Burnden Park Disaster...

Today we take a look at a tragic event that for most, has been lost in time, but for the people of Bolton, is something that will never be forgotten.

Everyone knows about the Hillsborough Disaster, and for those of my generation (and older), Ibrox is still fresh in our minds.  However, 69 years ago today, on 9th March 1946, the former home of Bolton Wanderers was the location of a terrible human crush, which was to lead to much stricter crowd control in the future.

The event was an F.A, Cup quarter-final clash between the home side and Stoke City, and it was attended by over 85,000 fans.  The Railway End was little more than a dirt bank (nothing unusual in many post-war grounds), and access to the ground was from the Manchester Rd End only.  Because of the size of the crowd, the turnstiles were closed 20 minutes before kick-off, at 2.40 pm, with a large crowd still outside.

As a result, many fans started to scale the fence from the railway embankment into the already packed stadium, while others climbed over the closed turnstiles.  In order to avoid the crush, a father and son opened a locked gate.  Now, the mass of bodies started to move laterally, and many were actually pushed out of the ground and into the car park.

However, this did little to relieve the pressure, and soon, two barriers collapsed, and the crowd surged forward onto the pitch, crushing those at the front.  The match was stopped, and the players left the pitch.  Thirty-three people were to lose their lives in the crush, with hundreds injured.  The dead were laid along the perimeter of the pitch (outside the touchline), and covered with coats and blankets.

What happened next is absolutely unbelievable...

With many of the bodies still along the touchline, the referee called the players back onto the pitch, and the game restarted, being played out to a goalless draw,