Barnsley FC and result not yet in

A guy in a 'Football in the 70s' FB group regularly posts results otd back in the 70s. Today he posted this:

For the older supporters amongst us, am I imagining it or were we often late finishing games back then. I seem to recall we were. As an extension of that I also seem to remember we sometimes used to kick off at 3:15 - which would explain the late result. Was that ever the case?
Our league position is also interesting - aside from Bradford we were the lowest placed club in Yorkshire:

 

Nowt changes for Sheff Utd

 

Wednesday 3rd from bottom of the 3rd. Rinse and repeat?

 

Interesting that the BBC that night were showing the matches Hereford v Brighton, and Liverpool v Burnley. Especially as the first one was a Division 3 game. How times change.

 

As we made our way home after the match, my Dad always bought The Star from the vendor just outside the bus station. As our games kicked off at 3:15, all the results would be in the Stop Press column on the front page bottom right hand corner. That had to suffice until we received the Green 'Un later that evening.

 

There was a recent post on this, which connected the 3.15 pm Saturday kick-off time to pit shift patterns. I can't recall that this was the reason, but it does make sense, if true. Certainly, our kick-off times for more than one season were 3.15 on a Saturday, so that we were often 'result not yet in' on the BBC. Must have played hell with the nerves of punters who just needed our game to be a draw! I still, though, recall (again for fun sake and to reignite the smell of the woodbines) the 1964? game v Crewe, which was probably 3.15 kick off and whose result was further delayed by two incidents, most amusingly reported in local and national press. One national rag reported it (to my memory): "They had a laugh a half at Barnsley. First, Crewe's gay (not allowed today) red shorts were found to clash with Barnsley's red shirts, so they had to leave the pitch to change into white ones. Then the Crewe keeper, Will Mailey, fisted a shot from Dick Hewitt on to the crossbar, which promptly fell down and took fifteen minutes to repair. Barnsley lost the game 1-0." What I just loved was the BBC results reader, who, when reaching our game, simply said in BBC diplomatic tones, "Barnsley versus Crewe - late kick-off." Aah! If only he knew!! I remember the cheer that the odd-job man got when he came on to the pitch wearing overalls and flat cap (of course) and carrying ladder, hammer and nails. Did we have to ring Yellow Pages for him? Who was he? I also recall the stadium announcement on the almost inaudible tannoy system, "We are attempting to repair the goal posts and then the referee will decide whether the game can continue." It did. I had longed to see what I thought was our strongest eleven and the Crewe game was the only one in which all played, including the former Rotherham United wing-halves, Lambert and Jackson. We were appalling that day and the two incidents with shorts and goal posts were the high points, other than Ian Sandiford's winning header for Crewe. Oh! And there was the caption competition in the Chronicle for the best quip to go with the photo of the fallen goal posts. The winner was, 'It looks as though the rot's set in.' Well, at that time, it had, in more ways than one.

Happy days! Smell the Woodbines again!

 

In those days we didn't kick off until 3.15 pm, whereas all other clubs kicked off at 3.00 pm. It was often 3.00 pm before I left my parents' house on Mottram Street to walk to the ground.

 

What a brilliant story mate!

 

Thanks all, I wasn't imagining the 3:15 kick off time then.

 

My dad always told me it was because, with pubs closing at 3, it gave time for another pint, which could be more viable than shift times at pits, especially on a Saturday

 

I was at that Crewe game as well but will have probably missed the last 20 minutes or so because I had to race back up Oakwell Lane and down Donny Road to pick up the evening paper bag at Harstons. I was only 12 then so running up Oakwell Lane was a piece of cake!

My memory of the crossbar incident is that the keeper - all five foot nothing of him - leapt to turn over a shot and brought down the bar with his hand (I could be wrong of course). The point is though that the frame of the goal almost collapsed and it could have been a unique abandonment couldn’t it? “Barnsley v Crewe match abandoned due to goal posts falling down!”

That header of Sandifords though - I think he was on the edge of the area when he met the cross and it sailed into the top corner.

 

I understood that the 3:15 kickoff was down to pub opening times. Living in Bolton on dearne, we were in the Barnsley MBC whereas Barnbrough was Doncaster and Wath was Rotherham. Closing time was always latest in Barnsley for example 11pm except sundays, Rotherham was 11pm fridays and Saturdays but Doncaster was 10:30 every day. I think something similar applied to the lunchtime session.

If you wanted the longest session then you started in Donny where they opened earlier and finished in Barnsley.

 

That haif time scoreboard we used to have, still putting scores in quarter of an hour into second haif. You had to have the programme cos each score was at the side of a letter and that letter would represent a certain match. Memories.

 

You are right , we did used to kick off at 3.15 on a saturday , I would me in the Mount & the landlord would call last orders at about 10 to 3 which gave you enough time to have a last pint & get up to the ground & in just before kick off , perfect !

 

Coincidentally I'm just doing some fanzine work and have a 1969 match program in front of me. Saturday 6th of Feb and its a 3:15 kick off. Walsall at home btw.

I was always lead to believe it was to accomodate the miners shift pattern.

And to think we complain about SYP and Sky for changing kick off times (different I know)

 

Genuinely can’t remember us having the 3:15 kick offs. ( was it all Saturday games or a selection. And when did we go to 3pm if so.? ) But I do remember the Green un not allus having all the full time results. Depended on which edition you got. First print or last depending on the distance from the printers.

 

That was also the way my Dad, an old pit man told it.

 

Aye and the scoreboard had to show two different sets of scores so unless you were paying attention you wouldn't know if the score related to the first or second set because, as you said, the scores were still being added long after the 2nd half was underway.

 

I always thought it was pub closing times rather than shift patterns. In other places many pubs closed at 2:30pm.