Anyone rememebr the 1965/66 season ?

[colchester exile]

Try to name any of the attached ?

http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae87/stephenslater/drfc.jpg

[colchester exile]

Try again ....

[colchester exile]

Third time lucky - -I'll retire if this doesn't work.

Totally failed ! If anyone is interestred, have a look at

http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae87/stephenslater/drfc.jpg

[Alonzo Drake]

Wonderful Stuff!

What a Season!

This pic was taken v Halifax on April 22, 1966. The gate was 16,998, and Gilfillan and Wylie scored in a 2-2 draw.

Back:

Jimmy Watton, Tony Coleman, John Wylie, Harry Fearnley, Graham Ricketts, Brian Kelly.

Front:

Trevor Ogden, Bobby Gilfillan, Laurie Sheffield, John Nicholson and Andy Wilson.

Looking at the url for this pic, I wonder if Stephen Slater is any relation to the late and great Doncaster Evening Post sports reporter Joe Slater. He was a larger than life character, and a wonderful writer who never toed the party line. He told it like it was. His Missus used to serve behind the bar at Beethams.

Looking at those players, Coleman, Nicholson and Sheffield could walk into our current D2 side. I guess King Alick was injured that evening.

Have you noticed that there are rarely any team pics taken today just before a game -- this was common back then and it adds atmosphere to the photograph.

Thanks for this!

[Dagenham Rover]

I remember a few of the names mentioned there, it was just about when I started getting interested in all things Rovers but really got interested a season or two later.

But bring back the Donny Evening Post and Joe Slater's reports B)

[bangormaine]

Now this is my era, great memories come flooding back.
I see the autograph of the legendary Fred Potter, the goalkeeper who thought he was a centre forward, and he was quite good too.
Brian Kelly, full back and a real gent off the pitch. His mum and dad used to come to the matches in a splendid Jaguar, that to a young lad was the poshest car I had ever seen. We all thought he was the son of a millionaire.
Graham rickets or Dan as he was called, formed a ferocious partnership at half back with John Wylie. No such thing as a 50/50 ball in those days.
No need to talk about the greats, John Nicholson, Tony Coleman, Alick and Laurie, but Bob Gilfillan hardly gets a mention. I once saw him round the goalkeeper at the Town End and he had so much time, he stopped the ball on the line got on his knees and headed it in the net.
I remember having a copy of that photo and getting it signed too.
A local paper would come out every Saturday morning and carry a photo of the team visiting that day. Sometimes it was the only photo that you had to get autographs of the visiting team, but the players usually obliged on their way into or out of the ground.
its good to see someone keep their memorabilia for such a long time. Anything I had is long lost, but I still have the memories, well at least for now. Now where did I park my Zimmer.

[Donnywolf]

...RIGHT NEXT TO MINE

It was a great time to be a football supporter except that it took ages to get ANYWHERE

Alonzo is right and those 3 were class acts and the loss of Nicko was a hammer blow for the club and individuals such as me

Bobby Gilfillan fetaured in an \"incident\" I have related on here before probably in the 68/9 promotion season away at Lincoln

He was having a bit of a mare of a game and could not put a foot right. I think we were 1-0 down and Rovers fans were singing

\"send Gilfillan to Vietnam HALLELUJAH send Gilfillan to Vietnam HALLELUJAH
One way Ticket and no return HALLELUJAH One way ticket and no return HALLEJUJAH\"

whereupon he picked the ball up on about 20 - 25 yeards and belted the ball high into the net. We went abolutely BARMY and the cheers were then replaced with a spontaneous round of

Bobby Gilfillan
Bobby Gilfillan

(to the same tune as bring on the Champions)

YES we were just as fickle back then

 

[silent majority]

Oh my god!

I remember all of them and it certainly made those foggy memories a lot clearer!

Can anybody remember the car accident that killed John Nicholson? Wasn't there 3 Rovers players in the car at the time with Alick asleep on the back seat, and all returning from a night out in Sheffield? I remember looking at the car when it was parked up at the Blue Star garage, now Texaco I think, on Balby Road opposite the Winning Post. It was a bit gory!

[Bentley Bullet]

A third player in the vehicle was Paul Durrant (allegedly), although if true it was a very well guarded secret.
Also I believe they were returning from a night out in Stoke.

[LongbridgeMGRover]

very blurred memories now, but the world [and the moon] seemed such an exciting place in the late sixties. rovers getting promoted, oops coming down, then getting promoted again. England winning the World Cup, Man on the moon and Doncaster getting its own paper.

i have the badge and bars to prove i was a supporter, and i remember the awful news about the car crash, i think we were riding high in the third division when it happened.

and the Evening Post....

[idler]

I think we might have been 2-0 down to Halifax and Wylie was pushed forward as he was limping and not able to defend when he got a late equaliser.
I heard that John Nicholson was renting out an house in Stoke and was returning after collecting the rent. Alick went to keep him company.
Whatever the reason, that car crash certainly changed history. We never recovered that season.

[Donnywolf]

We were doing well no question

The bloke who lived behind me was a Fire man based in Donny and he used to make stuff up to get me going ....

Rovers ground has been on fire all night etc

...I saw him after THAT shift and he was saying there had been a car crash. Their captain who (suspiciously I thought he could not name) had been killed and King Al was not expected to survive

HA HA says I / yeah sure / pull the other one . NO NO ITS TRUE he says I am sorry I am not making this up. I chuckled again and went off to School still thinking he was trying yet another wind up and of course later I would find out it was true

The 3rd person was always supposed to have been Paul Durant but my mate never mentioned  a third person but there could have been one

Speaking of Durant - he was once taking a corner at the Kop end and there was a break in play .... his boots looked a bit beaten up and as brand consciousness was only just starting to become an \"issue\" I said what kind of boots are they and he lifted his leg to show me the toeend ... grinned and said HOLEY ones ... and he was right they were absolutely sh***ed

[RoversDave]

[RoversDave]

[RoversDave]

Sorry it's in 3 bits, can never get them in the right order on one reply.

Cuttings from NorthBayVikings collection.

[RoversDave]

[Barmby Rover]

This was when I started to get excited about being born in Donny, and started following the team, even though I lived in Scunny. Gilfillan was a hero of mine, and of course Alick, but he was always a bit tarnished after the accident in my eyes. They had been drinking and it seems wrong but the survivor was the most drunk I think, Rovers went into a real tail spin after that crash and never got back, I wonder what would have happened without it because Rovers did look like promotion contenders before it.

[colchester exile]

Reply to an earlier query about Joe Slater, the journalist : Yes he was my dad. For some reason, the 1965/66 season was the only scrapbook he kept from his Doncaster days.

[adge]

passed john wylie in intake the other day.
regularly see him about riding his BICYCLE