I was watching Marvellous a few months back (Neil Baldwin Stoke city kit man and Keele legend) which is fantastic watch but one thing mentioned on that was incident after Stoke played away to Tranmere just before xmas.
Looked it up on soccerbase and saw it was played 17th December 1994. So far so mundane. Until I looked at the dates below and Stoke played boxing day and 27th Dec and seemed there was full round of football league games on those days until it’s a database mistake.
Apparently for Walsall was a 4-0 Boxing day win over Barnet and then a 2-0 win over Rochdale the following day and then a 1-0 win over Donny on NYE.
Was a promotion winning season so amuse their are fond memories of that season so was wondering the reason why there were two games in 24 hours as looked at a couple of seasons around that one and seems more normal xmas schedule in those. Anyone go to both?
Could be a good omen aswell, 4 straight wins around that time like now.
@SaddlerHQ Those dates are correct. We played Monday, Tuesday then the Saturday 26,27 and 31. This appears to be the only time during the Bescot years that we have played games on two successive days over this period. Many times we have played on 26 and 28 however.
Identical dates occurred in 1983, 1977 and 1966. The 1950’s were, on occasion, even more manic. 1955 games fell on 24,26, 27 and 31. 1957 we played on 25,26 and 28.
Well before my time but, as you say, back in the day we would often play on Christmas Day itself with the return fixture played 24 hours later on Boxing Day! For example, in the 1957 season you mention, we hosted Shrewsbury on the 25th then played at their place the very next day.
The year before we played on the 24th and 26th, but the 25th would have been a Sunday (more taboo than playing on a holiday).
@AndyWTaylor Like yourself, I wasn’t around in the 1950’s but they must have been special times especially with those reverse fixtures against Shrewsbury.
I do remember Easter games being played in the mid - late 1960’s being hectic eg 1968 we played on April 13,15,16 that included reverse fixtures on successive days v. Southport. Likewise in 1967 we played 3 in 4 days over Easter in late March including games on successive days v. Doncaster.
I went to all those in 1994. I am pretty sure we played two days in a row in the 1987/88 season, or one of the seasons around that time. I have Bristol City away and Grimsby at home in my mind but I could be wrong. It’s a vague memory and I haven’t checked it.
Going back to the promotion season of 94/5 - don’t forget that our last 2 games were away at Scarborough on a Tuesday and Bury 2 days just later on the Thursday.
I just remember two days in a row being the norm if that’s how Boxing day fell.
the two in a row 87/88 were Northampton (two goal lead squandered) on NYD followed by Rotherham at home when Crossy got a hat-trick and wasn’t too pleased about being subbed, and Chris Marsh I think made his debut as that sub, scored with his first touch, only to have it disallowed.
Worst one that season was Chesterfield away on the bank hol Monday the 28th. The coaches left ridiculously early and we ended up in at Saltergate about 1.15 in the snow. The coppers wouldn’t let us go to any pubs so literally opened the away end and made us go in, then we conceded in the first minute!! Some bloke in our end got the ball a few minutes later turned round and booted it out of the ground so he could get kicked out and go to the pub.
77/78 some loon gave us Carlisle away on Boxing Day, followed by Chester at home the day after. I remember waking up just in time to ram some brekkie down before Chester and a rare Alf Wood goal.
There were the two snow clearing efforts in the early 80’s against Huddersfield, the first was successful, but the second in the very harsh winter the year after was not when the snow was cleared to reveal a frozen pitch as we went about 6 weeks without a game.
I used to love the Christmas games at Fellows Park. Those of us that were regulars used to bring other family members along, and maybe mates that wouldn’t ordinarily go. It was a subtly different atmosphere, folks passing hip flasks, smoking Christmas cigars, getting used to wearing new scarves and coats and the inevitable Christmasy abuse that got hurled…player having a bad day always got…“you’ve had too much christmas pudding”…refs and linos “you bin on the sherry??” For some reason we were usually anticlimatically crap and often got away with a win. Boxing day 87 that Blazing refers to was typical. Grimsby were right down the bottom and forgot their kit, they had to play in red Walsall shirts as we played in white, which was very strange, and we squeeked a 3-2.
That Chesterfield away game was memorable for me in the I was stuffed up with Imodium. The only game I missed that season was a couple of days before - Grimsby at home. Had the ■■■■■ something chronic. Proper cramps absolutely ■■■■■■■ from my arse.
Missing a Walsall game for me at that point in my life was almost unthinkable. So I was determined not to miss two on the spin. Found a box of something in my mums medicine box that purported to do the trick and against all the advice on the box did the lot over the next 24 hours and declared myself fit for Chesterfield away.
I felt awful and as you say we were there dead early in the freezing cold. Saltergate had that side bit for away fans a bit like we did at FP so I shivered and shaked in there for about four hours all told. We had a stonking following but I’m sure we lost. We may have got a late penalty. Other than just how bad I was feeling the only thing I remember about the game is giving the linesman an earful and sleeping on the coach heading home.
Don’t think my bowels moved for another six months.
I remember those Xmas games in ‘94 and went to them all.
From memory, the Rochdale away game saw us in a very unfamiliar changed kit of mauve shirts & purple shorts. And the Doncaster game saw a furious Gary Brabin sent off for the visitors after he swung a punch at Martin O’Connor.
I think Brabin had two yellow cards, one when he put the ball under his shirt and puffed his checks out when we kept chanting ‘You fat B’ if I remember correctly.
Yes indeed you may well be correct
I think Brabins scuffle with o’connor may have been in the tunnel afterwards, I seem to recall Wacka referring to it in his recent ‘under the cosh’ podcast
I thought his first card was for lifting his shirt and patting his belly as we sang “you fat B”. It’s the only time I can think of an opposition player being booked when we gave the ref pelters. What a humourless moron.
The Barnet game on Boxing Day was wonderful, I hadn’t seen a Saddlers team play such good football since Buckley was manager. We passed Barnet to a standstill. Brilliant.
