Our regular reader will remember that in issue 029 we asked if anyone had any memories of Holker St. which we could put together. The letter flooded in. So we hooked ourselves up to the Internet and logged on to the Barrow AFC home page and lo and behold, what did we find? A page of memories of past Barrow games. So with thanks to Richard Postlethwaite (who puts together and maintains the Barrow AFC home page) and Len Marshall (whose original idea it was) here are a few of those...
MEMORIES of HOLKER STREET
The SUICIDAL BACK-PASS Wrexham, FA Cup Second Round in 1962 or thereabouts, Barrow pull back from 0-2 to 2-2 at half-time. Magnificent rearguard action throughout the second half, ball hitting the woodwork, clearances off the line, backs to the wall stuff. The most nerve jangling 45 minutes I can remember. Then with about five minutes to go, Barrow 'keeper Brian 'Yogi' Caine punts the ball clear. Blessed relief! Ball goes to winger Barry Lowes on the halfway line. Unbelievably he turns and kicks it back to Caine. Not a chance! With defenders stranded a Wrexham forward runs on to the ball to score. Lowes was smuggled out of the ground in the team's kitbag. He never played for Barrow again, being transferred to Workington shortly after (served them right). Jim Whitton
TWO HEARTBREAKING MOMENTS Okay, I support Burnley. But I have two distinct memories of Barrow games. Firstly, the Lancashire County Cup Final in 1970 (where I had my scarf nicked. Ed.) Burnley were then in Division One and fielded a strong side that looked sure to win. Amazingly, with fourteen minutes to go, Barrow were 2-0 up only to concede three goals in ten minutes including an own goal and a penalty. Probably the most heartbreaking defeat I've ever seen. The second memory is of one of Barrow's last games in the Football League, against Gillingham in April 1972. Barrow won 1-0 before a tiny crowd in driving rain. There was this ominous fear in spectators' comments that this could well be Barrow's last season in the league. Unfortunately those fears turned out to be correct. Colin Morris
DAVID v GOLIATH I was a kid sitting at the kitchen table as all my older brothers were helping to clear the pitch for the FA Cup Third Round tie against Wolves in 1958. They were then the Manchester United of English football. We all remember the score but Barrow outplayed the league champions that day, and for years afterwards everyone spoke about what would have happened if 'Barrer' had beaten Stan Cullis and Billy Wright's talent laden team. My brother, Bill McCullough lived for Barrow long before he became a director of the club. I remember standing on the terraces with my Dad in 1967 watching us gain promotion over a record breaking Easter by taking all six points from three games, after getting to the Third Round of the FA Cup again. Dave McCullough
The SWEET SMELL of PROMOTION My number one all time memory is the promotion team of 1967. Midfield maestro George Smith passing to where there was no one until his teammates realised they were the ones supposed to be running into those open spaces. The Cat, Fred Else, who made goalkeeping seem so easy by virtue of his superb positioning skills. I can't ever remember thinking that he'd let us down. Mick Harrison, didn't say much, didn't have to, his right leg was for standing on, his left for chopping 'em down. I was in the Duke of Edinburgh the night we were promoted for the club's celebration party. What a night! Len Marshall
BARROW's FIRST GOOD TEAM in NON-LEAGUE My favourite memories are of the team in the early '80s with tricky winger Frank 'Skin 'Em' Gamble and hotshot centre forward Barry Diamond. Jon Balm was always a particular favourite of my Dad. Well, he used to shout at him a lot. Mostly, though, my memories are of crap pies from under the stand and running round at half-time to get behind the goals. John Astill
FINANCIAL WORRIES, TRIUMPH and TRAUMA The thing I remember about Holker St. is the freezing cold winds coming down Cemetery Hill and freezing you to the marrow, Also the crowds of around 4,000 who used to go to Holker St. in the early sixties. The club was in a constant struggle against bankruptcy in the mid-sixties. This was about the time that Don McEvoy was appointed manager and the club appealed to Barrow Council asking for a penny (1d) on the rates to alleviate their financial situation. This was the SOS (Save Our Soccer) campaign. Don located what was probably the cheapest, most clapped out bus ever to be seen on the A590 to get to away games. But the euphoria in the town when they gained promotion to the Third Division in 1967 coincided with the town's centenary year and I still have the Evening Mail special edition with commemorative photographs in it. This was in marked contrast to the diabolical travesty of justice when they were relegated to non-League status in 1972. I can still remember the shock now. Jeffrey Hodgson
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS Brian Arrowsmith's insatiable appetite for own goals... when they made the BBC's David Vine tramp through knee-deep mud to the centre circle to wave at the crowd when It's A Knockout came to town... when the ref scored a goal during a 1-0 win over Plymouth... Tony Field scoring against Brentford to secure promotion to Division Three... Mick Hartland getting booked for aggression when coming on as substitute and before touching the ball... my all time hero, Jim Mallon, our right back in the late sixties. He used to get a rush of blood to his head and go straight for goal and basically just run through people. Legend has it that he was once sent off for ungentlemanly conduct when playing for Morton after kissing a Celtic player who had just missed a penalty. Len Marshall
OLDIES but GOODIES I've only seen Barrow play the once, and they lost 3-0 at Bishop Auckland. The high spot of the game, however, had to be the moment the great Alan Kennedy came on as substitute for Barrow. I remember him from his Sunderland days and it was gratifying to see an aging hero struggle on! Andy Potts
Issue 031 - September 1997