Post by QPR Report on Mar 26, 2009 8:20:05 GMT
56 Years Ago...
March 26, 1966: Rodney Marsh made his home debut for QPR scoring twice in the team's 6-1 win over Millwall.
(Other scorers: Collins, Allen, Lazarus, Roger Morgan)
16,610 there to see it.
Team:
P. Springett
Langley Hunt Sibley Watson
Lazarus Keen Collins Morgan
Marsh Allen
I think Alex Stephney was in goal for Millwall
[From Bushman, below]
Ex QPR juniors skipper George Jacks came on as sub for Millwall.
Mark Lazarus up against Millwall No3 Harry Cripps. Cripps made Chopper Harris look like a creative footballer compared to him.
-
And Eamon Dunphy
I played for Millwall for eight seasons from 1966-73. Football hooliganism as we now know it began around 1966, the year England won the World Cup. That the birth of modern soccer hooliganism should coincide with England's finest footballing hour is but one of many ironies in this story.
In March 1966, three months before Alf Ramsay's team won the Jules Rimet trophy, I played for Millwall in a vital promotion game at Queen's Park Rangers. We were seeking promotion from Division Three. Rangers, with their new signing, the young vibrant Rodney Marsh, were a place behind us in the Third Division table. Loftus Road was packed. Marsh scored his first ever goal for QPR, who went on to slaughter us 6-1.
During the second half of this match, an incident took place that became the subject of one of the first "Football Hooligan" stories in the national press. Some-one on the terraces flung a coin - an old, pre-decimal penny which struck our centre-forward Len Juliens on the head drawing blood. Len picked it up and flung it back at the crowd.
Following this disturbance, a QPR official warned via the public address system that the match would be abandoned if there was any more trouble. As this would have invalidated the game and caused a replay, it constituted an obvious invitation to a group of about 30 young Millwall fans, who promptly invaded the pitch.
(Millwall-Histroy Comment:- Eamon is not quite right here. Most of the QPR goals that day had been marked by celebratory pitch invasions. The announcer had warned the crowd that if there were anymore pitch invasion the game would be abandoned. This was just to much temptation for some Millwall fans to resist, who promptly invaded the pitch and sat down in an attempt to get the game abandoned.)
Before the days of barbed wire, spiked railings and cordons of policemen, pitch invasions were child's play. On this March afternoon, order was quickly restored when Millwall manager, Billy Gray, took the microphone to urge the "hotheads", as we then thought of them, to acknowledge Rangers as "the better team on the day" and leave the field. They did
www.millwall-history.co.uk/Millwallversusthemob.htm
Mar 26, 2009 at 4:25am
And from a Millwall Site
"...Millwall had slipped behind Hull in the race for the Championship but had a comfortable lead over the only other club in contention for promotion, QPR.
The last weekend in March Millwall were at Loftus Road, where new signing Rodney Marsh scored his first-ever goal for Rangers after just three minutes and sent Q.P.R. on their way to a 6-1 victory. The game was continually held up by celebratory pitch invasions by Rangers fans.
The Tannoy announcer was instructed to broadcast by Match officials that the game would be abandoned if there were anymore pitch invasions. Being 6-1 down to their nearest pursuers in the promotion race it was too good an invitation to Millwall fans who poured onto the pitch and sat down.
With the police and QPR Officials at a lost of how get the game restarted, Millwall Manager Billy Gray took the microphone and appealed to the Millwall fans to acknowledge that Rangers were the better team on the day, but it would be Millwall's year for promotion. It worked at the Millwall fans returned to the Terraces and the final few minutes were played out.
On the team Coach returning from the game, Manager Billy Gray took exception to remarks made by a director and resigned as a matter of principle. Gray was persuaded by Chairman Purser to stay on until promotion was assured.
When news leaked out of Grays resignation it was rumoured to be only partly true and the real reason having more to do with an earlier argument with Board over making money available to sign players, with the Marsh saga being mentioned.
Gray wrote in the next programme: "In the latter stages of the game I made a broadcast appeal to try and preserve the good name of Millwall F. C. Certain unruly elements of our supporters had encroached on the ground after a warning had been given that the referee would stop the game if this continued. Although some people may not agree, I think I did right because if games are going to be abandoned due to the behaviour of supporters then we might as well pack up now...."
www.millwall-history.co.uk/Origins-6.htm
For more on the 1965-66 season click the link below:
qprreport.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=history&thread=23328&page=1#157879
March 26, 1966: Rodney Marsh made his home debut for QPR scoring twice in the team's 6-1 win over Millwall.
(Other scorers: Collins, Allen, Lazarus, Roger Morgan)
16,610 there to see it.
Team:
P. Springett
Langley Hunt Sibley Watson
Lazarus Keen Collins Morgan
Marsh Allen
I think Alex Stephney was in goal for Millwall
[From Bushman, below]
Ex QPR juniors skipper George Jacks came on as sub for Millwall.
Mark Lazarus up against Millwall No3 Harry Cripps. Cripps made Chopper Harris look like a creative footballer compared to him.
-
And Eamon Dunphy
I played for Millwall for eight seasons from 1966-73. Football hooliganism as we now know it began around 1966, the year England won the World Cup. That the birth of modern soccer hooliganism should coincide with England's finest footballing hour is but one of many ironies in this story.
In March 1966, three months before Alf Ramsay's team won the Jules Rimet trophy, I played for Millwall in a vital promotion game at Queen's Park Rangers. We were seeking promotion from Division Three. Rangers, with their new signing, the young vibrant Rodney Marsh, were a place behind us in the Third Division table. Loftus Road was packed. Marsh scored his first ever goal for QPR, who went on to slaughter us 6-1.
During the second half of this match, an incident took place that became the subject of one of the first "Football Hooligan" stories in the national press. Some-one on the terraces flung a coin - an old, pre-decimal penny which struck our centre-forward Len Juliens on the head drawing blood. Len picked it up and flung it back at the crowd.
Following this disturbance, a QPR official warned via the public address system that the match would be abandoned if there was any more trouble. As this would have invalidated the game and caused a replay, it constituted an obvious invitation to a group of about 30 young Millwall fans, who promptly invaded the pitch.
(Millwall-Histroy Comment:- Eamon is not quite right here. Most of the QPR goals that day had been marked by celebratory pitch invasions. The announcer had warned the crowd that if there were anymore pitch invasion the game would be abandoned. This was just to much temptation for some Millwall fans to resist, who promptly invaded the pitch and sat down in an attempt to get the game abandoned.)
Before the days of barbed wire, spiked railings and cordons of policemen, pitch invasions were child's play. On this March afternoon, order was quickly restored when Millwall manager, Billy Gray, took the microphone to urge the "hotheads", as we then thought of them, to acknowledge Rangers as "the better team on the day" and leave the field. They did
www.millwall-history.co.uk/Millwallversusthemob.htm
Mar 26, 2009 at 4:25am
And from a Millwall Site
"...Millwall had slipped behind Hull in the race for the Championship but had a comfortable lead over the only other club in contention for promotion, QPR.
The last weekend in March Millwall were at Loftus Road, where new signing Rodney Marsh scored his first-ever goal for Rangers after just three minutes and sent Q.P.R. on their way to a 6-1 victory. The game was continually held up by celebratory pitch invasions by Rangers fans.
The Tannoy announcer was instructed to broadcast by Match officials that the game would be abandoned if there were anymore pitch invasions. Being 6-1 down to their nearest pursuers in the promotion race it was too good an invitation to Millwall fans who poured onto the pitch and sat down.
With the police and QPR Officials at a lost of how get the game restarted, Millwall Manager Billy Gray took the microphone and appealed to the Millwall fans to acknowledge that Rangers were the better team on the day, but it would be Millwall's year for promotion. It worked at the Millwall fans returned to the Terraces and the final few minutes were played out.
On the team Coach returning from the game, Manager Billy Gray took exception to remarks made by a director and resigned as a matter of principle. Gray was persuaded by Chairman Purser to stay on until promotion was assured.
When news leaked out of Grays resignation it was rumoured to be only partly true and the real reason having more to do with an earlier argument with Board over making money available to sign players, with the Marsh saga being mentioned.
Gray wrote in the next programme: "In the latter stages of the game I made a broadcast appeal to try and preserve the good name of Millwall F. C. Certain unruly elements of our supporters had encroached on the ground after a warning had been given that the referee would stop the game if this continued. Although some people may not agree, I think I did right because if games are going to be abandoned due to the behaviour of supporters then we might as well pack up now...."
www.millwall-history.co.uk/Origins-6.htm
For more on the 1965-66 season click the link below:
qprreport.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=history&thread=23328&page=1#157879
