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Ibrox Disaster 1971....Were you there?


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The point is a sensible one.The term 'Health and Safety' is usually used as a pejorative these days.We're actually fortunate that there's such a fixation with it though. Those with responsibility for the safety of others are now more accountable,which is a good thing.

Absolutely.

These conditions sound terrifying. It's amazing they went unchecked for so long.

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Just to point out the disaster happened on a stairwell not on the actual terracing.

If i could grant you a wish, it would be to pick any major game from the past and let you see terracing in all its glory.

It was dangerous, smelly and everything that was wrong about health and safety.

It was also whatever you think it was like multiplied by a hundred.

You'd have loved it.

Yep absolutely, the grounds are much safer today which is clearly a good thing, nothing will ever replace the atmosphere at games from the packed terraces though, the danger seemed to be part of the excitement, obviously not to the point of someone not coming home after the game though.

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It's coming close to the 45th anniversary of the disaster.

There was probably close on 80,000 people in Ibrox that afternoon.

Other than myself, were any other forum members there that January day 45 years ago?

Of the match i can only remember the final couple of minutes ie the goals.

The same spot as always at the corner flag just under the cover.

I remember it being foggy and probably more than a hour later going by the front door of Ibrox and wondering why there was blue lights everywhere including fire engines.

Take it the M8 hadn't been built.

There was no radio on the supporters bus so the first news was when the supporters bus arrived back at the pick up point and a crowd was waiting.

Even the crowd seemed unsure, possibly a fight?

And the figure of 66 dead hadn't happened yet, folks were talking in single figures.

I take it anybody who was there that day would now be in their 50s or older.

Before my time but my father was at the game, and my mother who grew up in Kirkintilloch was friends with one of the victims and my family were on speaking terms with the families of the other three victims, which isn't a huge surprise as Kirkintilloch's population was still in the process of growing. I remember my old man talking about how his crowd, mostly Celtic but a few Rangers, would all make their way to games together and meet up in their local after the match, but this game two of the Rangers fans didn't up show up for the usual post match piss up. Of course panic sets in once word starts breaking about the disaster. Turns out they had bumped into another pal and decided to go for a drink in town instead. They weren't even aware themselves as to what happened. Something tells me they weren't the only ones who were unaccounted because of similar circumstances.

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I will be honest I have grown up throughout the late 90s and so on , so my experience of football grounds have always been of the seated and safely designed stadiums we have today and I will admit as a young guy I find the sight of old terracings mesmerising and would love to have experienced it , one of the things I have enjoyed about us being in the lower leagues is getting the chance to sample some of the old terracings at grounds around the country and have discussed it with my old man who says for all the great experiences it gave their were some genuinley terrifying ones aswell , he said there was a few times as a younger guy he felt his feet being swepped off the ground and some crushing

Pretty much similar to myself, though I will probably be a few years older than yourself. I was fascinated of my old man's tales about 60/70,000 crammed into Celtic Park, 70/80,000 at Ibrox, I suppose it would be like trying to fit 60,000 people in the bottom tiers of the current stadiums. The story of him getting to the ground an hour before kick off but thanks to the sheer volume of people he still missed the first 30 minutes of the Celtic vs Leeds match at Hampden. Over 136,000 people, not taking into account those lifted over/those who skipped in, and the gate that burst open under the sheer pressure of bodies outside. He always said you'll never know how many were actually at that game but if someone was able to count 150,000 bodies, he wouldn't be surprised. It's quite miraculous that stadium disasters didn't happen more often when you consider the crowds and the old rickety stadiums.

Edited by TheCelt67
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Pretty much similar to myself, though I will probably be a few years old than yourself. I was fascinated of my old man's tales about 60/70,000 crammed into Celtic Park, 70/80,000 at Ibrox, I suppose it would be like trying to fit 60,000 people in the bottom tiers of the current stadiums. The story of him getting to the ground an hour before kick off but thanks to the sheer volume of people he still missed the first 30 minutes of the Celtic vs Leeds match at Hampden. Over 136,000 people, not taking into account those lifted over/those who skipped in, and the gate that burst open under the sheer pressure of bodies outside. He always said you'll never know how many were actually at that game but if someone was able to count 150,000 bodies, he wouldn't be surprised. It's quite miraculous that stadium disasters didn't happen more often when you consider the crowds and the old rickety stadiums.

I can't recall the official figures but the night rangers beat bayern Munich in the 72 cup winners cup semi final , I believe celtic were playing inter Milan in the European cup semi final the same night at parkhead and I am I read sure they estimated that the combined attendances of both matches was easily between 150,000 - 200,000 . Couldn't imagine the police giving the go ahead for something like that nowadays

Edited by forever_blue
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I can't recall the official figures but the night rangers beat bayern Munich in the 72 cup winners cup semi final , I believe celtic were playing inter Milan in the European cup semi final the same night at parkhead and I am I read sure they estimated that the combined attendances of both matches was easily between 150,000 - 200,000 . Couldn't imagine the police giving the go ahead for something like that nowadays

Sure Rangers played Motherwell in a league game 30,000 plus Celtic v Partick Thistle at Hampden with 60,000.

That's 90,000 plus in Glasgow October 1971 that was regarded as a small crowd back then.

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Seem to recall reading somewhere those games in 1972 kicked off 2 hrs apart, 6.00 kick off at Ibrox and 8.00 at Celtic Park

No, they kicked off at the same time. Games back then were always 7.30, earlier than nowadays although I've checked the programme and there's no time on it. Sandy Jardine scored for Rangers in about 2 mins and it was said there were people still queuing outside Parkhead when they heard Rangers had scored.

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Seem to recall reading somewhere those games in 1972 kicked off 2 hrs apart, 6.00 kick off at Ibrox and 8.00 at Celtic Park

As said by 'The Mantis' both games kicked off at 7.30 pm. Celtic - Inter went to extra-time and then penalties, i still remember Dixie Deans penalty flying over our supporters bus just as we reached Partick. :)

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I am pretty sure Celtic kicked off, half an hour later than Rangers, at 8.o'clock that night.

Whether that was for security reasons or TV I cant remember but they definitely didn't kick off at the same time.

In Archie McPherson's book 'Flower of Scotland' he devotes a whole chapter to that night.

Edited by TheLip69
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Far from it.I was born in 1970 and remember the phrase "are you on the phone?" from my childhood. It was by no means a given.

Telephones belonged to the Post Office.

You filled a form in and waiting 6 months to a year.

Unless you knew somebody up the ladder in PO Phones.

Cost you a fiver to skip in front and get your green phone installed within a month.

With a party line.

Nosey bazzas.

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Ma mum's dad was their in the rangers end, he lifted a guy up off the deck but it was something he never really spoke about, not the kind of thing you would really want to I suppose. A guy from my town called Robert McAdam was killed that day. It was a horrible, horrible thing.

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Since nobody added anything else, it was only youngsy and me that were there that day in 1971.

Suppose you'd need to be at least in your 50s.

Thought there might have been more.

The average age of posters on P&B, is probably twenty something. It's no surprise that relatively few on here, were in attendance.

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