Tweet
An aerial view - printed as a souvenir postcard - of Odsal Stadium, Bradford during the 1954 Challenge Cup Final Replay between Warrington and Halifax. A record crowd of 102,575 were logged at the turnstiles, though it is believed by eyewitnesses that there were substantially more than that.
Most commentators were expecting 70,000 or so after such a glum performance on the Saturday, and a shuttle service of fifty buses operating from the city centre from 4.25 p.m. (for a seven o'clock kick-off) was thought to be perfectly adequate, while the twelve special trains scheduled from Warrington were thought, in the circumstances, to be rather more than would be needed. People, in fact, had started queuing a good hour before the buses started running, but the ground authorities had everything well planned, with 100 gatemen and 150 policemen on duty. An hour before the kick-off, with 60,000 already in the deep bowl of Odsal, and as many again still converging on the stadium from all points of the compass, both the turnstiles and the bobbies were swamped in a sea of steadily pushing, generally good-humoured but exceedingly determined humanity.
The traffic for miles around had become jammed fast by this time, so that the Halifax team coach had to be given a police escort down the wrong side of the road leading to Odsal. Many who had come to see these players simply abandoned their vehicles and started to walk the rest of the way. Some stayed put resignedly and heard the match commentary on their car radios. Others threw themselves on the mercy of nearby houses...
The traffic for miles around had become jammed fast by this time, so that the Halifax team coach had to be given a police escort down the wrong side of the road leading to Odsal. Many who had come to see these players simply abandoned their vehicles and started to walk the rest of the way. Some stayed put resignedly and heard the match commentary on their car radios. Others threw themselves on the mercy of nearby houses...
Comment