Saturday 17th August 1974
The Hawthorns
Ground Capacity:- 50,000
Kick Off:- 15:00
Entry Fee:- £0.80p
Programme:- £0.10p
Venue #4
I remember going with my brother Malcolm and his friends to see this one, I was 13 years old and soon to start the second year of senior school.
From what I can recall it was a wet day and I was thrilled at the possibility of seeing some household names playing for both sides such as John Osborne, Len Cantello, Willie Johnston and Tony & Ally Brown for West Bromwich Albion. On the Fulham sheet were Alan Mullery who I saw five years previously playing for Tottenham at Walsall, Bobby Moore ex West Ham and the man who lifted the world cup for England in 1966 and Viv Busby who was starting to be a prolific goal scorer at the time since his move from Luton town to Fulham.
The game was dominated by Fulham for large periods the goal coming early in the second half when Les Barrett crossed the ball into the Albion penalty area where Viv Busby arrived late to scuttle the ball into the back of the net.
The Hawthorns as been West Brom's home for the last 116 years and has the highest altitude above sea level than any other ground in the premiership or football league. Originally and at the time of visiting the ground was almost all terracing with a much higher capacity than it has now.
Halfords Lane Stand which is now known as the West stand has been refurbished a couple of times since my visit there are plans to demolish this stand to build a single tier all seated stand to house 10,000 people thus increasing the overall capacity to 33,000.
Birmingham Road End or the Brummie road end as it's better known was a big terrace behind the goal which housed up to 14,000 spectators but now is a large single tired stand with a capacity of just 8,000, this includes the famous Woodlands corner.
The Smethwick End is where away supporters are housed these days although only part of the stand is allocated the other part is used by the most vocal of Albion's supporters although there are plans to enlarge the capacity of the stand and make entirely for visitors.
East Stand or the Rainbow stand as it's also known was named because of the bright colours that the seats were painted in. Originally the stand consisted of seats in the upper section with standing accommodation in the lower but was refurbished in 1977. Above the Woodlands corner which joins the Birmingham road end to the East stand there is a effigy of a giant throstle which has been a familiar feature at the Hawthorns for generations.
MATCH DETAILS
