For March 24th I'm going back 37 years to 1984 and my first visit to Gay Meadow, Shrewsbury to see the Shrews take on Newcastle United in League Division Two.
Gay Meadow is gone now. Another victim of the progress that leads clubs to seek to relocate to a brand new purpose built stadium and leave behind their old historic ground which isn't suited to modern requirements that include corporate hospitality, conference facilities and all-seater in many cases. Gay Meadow was charming. Located on the banks of the River Severn and more or less in the town centre, it was famous for employing Fred Davies, owner of a coracle, whose job it was to paddle out and retrieve wayward balls from the Severn. Gay Meadow was also liable to flooding which was a major headache for the club.
According to Simon Inglis in his epic book "The Football Grounds of England and Wales", Gay Meadow was so named because it was a favourite spot for "fun and games" back in the days before certain words acquired new meanings. One of the features of the ground that I loved was the statue of Viscount Hill which sat just a few feet behind the Wakeman School terrace and could easily be seen from inside the ground. I visited Gay Meadow twice, once for this game and then again in 2003 when it was clear that it didn't have much longer. Gay Meadow's final season was 2006/7 after which Shrewsbury Town relocated to the "New Meadow" on the outskirts of the town (now called Montgomery Waters Meadow if you will).
Before I move onto the match, it's important to answer the question as to how to pronounce Shrewsbury. Is it "Shrew" or "Shrow"? As with many such questions of this nature, there is no correct answer although it's often hotly debated. I have heard tell that it depends which side of the Severn (English or Welsh) you come from but even that is debatable. Advocates of one or the other can be quite passionate about the subject but you may pronounce it however you like. Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire which is frequently shortened to its Latin version of "Salop" and is often chanted by the fans (Latin scholars all no doubt).
1983/4 was a promotion season for Newcastle United. They finished comfortably third in the Second Division behind Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday, 10 points clear of both Manchester City and Grimsby Town (!). For their part, Shrewsbury won the Welsh Cup that season. Until 1996 several English clubs on the Welsh borders were allowed to enter the Welsh FA Cup. As Cup Winners, Shrewsbury were not permitted to enter the following season's European Cup Winners Cup however.
Shrewsbury, under the guidance of player-manager Graham Turner, included Steve Ogrizovic in goal. Arthur Cox's Newcastle side included Glenn Roeder (RIP), Kevin Keegan, Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle and Terry McDermott. The match, played in front of 8,313, finished 2-2 with all the goals coming in the second half.
CRB Match No. 299
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