Since the phrase 'It's the biggest game in the club's history' is nowadays seemingly such a common one, it has surely long since arrived at becoming a cliché. Managers offering sound-bytes to TV cameras will often employ this stock quote. Without doubt. Mr Evans certainly orated the phrase himself on a few occasions this season, but as he declared in his Standard column prior to the Hayes game: "I have no doubt this is Boston United's biggest ever game". Well, he was absolutely right.
So, that got us thinking what were the other "biggest ever games" in Boston's history. We've come up with six: these would have been numbers 1 to 6, but after the League place-obtaining visit to Hayes in April, these are surely re-numbered as the biggest games in the Pilgrims' history (nos. 2 to no. 7).
DERBY COUNTY 6-1 (a) 1955-56
Until the coveted Football League place was won at Hayes, I would always argue for this to occupy the number one spot. Why? Well, out of pure historical significance, for starters. Ever since achieving this amazing victory - and it is still a British record margin of victory for a non-League club over a League side at their ground (Bamet did once beat Newport County 6-1 at home - any younger people reading this may be amazed to leam that there was a time when Newport were actually the favourites in that game).
And to accomplish a 6-1 win at the Baseball Ground, against a team whom were then top of the league, and only a few years later were to win the Premiership (yeah, yeah - or whatever it was called then) twice.
National newspaper "News Chronicle" famously stated: "Of all the tiny clubs fighting for Cup glory this weekend, none has a dimmer chance than Boston". I wonder why that particular newspaper went defunct.
Derby were awarded, and duly converted, an outrageous penalty given for a decreed handball, in spite of Boston's centre-back showing the referee the huge mud splat on his CHEST where the ball had just hit him. Unfortunately, the referee and linesmen must also have been on the jury for the Rodney King case, as they pointed to the spot.
Perhaps the best story from this day was told to me by my father.
He recounts leaving the Baseball Ground and walking back to Derby station. En route he passed many old red-bricked terraced houses - every house seemingly adorned with an obligatory women-with-hair-in-rollers and an apron leaning with one hand against the door post, whilst holding a fag in the other.
Women did not work much in those times, other than down the fish-filleting factory, and all their husbands were alcoholics - it was the law in those days. Seeing my mother and father supporting FA Cup rosettes, they enquired as to the score. "6-1", replied my father, and before he could add two short, but highly significant, words: "to Boston", they immediately interjected "Boston did well to get one goal". "No, it was 6-1 TO BOSTON" my father advised. The response to this was laughter, which spread down the street - first the sound of a distant whisper as the "no, 6-1 to Boston" punchline was delivered, and secondly the noise of ensuing laughter. After a few minutes, the laughter reached the women learning against her door post at no. 1.
Now, if you are a Derby County fan who lived in that street in 1956 and you heard that the score was 6-1 to Derby, it is now time to confront the truth. Boston WON 6-1. Sorry, that must have come as quite a shock. You'll get over it; it's not like you've just had to deal with relegation from the Premiership or anything......... oh, sorry, I've been insensitive, haven't I?
DERBY COUNTY (a) 0-0 1973-74
Like all good songs and TV programmes, significant football matches act as date stamps for your life. And I think this must make the top five chart too, not only for that reason (ahhh.... I remember then), but because it probably represents the pinnacle of Boston's achievement: well, drawing away from home constitutes that they were the equals of Derby who were then Premiership champions and European Cup semi-finalists. QED.
On a personal level, this reminds me of a particular year in primary school. I had traded a whole bag of hand-made coconut sweets with Gregory Wilkins so I could sit next to Katie Harrison; unfortunately Katie Harrison much preferred Gregory Wilkins, mainly because he kept giving her hand-made coconut sweets.
For the replay, which took place on a mid-week afternoon due to the ensuing energy crisis and the three day week, our school literally shut down for the afternoon so that we could all attend the match. Of course, in those days you could legally cram 98,000 into York Street. We sat on a wall, proudly wearing my amber and black bobble hat specially purchased from Morley Sports for the occasion. Jim Conde's wonderful diving header is the only part of the replay I'm still prepared to discuss - otherwise it was six lucky Derby breakaways from constant Boston pressure.
ALTRINCHAM (h) 3-2 1984-85
Controversial, eh? Putting the semi-final before the Wembley final in importance of matches in Boston's history - how do I arrive at that somewhat spurious conclusion? Well, here's the logic. Actually getting to Wembley, and providing the big day out, that huge crowd and even a specially commissioned BUFC train, was actually of vastly more importance than the result of the football match held on the day at Wembley.
So, the game that took us there was surely of greater significance - if we'd lost against Altrincham, then Wembley would still have been filed under "d for dream" [although Wembley may subsequently have been transferred to the "g" file for "governmental cock-up" - ooohh, a topical joke - yeah, and I've got a feeling it will still be a topical gag several years from now].
And it was hardly a smooth transition for Boston to reach Wembley - indeed, a roller-coaster ride on the Bay of Biscay during an earth-quake would have probably provided a smoother passage. I remember a two goals cushion, which had made us look Wembley bound for the majority of the semi-final, incredibly being eradicated towards the end of the game.
Even worse, Altrincham were suddenly reversing Boston's position as the team looking the most likely to win it, and chances were coming their way. Then, with 11th May 1985 suddenly looking like it would become a good Saturday to catch up with my washing backlog, Bob Lee rose like a giraffe with a step ladder on the far post and Boston had snatched it 3-2 at the death.
WEALDSTONE (n)1-2 1984-85
Police reports and arial photos prove that amongst the 22,500 crowd, Weadstone had as many supporters as 8 to 10. Don't assume they meant thousands. Little to report about this other than that it was a great day out, and the Football Association have still not answered my letter that I wrote to them after viewing the video of the game, pointing out that the corner leading directly to Weadstone's opening goal should have been a goal-kick, hence the actual score was 1-1, so I requested that they amend their records accordingly. Still no response from the F.A. The post service must just be getting worse.
WIGAN ATHLETIC (h) 4-2 1977-78
The fifth choice was much harder than the above four. Well, it wasn't going to be that 0-0 away at Sutton in 1990, in weather so cold that the average life expectancy of a polar bear would have been between 2 to 3 minutes. I thought about that Portsmouth game in the F.A. Cup third round, even that resounding 4-1 win against Grantham a mere two years ago that won the Southern League championship and propelled us Conference bound with sufficient momentum to reach the Football League 24 months later. But I think I'll go for this, as it really SHOULD have placed us in the League 25 years ago.
Goals came from Kabia and Bates plus a brace from midfielder Dave Poplar (named after a tall tree, and reminiscent of one such was his height and aerial superiority) in front of a 2,700 crowd. A couple of months earlier, Boston had actually beaten Frickley Athletic 7-3. This ensured Boston won the NPL Championship for the second consecutive season, accumulating a magnificent four championships in the 70s.
Also worthy of noting is the fact Boston beat Wigan four times that season (home and away both in the League (4-2, 2-0) and the NPL Cup (3-1, 2-0). So, after missing out the previous season when Wimbledon were elected to the League to take the place of Workington, surely it was now Boston's overdue turn?
Unjustly, second placed Wigan replaced Southport in the League that season as Boston's ground did not received a sufficiently high grading. This, I still find surprising, as the ground was deemed sufficient to stage a F A Cup tie again European Cup semi-finalists with a 13,000 capacity a mere three years earlier. Perhaps the League inspectors had mistakenly visited Boston F.C's ground instead.
MOSSLEY (h)1-2 1979-80
Talking of mistaking Boston FC (or Town, as the club has been re-branded) for United, we have a similar story involving this game. But you'll have to wait for the end of this piece (no skipping - it's only a short piece).
Unaware that we'd have another opportunity in 1985, at the time this F A Trophy semi-final game was a massive one for United because it represented our only opportunity to reach those fabled, cliched Twin Towers.
The hard work had been very much done a week earlier, when a fine Bobby Brown goal (the diminutive former Boston striker, not the American soul singer responsible for turning Whitney Houston bad) scored a vital goal to ensure Boston negotiated the tricky away leg at Mossley's Seal Park (no, we didn't see any seals -1 would have remembered) with a 1-1 scoreline.
So United, enjoying their debut season as a Conference club in the inaugural season of a national "Division Five" (well, it was called the Alliance Premier League then and now it's the unofficial "Division Four" - why do they keep having to change everything?), we were favourites to win at home against the Northern Premier League side. A lot of people at
the ground, casual Boston fans for the day of the slightly glory-hunting variety, orated the fact that Mossley was in Birmingham. Err... no; it was very much, and still is I'm led to believe, in Ashton-under-Lyme near Oldham.
Things started well, Boston looked the more urgent and skilful of the sides, and this advantage was finally translated into goals when United went 1-0 up courtesy of Bobby Brown (no, I've just explained - not the singer'). The York Street crowd of 4,495 were already planning their Wembley transportation.
I don't think we need to go into too much detail about the rest of the game, do we - other than to say, it still hurts.
EPILOGUE
Some of Boston's more moronic supporters decided that it would be very
much in the interests of the town, club and sport in general, if they
were to ambush the Mossley players' coach when it left the town. So a
group assembled at the end of the High Street, arming themselves with
bricks, stones and, presumably their copies of any books on Samuel Beckett
essay criticism they had read and no longer required, and laid in wait
for the Mossley team bus. After a long delay, a players and officials
bus appeared. As soon as it had reached the optimum missile launching
position in the road, a barrage of rocks, stones, and bricks smashed the
windows of the unfortunate team bus.
Several weeks later, as the perpetrators of the crime deservedly faced
sentencing in Boston Magistrate's Court, how they must have cringed with
embarrassment as the charges were read out listing the criminal damage
that they had caused to the team bus of Heanor Town Football Club who
had been playing Boston F.C. in a Midlands League fixture that day!!
©
All content copyright Richard O. Smith 1988-2002