The rising tide of football hooliganism
IT was February, 1968 - 50 years ago - and the times they were a’changing. It was an age when the shackles of post-war austerity were thrown off in the UK, an era when the rigid class system began to be broken down, and a decade when the so-called ‘permissive society’ came into existence.
Football was also changing. If a decade earlier, rival fans might often stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the terraces, the mid-to-late 60s saw violence rearing its ugly head inside and outside grounds for the first time.
St James’ Park was not immune from these first strains of football “aggro”.
In February, 1967, when Newcastle United hosted Everton, the Chronicle reported how “Newcastle’s longsuffering fans exploded when they went 3-0 down after only 18 minutes.
“Fans in the Leazes End started fighting and coins and bottles showered on to the field.
“Children, sitting at the front of the crowd, scrambled on to the surrounding track for safety, but many were hurt, some having to go to hospital for treatment.
“The police were not prepared for what could almost be termed as a riot, being only small in number.
“It was probably because of this that, despite restoring order, only six men were arrested – two from Liverpool and four from Tyneside.”
A year later and trouble erupted again.
On this weekend 50 years ago, Newcastle United hosted Celtic in a ‘friendly’ game at St James’.
Unusually it took place on a Saturday, a free day, after both clubs had been knocked out of their respective domestic Cup competitions.
Eight months earlier, Celtic’s ‘Lisbon Lions’ has been crowned champions of Europe. The Hoops featured the likes of Bobby Lennox, Jimmy Johnstone, and goalkeeper Ronnie Simpson who’d won two FA Cup winners’ medals with the Magpies way back in 1952 and 1955.
United, meanwhile, were on a good run and sat fifth in Division One in a season where they’d finish high enough in the league to qualify for Europe, and promptly go on to win the Inter City Fairs Cup - the forerunner of the UEFA Cup and Europa League - at the first attempt.
This was the Newcastle United of Bobby Moncur, Frank Clark, Ollie Burton, Pop Robson and Wyn Davies. Sitting at number one in the pop charts on February 17, 1968, was Manfred