First match attended

My first ever match was Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal in 1996.

In an alternative universe we’d be having this discussion on an Arsenal forum then!

Couldn’t have picked a better time to start watching Walsall. I took it all for granted at the time as being good seemed normal :sweat_smile:

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Arteta, he’s gorra gew Franksy.

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The only time I made a conscious decision to go & watch another team play when the Saddlers were at home was on 20th April 1991.
Shamefully, I got persuaded by a friend of mine to go & watch Aston Villa vs. Wimbledon. I can still see the look on my dads face when I told him I wouldn’t be going with him to watch Walsall vs. Northampton.
Dad had the last laugh as he got to see a cracking 3-3 draw while I watched what is possibly the most dire game of football I’ve ever witnessed. Wimbledon won 2-1 but the quality of the play was shocking.
I’ve never considered doing anything like that since…

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I went to watch Villa one game. I had been to watch Walsall on the Friday night to be fair, think it was Southend but no certain.

They played Everton, it was the most miserable game also, no shots all game. Last minute Everton had a corner straight on Duncan Ferguson’s head six yards out. He headed it into the ground and it somehow went over the bar. I had stood quietly all game in the Holte End, I jumped up when it landed on his head, and promptly got thrown out by the stewards :grinning:

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The first game I can definitely remember was the 6-3 win over Swansea in the FA Cup 1st Rd in 1965. I went with a friend from my school in Birmingham who was a Swansea fan. Allan Clarke scored a couple I think.
My son’s first game was a 3 nil win at Feethams when he was 7 in 1985 and my daughter’s was the final game of the following season, by coincidence also at Darlington, a 3-1 win when she was 6.
Mrs Hullsaddler’s first (and last) game was the 2-1 home win against Notts County close to the end of the 87-88 season before the play-offs.
Sadly taking my 5 year grandson to the FA Cup hammering at Bolton means that we don’t have a clean sweep of winning starts, though he was ‘taken’ by my daughter to a win at Doncaster when she was 7 months pregnant. He kicked a lot apparently!

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I was at the Swansea game would have been 8 at the time. From memory we were 3-1 up then Swansea pulled it back to 3-3. We then scored 3 in the last 10 minutes to set up a 2nd round tie away at Aldershot which we won 2-0, following which we beat 1st division (ie top-tier) Stoke away in the 3rd round with 10 men for most of the game. I was at all of those games. Happy days.

Talking of Swansea…which two saddlers got married and played against Swansea , all on the same day ?

No takers ?

lol.

One of 'em was a propper club legend .

OK…OK.

I’ll satisfy your indifference.

Way way back 1961 I think…Colin Tayor and Keith Ball both got married Saturday morning, and then rocked up at
Fellows Park and played againt Swansea drawing 0-0.

Seems strange to me.

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I worked with Keith for many years after he retired from football lovely bloke.

Did he live around Rushall Chunk ?

I often see a bloke around there,when I drive through and can’t make me mind up whether it is him.

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Yes mate i think he did, still looked quite fit for his age, with a full head of grey hair

Thanks for that KEV.I do vaguely remember that happening now but when you first posed the question I had no idea.

Keith Ball still lives in Daw End Lane, Rushall.

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8th December 1973 2-0 win v the Sloppies

Spent 2 hours in A&E with a broken wrist after twatting a Salopian thug

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Cheers Chunk and Pedders.
Must be the fellah I see. Right road etc.

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Is Daw End …the third divisions Alderley Edge?

Cos I saw Willie Penman there once, an’ all, and Ray Wiggin is local.

And thinking about it Ger Ger Ger Granville Palin used to sing in Rushall Labour Club.

First walsall match all I remember Jimmy rimmer s owed a free kick against walsall at fellows Park, game was a draw think it was 1982 season. Remember the cow sheds well. Down side was that racism was bad back then glad most of us have moved on.

I went to St Michaels primary school in Pelsall and at one of their summer fetes, the keeper in the “Beat the Goalie” attraction was Keith Ball.
We’d often see Colin Harrison on the common during our break time too.