myol'man Posted December 24, 2012 Report Share Posted December 24, 2012 Anyone on here old enough to remember? Would it work today? CHRISTMAS DAY FOOTBALL The last time the majority of League clubs played matches on Christmas Day was in 1957 when 38 League matches were played. After that the number of matches played declined dramatically largely due to a lack of public transport and the wish of fans to stay at home on Christmas Day. By 1959 just two League matches were played on December 25th - Blackburn 1 Blackpool 0 in Division 1 and Coventry 5 Wrexham 3 in Division 3. The next - and last - match played on Christmas Day took place at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool, on December 25th 1965. The home side defeated Blackburn Rovers 4-2 in a First Division match in front of 20,851 spectators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
22A Posted December 24, 2012 Report Share Posted December 24, 2012 1958 Derby 2 - City 1 was City's last Christmas Day fixture. I wasn't there, but this question was asked on Ziderheads and was answered by Cidergliders who was there. Transport for away fans is the problem these days. No Christmas Day trains since 1965 and coach drivers would be on double time plus Time Off In Lieu, so coaches will be expensive. Home fans would have to rush through lunch to be at the ground in time. Clubs used to play each other H & A on consecutive days during holiday periods until the 60s and throughout the League, the score of the first game would be reversed the next day. One Easter City lost 4-1 at Home Park and the next day beat Plymouth 4-1 at AG.. Dec 1955 City played 7 matches in League Div 2 (Championship these days). Sat 3 - Lincoln H, Sat 10 - Stoke A, Sat 17 - Swansea A, Sat 24 - Notts Co H, Mon 26 - Plymouth A, Tue 27 - Plymouth H, Sat 31 - Leeds A. Only two games in January though and two of those were FA Cup games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampy Posted December 24, 2012 Report Share Posted December 24, 2012 And it's a shame how local derbies have gone off of the radar on Boxing Day ... unless you follow the non league game. Forest Green v Newport ... Westbury v Bradford Town ... Bath City v Weston ... The list just goes on and on and bumper crowds ensue. Once again it's the police to blame ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
22A Posted December 24, 2012 Report Share Posted December 24, 2012 Only two games in January though and two of those were FA Cup games. Typo folks, I meant four games, two league & two Cup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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