Sunday Bloody Sunday

[Tiddysdad]

Just found this on youtube.
I can remember these days and going to Tattersfield.
for all the youngsters out there this is commitment by directors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjaTYQAuPFk

I know its not rovers but its true believers and part of the history of the now "Team Doncaster"

[acko]

not part of the history of team doncaster,its part of the dons history so dont lets take that away from them

[BobG]

I've got this on my pc. It's so damn good that even now I watch it through from time to time.

Although they hardly ever won a game, it is still my belief that, at that time, they were the best value for money sport anywhere. 50p I think it was to get into Tattersfield. And the sport was sodding wondrous. Dave Varey. Ambulance guaranteed 1 week in 2 after he decked some poor bugger. George Pflaster. Made sure the ambo arrived to collect the half dead on Dave Varey's off weeks. Tony Banham: heart attack waiting to happen, but dirty as f%!* with it. Stuart Piper - looked like a ponce but survived season after season after season. Wonder if IanH agrees how good it was? We used to go together with a few other mates.

BobG

[BillyStubbsTears]

That is some of the finest TV ever made. That captured the heart and soul of the sport before Murdoch monetised it.

[acko]

i said it on another post the dons have never been same since they left tattersfield,pint in yarborough club before the game good days,one of dons greats and a good friend of mine from years ago passed away recently marrow towle great goal kicker

[LongbridgeMGRover]

Proud to say that as the camera pans around i can see myself stood alone on the terrace. I often felt i was one of only a few people walking back to civilisation over the North Bridge! I still love RL, but havent seen the Dons at the Keepmoat, maybe i should, but is it worth a 200 mile round trip? Whats the atmosphere like there, anyone????

[RedRover45]

It's reasonable, considering they only open the East Stand. I would come when it's local opponents though. Might I suggest Good Friday when there's a double header. Rovers v Bradford City and Dons v Sheffield.

[1879Rovers]

I used to work in the car park at Tattersfield. Used to be a long afternoon waiting for the four or five cars to come in.

I was talking to a bloke the other day down south and we somehow got onto the Dons and this programme. He was saying he knows Stewart Piper and that he still runs a car showroom.

[Savvy]

I've got this on my pc. It's so damn good that even now I watch it through from time to time.

Although they hardly ever won a game, it is still my belief that, at that time, they were the best value for money sport anywhere. 50p I think it was to get into Tattersfield. And the sport was sodding wondrous. Dave Varey. Ambulance guaranteed 1 week in 2 after he decked some poor bugger. George Pflaster. Made sure the ambo arrived to collect the half dead on Dave Varey's off weeks. Tony Banham: heart attack waiting to happen, but dirty as f%!* with it. Stuart Piper - looked like a ponce but survived season after season after season. Wonder if IanH agrees how good it was? We used to go together with a few other mates.

BobG

You will have no doubt have bought a programme from me at one point from me then Bob as that was my job at the home games. Me and my cousin used to travel on the team coach to the away games with the team and move those picnic hampers in and out of the away dressing room when Ted Strawbridge was coach. Spent most of my teens down at Tattersfield and Captained the junior team that spawned Audley Pennant and Chappie Williams. Dave Varey, George Pflaster were great blokes but my favourites were the Hull lads Terry Shipley, Pete Moody and my favourite Ronnie Spiring.  Remember big Tony making his debut at Hull having been released by Keighley, he came on loan for a month and Hull sniped us during this period.  Oh happy days!

[Belle-Vue-Ghost]

Just watched it. Bloody good program that was. Wish I'd been around in that era

[The Red Baron]

The film was shot the year after I'd moved from Donny. Though most of the players were familiar. I do recall a season (76-77) when the Dons didn't manage to win a game until the penultimate game of the season. They beat Huddersfield 20-18 IIRC.

[goalkick]

Brilliant brings back loads of memories.recognised a lot of faces of people no longer with us.shows how times have changed.went to many of the games. Remember one classic when we beat St. Helens.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Savvy

I almost certainly bought a programme off you. I went to every other home match for 6-8 years from the back end of the 70s to the mid 80s. And I was there that Another a Bloody Sunday match against Huyton.

Tony Banham. What a legend!

[Martyn1968]

I'm ex Navy and when my ship visited Hull for a few days in 2001 I came across the Tower nightclub.  While there I recognised Tony Banham from the Sunday Bloody Sunday documentary. He was sat having a few beers and surprised when I went up to him for a chat. Really nice guy. Anyway as I was a little drunk I asked for his autograph which he signed on the back of a raffle ticket I had.....a few weeks later that ticket won me first prize and a £1000 holiday. A few years later I read that Tony Banham died, heart attack I think.

[RedRover45]

Tony died of a heart attack in 1997 and is buried in Leeds.

[BillyStubbsTears]

f**king hell, that's a spooky story!

[drfc1951]

f***ing hell, that's a spooky story!

Like it lol.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Mind, I've only once been to a nightclub in Hull and I'm sure that one was populated by the living dead.

[Martyn1968]

Would have been 96 then. The Tower was his local apparently. Some info about him on the net. The Brewery Tetleys apparently employed him to work there doors and clean up the rougher bars around the Bransholme estate area.

[Prez]

Just watched this (although I vaguely remember watching it at the time I was 6 or 7), what a fantastic documentary, truly encapsulating the spirt, effort and determination of basically a bunch of no hopers against all the odds. This to me is the very essence of sport, regardless of ability, the willingness to win is no different from any top sporting team weather its rugby league or another sport.

Amazing to see Bentley as it was then and even the top of Copley road, in town.

Lots of people in this vid wonder where they are now, though sadly a lot of them no doubt will be no longer with us.

Cant say im a big rugby fan, I went to the dons maybe 3 times around the early 90s though I never understood the silly rivalry between the rovers and dons. As a Doncastrian I wanted all local teams to do well and always looked out for the results, even the basketball team before they folded.

Does anyone know how the dons turned it around from that time to the bit of a success they had in the early 90s, did they have a John Ryan type figure at the helm?

[albie]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/groundhopper27/4834993616/in/set-72157624470414707/

Blast from the past all right!

[drfc1951]

I don't remember any rivalry between Rovers and Dons.I used to see Ian Snods there quite a lot.

[Savvy]

Savvy

I almost certainly bought a programme off you. I went to every other home match for 6-8 years from the back end of the 70s to the mid 80s. And I was there that Another a Bloody Sunday match against Huyton.

Tony Banham. What a legend!

Will definately have done then Bill, how about this for a retro team;


                                                             Dave (Marra) Towle

Harry Downing                  Ian Fortis                                       Tony Cross              Larry Lester

                                                               Trevor Denton

                                                                Ronnie Spiring


                                Paul Carlin                      Peter Moody                Dougie Bradley

                                                Terry Shipley                       Steve (taff) Edmunds
                                                                     
                                                                      Chris Stenton
Subs:

A. N. Other
S. O. Else
Ken Ruston
Maurice Pearson
Alan Goodyear
Dave Varey
 Stuart Piper
Graham Arrand
Maurice Pearson
Tony Jeff
Graham Wainwright
Keith Tomlinson
George Pflaster
Jimmy Banks
Billy Yates
Ernie Lowe
John Green
Don Robson

ad infinitum

[The Red Baron]

Just watched this (although I vaguely remember watching it at the time I was 6 or 7), what a fantastic documentary, truly encapsulating the spirt, effort and determination of basically a bunch of no hopers against all the odds. This to me is the very essence of sport, regardless of ability, the willingness to win is no different from any top sporting team weather its rugby league or another sport.

Amazing to see Bentley as it was then and even the top of Copley road, in town.

Lots of people in this vid wonder where they are now, though sadly a lot of them no doubt will be no longer with us.

Cant say im a big rugby fan, I went to the dons maybe 3 times around the early 90s though I never understood the silly rivalry between the rovers and dons. As a Doncastrian I wanted all local teams to do well and always looked out for the results, even the basketball team before they folded.

Does anyone know how the dons turned it around from that time to the bit of a success they had in the early 90s, did they have a John Ryan type figure at the helm?

It was a chap called John Desmond, wasn't it? I'd hardly call him a John Ryan type. It literally was a case of boom and bust.

[Savvy]

Tony Fisher was the Manager during that time who brought a certain amount of success, I was living in Sunderland when the Dons played Leeds live on sky on a Friday night with the winner going to the top of the league, you can imagine the problems I had trying to explain the significance to a load of Mackems who knew nothing of their history!!!!!!

[LongbridgeMGRover]

I came home for that Leeds match. Id sent my mam to get a ticket and i believe it was a sellout with 6,000 there. For those who remembered the bleak sundays of the documentary, this felt like the Rovers at Wembley, playing v Leeds Utd compared to Conference days.
Sadly this was the high water mark for the Dons and their season disintegrated after this due in part to a less than sporting use of performance enhancing drugs by some of the team. The dream was over.

[Savvy]

When I saw Jamie Bloem rag Ellery Hanley into touch from about 5 yards in I knew something wasn't quite right!!!!!!

[Martyn1968]

Ive a VHS tape of the Dons v Leeds game, as well as V Widnes in League one. Ellery Hanley was playing in the Leeds side.Jamie Bloem put him on his ass if I remember with a hand off.

[BobG]

Can't get that link to work sadly Albie. Only gets me to some horrible flickr front page.

I probably did buy some progs of you then Savvy I think I was fairly regular from about 77 to about 81. Did you ever know Keith Smith? Ketch? But I refuse to accept any Dons team without Dave Varey in it He was my absolute hero. Mind you, I wouldn't have wanted to meet him, or George, on a dark night though.... I hadn't tagged you as a RL player though. You must have been on the wing! Or fullback I suppose. Later on I did like Jamie Bloem. He was a talented lad. Shame he, and others, decided to do the unorthodox body building. When he came back didn't he do quite well for a while?

It was John Desmond TRB. Just like it was him that in the end cost the Dons Tattersfield

And damn me, but I might even have bumped into BST!

BobG

[Dagenham Rover]

I was only an occasional visitor to Tattersfield but still can remember an awful lot of the names mentioned