side grinning.

I got sort of caught up in the problems with the Portsmouth fans after a match in the 80's (i think) and im sure there was a huge crowd for a friday night - those were the days.

The Portsmouth game I was refering to in 1979, there was a lot of trouble before kick off. I always remember my old man telling my older brother (who was taking me), 'Don't go in the middle of the fans,'

You can guess where we ended up. I was picked up by a bloke who ran to the front wall with it all kicking off behind us.

My old man never used to like me going to Donny v Portsmouth games around the late 70's and early 80's. They always seemed to bring a lot up and there was often bother.

I remember one drab 0-0 game against Portsmouth being on the Big Match (about 82)

I remember that game as well, Friday night and a crowd around the 10k mark, a few Pompy fans hid in the tree`s in Regent Square and ambushed some Rovers fans

[Wellred]

Don't like to be pedantic, but the Aldershot game in 68/69 was 7-0, not 7-1. It was in February, and Aldershot were top. We leapfrogged them into top spot, and stayed there until the end of the season to claim the D4 Championship. I recall Steve Briggs had a blinder that night.

So far, only Dutch beats me for longevity.

Rovers 1, Mansfield 1, Easter Monday, 1963, 8,017.

I stood on the Rosso End, and with Mansfield fans sporting blue and yellow rattles, and blue and yellow balloons. There was a real sense of occasion and color, and I was hooked. I leaned against the wall, and we made fun of the Mansfield goalie, Colin Treharne, who was rather well built. Rovers goalie was 19 year old Keith Hellewell, Fred Potters deputy. We had the prolific Colin Booth up front, and he scored our goal.

Hellewell,
Raine
Meadows
Windross
White
Ripley
Robinson
Hale
Booth
Broadbent
Billings

'Yogi' Broadbent had dazzling skills -- an eccentric, 'clown prince' player a type of which you don't see in the modern game. 'Robbo' on the wing was great, and Keith Ripley at the back was as hard as nails. Looking back now, the talented Booth and Alfie Hale were playing far below their level and must have been on a decent wage even back then.

My 50th anniversary coming up next Easter!

To be even more pedantic Alonzo. The Aldershot game was the 24th February! I remember it well. It was probably the only game I missed that season as it was my wife's 21st birthday. Poor excuse I know. 

[roversontheup]

My first game aged 5 was in 1961. Unfortunately I have no memory of who we played.  But what fun I had down by the wall at the Rosso end with the other kids.  All sporting our red and white scarves knitted by our Mums and going frantic with our rattles.

[Colin C No.3]

1968/69 season, mine & my brother's first season as STH's (cheers Bri) & what a season to be baptised!

The highlights were many. Regular 5 figure home attendances in what was then the 4th Division, culminating in an evening attendance at home against Darlington of 22.000+ (a gate that was so big it got a mention on the National tv news). I remember during the warm up, as I stood tip toe on the kop, watching a Darlo player flick the ball up & 'catch it' on the back of his neck. Bloody'eck, I'd seen nowt like it before in my life! We lost a cracking game 1-0 & it was 'nip & tuck' for the top spot between us & Darlo much throughout the season.

We grasped top spot in the New Year when if my memory serves me well, we had to beat an Aldershot team by 4 clear goals to go top. We won 7-0 (even my 'hero' Colin Clish grabbed a goal), in front of another bumper crowd & never looked back as we went on to clinch the title under Lawrie McMenemy (another Rovers manager who was prematurely shown the door).

More importantly in my initiation as a Rovers diehard, was being able to see 'The King', Alick Jeffrey play. What a player, what a colossus of a man. It was to be his final season as a Rovers legend. Lawrie Mac sold him to Lincoln in the January, yet he still finished Rover's top scorer with12 goals (thanks Tony Bluff).

RTID.


 

[rover-n-out]

My first Rovers game was at home to the Blades in Oct? 1957. I would have been 9 y/o then and went with my two older brothers Dickie and Alfie (Emmerson) in our Alfies Doormobile.
I remember Harry Gregg being in goal, and at the back of my mind him saving a penalty. Not totally sure about that though.
Game was a 2-2 draw. Can't remeber much more than that. Brother Alfie still attends home games to this day.