September 2 – Stadia Mania | On This Football Day

September 2 – Stadia Mania

IF, like us here at OTFD you were watching Sky Sports News until the wee hours getting far too over excited as the transfer window slammed shut last night, then here’s a more serene story, as we go back to look at the opening of two classic Archibald Leitch stadiums that share a birthday.

Today in 1889 Molineux Stadium, the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers opened. Named after a local boy done good, Benjamin Molineux, that bought the plot of land in 1744, the site was first used for football in the 1860s as it was opened to the public as pleasure park.

When the area was renovated in 1889 Wolves celebrated by winning their first game 2-0 as they downed Notts County, the world’s oldest current professional club in front of 4,000 happy midlanders.

Over the next forty years the stadium grew, with a record attendance of 61,315 coming in 1939 when Liverpool came to town. The Wolves team began to match their impressive surroundings after the war, with Billy Wright leading his side to three Division One titles.

Since those heady days Wolves have become one of English football’s great under-achievers spending most of their time in the second flight in recent years. Not even the goals of club legend Steve Bull in the late 80s and early 90s could pull them out of their 40-year funk.

Ten years to the day after Molineux opened another of England’s most famous stadiums was opening it’s turnstiles for the first time. Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough Stadium made it’s bow with a 5-1 win for the hosts against Chesterfield, but it will forever be known as the site of the worst ever sporting disaster in England when 96 Liverpool fans died in 1989.

Like most Leitch creations, Hillsborough oozes in character and was one of the top stadiums in the country for many years, playing host to 27 FA Cup semi-finals and four World Cup games in 1966.

Despite this, the ground will never shake of the stigma of the 1989 disaster when a failure of police control lead to the deadly crush that would bring about some of the biggest changes that English football has ever seen, as the subsequent Taylor Report called for the introduction of all-seater stadia and the removal of barriers at the front of stands.

This has unfortunately lead to much of Leitch’s best work being demolished, such as the Trinity Road Stand at Villa Park, as flat-pack stadia with no character such the Walkers Stadium in Leicester or the Riverside at Middleborough are popping up all over the place.

See some footage of Jimmy McGovern’s documentary on the Hillsborough disaster, showing how the specter of April 15th 1989 looms large over the stadium below. Have a look at the debut of a legend that also happened today and head over hear tomorrow for more footballing history.