Magpie Miscellany Part 22

Gridiron

As past episodes of Magpie Miscellany have explained, York Road has alway been a multi-sports venue. In the final chapters of the season I am going to investigate two summer sports that York Road hosted in the late 20th century.

Gridiron (American Football) really started to gain popularity in the UK thanks to coverage of the NFL by Channel 4. Part of the reason for the channel coming into existence was to broadcast sports that were not covered by the BBC or ITV, and NFL was screened from its launch week in 1982. With soccer seemingly in terminal decline as reflected by record low crowds, the US offered a glamorous alternative with its version of rugby, which alongside the inevitable razzamatazz, was light years ahead with eye-catching branding and merchandise. Despite at first glance having unfathomable rules, NFL soon grew a following which translated into satisfying ratings for the new TV channel every Sunday night as people tuned in to catch up on how the week's events had influenced the journey to the Superbowl.

The interest generated led the NFL to stage a pre-season exhibition game at Wembley Stadium in 1983 between the Minnesota Vikings and the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1985 the British American Football Association was founded and a series of regional leagues was set up with the winners heading towards the AFL Summerbowl. This was won by the London Ravens and was popular enough to attract sponsorship the following season from Budweiser, with the final being the first Britbowl.

With the games being played in summer, this was an ideal complement to soccer, and the Thames Valley Chargers franchise was accepted as a tenant at York Road for the 1986 season. 

Over a hundred curious spectators turned up at the club to watch an open training session in April, which featured an exhibition between the offensive and defensive sections of the squad. This number increased tenfold for the opening match of the season in May but the four figure crowd was left disappointed as the visiting Oxford Bulldogs team refused to play following the late arrival of an ambulance. This was eventually credited as a walkover to the Chargers which set the scene for a league season which saw victory in every game, starting with a 50-7 win over Slough Silverbacks on May 11th before finally kicking off at York Road with an 82-0 win over Windsor Monarchs on May 18th.

Stars running backs Ez Charles, Gary Wakefield and Andrew Tilbury, directed by coach and quarterback Ron Dubie, went on to beat Heathrow Jets and Swindon Steelers, before repeating the trick for every reverse fixture to win their conference and qualify for the end of season play offs.

Brighton B52s were dispatched 19-6 on a summer Saturday night at York Road which meant Northampton Stormbringers were next in line to visit for a quarter final tie. Despite the Chargers being favourites they slumped to a 21-0 defeat to end the season somewhat frustrated at their failure to make it through to the penultimate stage before the Britbowl weekend.

Nevertheless the season had been an unqualified success and in stark contrast to the turmoil engulfing the football club. The Chargers even finished 4th in the National Top Shop Cheerleaders Competition and were promoted to the Premier Division for the 1987 season. They adjusted well to the higher level. 

However even though the Chargers attracted better crowds than ailing Magpies, with the football club getting a percentage of the gate and revenue from catering, concerns were raised about the impact on the playing surface. This wasn’t helped by the destruction of the stand in an arson attack in December 1986 which the Chargers cited as a reason for falling attendances. The final straw came when Isthmian League Secretary Nick Robinson informed the Magpies that they could be instructed to play home matches elsewhere unless the Chargers left. Their President Tony Bye confirmed that despite having to move to Palmer Park, Reading, in mid season “there is no suggestion of acrimony between the two clubs.”

Maidenhead vice chairman Jon Swan agreed saying: “we are obviously saddened at losing such a tie up and we feel our relationship has been good.”

What happened next to the Chargers has been lost in the mists of time, but the Brit Bowl continues to this day

Sources:

One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, Mark Smith, 2011

Maidenhead Advertiser

Wikipedia - Brit Bowl

 Magpie Miscellany Part 21

Vigilantes

As the start of the  1993/94 season approached, Maidenhead United was very much a club on the up. Following the nadir of the 1986/87 season when the chairman was voted out, the stand burned down, and the club was relegated, several years of hard work from a small but dedicated group of people, had seen the club rise from the ashes. Promotion was achieved in 1991, and attention now turned to improving the ground to ‘A’ grade standard, ready for another step up.

The improvement works were completed by a group of volunteers at the club, and with money tight, stadium closures at Watford and Millwall provided second hand equipment in the form of turnstiles and seats. An artistic flourish was added by two local art students who painted a mural at the Bell Street End.

Thus it was with dismay that on the eve of the season, persons unknown broke into the club and defaced the artwork. Sadly this was just one of a series of incidents of vandalism that had taken place since the previous Christmas.

Chairman Jim Parsons offered a reward of £1,000 for any information leading to the attacks which had included goal nets being cut and even malicious phone calls. Manager John Watt struck a note of defiance saying that this had only brought the club closer together. This was demonstrated when a group of supporters and officials decided to camp out at the club the following Friday to try and catch the perpetrators in the act.

The stakeout proved to be successful as the vigilantes discovered three men, one carrying a screwdriver. They were cornered whilst a local police patrol was contacted. Arrests were subsequently made and the three were later released on bail after being questioned by detectives.

Just over a year later York Road received its ‘A’ Grade and after a near miss in 1998, promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division was achieved at the turn of the millennium.

Sources:

One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, Mark Smith, 2011

Maidenhead Advertiser