North Stand Cusions

[nevthelodgemoorowl]

Thought this was in Ref to our first home game with Villa. Big fight  when Bronco got sent off in a Villa game, but no, you're mere babes. Dunsby may enlighten you in his usual pictorial manner !  

[Miffed]

7 hours ago, Paolo Di Catio said:

 

Is it for sale?

 

Im afraid not, sorry. It's my dads anyways.

[Buxtongent]

They were never club property, but were hired out by the Official Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Club, a large organisation at the time, with local branches in places like Hoyland, Hoyland Common, Wombwell, Killamarsh, Creswell (a particularly large branch), Chapeltown, and others. The ones I recall are ones that I was involved in at various times.

The Supporters Club used to loan out the cushions for something like a Tanner (2.5p) a match. To my knowledge, the cushions were rarely thrown onto the pitch DURING a match, but one particular incident caused a rain of cushions which caused the game to be held up for a period. At this, Wednesday were compelled by the FA to post warning notices ( a serious thing in those days) saying that further incidents would lead to sanctions being taken against the club.

The cushions had been used at Hillsborough before the building of the Cantilever Stand (now the North Stand) on the seating of the Old Stand which had rows of wooden seating, not the individual seats as found in the new North Stand, and were a blessing to anyone seated.

Rather a spectacular protest which, unfortunately, blew up in the faces of the Club and Supporters. Very much an OWN GOAL, since, after the large incident, the Club stopped the selling of these cushions, at a considerable financial loss to the Supporters Club.

[Manor Owl]

Remember a dodgy decision (well they are all dodgy if not in our favour) in a Liverpool game. On the Kop and shouting for the cushions to be thrown. Reference to Gerry Young disallowed goal, may have been that.

[OhForAnotherShez]

they were best aimed at an angle, and used to come down at the same angle

 

e.g. if you were right handed, aim higher to right at about 45deg to target.

 

it would come down on same plane to left, and bingo!

 

Not that I had personal experience

[darra]

In the 70's the cushions coming on the field was the only memorable incident in some matches.

[Kevan]

Yes I recall that Liverpool game.  The disallowed goal was shown over and over again on a Friday evening preview programme presented by Fred Truman the ex cricketer - or was it a "pools" predicting type programme?  I think it was called "Sometimes You Win".    At the game itself, it was a mystery as to why the goal had been disallowed, but it turned out the referee had seen some sort of infringement against Tommy Lawrence, the Liverpool goalkeeper.  I don't think there's a Wednesdayite in the land that saw anything wrong with the goal!

[bradowl]

20 minutes ago, Kevan said:

Yes I recall that Liverpool game.  The disallowed goal was shown over and over again on a Friday evening preview programme presented by Fred Truman the ex cricketer - or was it a "pools" predicting type programme?  I think it was called "Sometimes You Win".    At the game itself, it was a mystery as to why the goal had been disallowed, but it turned out the referee had seen some sort of infringement against Tommy Lawrence, the Liverpool goalkeeper.  I don't think there's a Wednesdayite in the land that saw anything wrong with the goal!

 

This game is one of my first memories of going to Hillsborough, I was about 5 or 6 years old, seats in North were made out of wooden latts and were a bit uncomfortable after a while hence the cusions.

 

5p they cost to hire which I think was a shilling before decimal.

[Mickjj]

I've still got one

[sparkowl]

22 hours ago, Paolo Di Catio said:

 

A cushion was never going to hurt anybody, I think it was around the same time they used to walk round the touchline with a sheet above their heads for everyone to throw coins into, although to be fair that was after the game. Imagine what health and safety would make of that nowadays.

[pauli]

My first match was Chelsea in the cup, 72 - 73 ish. Not sure exactly when but we lost. We played in an all white kit.

Was on the North with my dad. Nobody sang or anything much. They would clap politely at appropriate moments, probobobarbly overwhelmed at siiting in what was the poshest stand in England at the time. But there were loads of people chucking their cushions onto the pitch afterwards. I thought it looked like fun and was was some kind of tradition.

 

"Dad, why haven't we go a cushion to chuck?" 

 

He never answered, just looked a bit glum.

 

I had spent half the match watching the support on the Kop anyway and decided that was where I wanted to be.

 

My dad was in charge of demoishing the old slum housing in Attercliffe and somehow got me a seat in the directors box on the South which was normally reserved for the lord mayor of Sheffield but he couldn't come due to having unfinished business with armed pimps and his brothel.

 

There were no cushions there either but we ended up beating Bolton bleedin Wanderers 2 - 1.

[owlsincefifties]

I suggested to the Supporters Club committee that they made them boomerang shape but they would not listen.

[Guest WESTENDOWL]

20 hours ago, sparkowl said:

 

A cushion was never going to hurt anybody, I think it was around the same time they used to walk round the touchline with a sheet above their heads for everyone to throw coins into, although to be fair that was after the game. Imagine what health and safety would make of that nowadays.

They were the medicine ball of cushions

[Sham67]

20 hours ago, pauli said:

My first match was Chelsea in the cup, 72 - 73 ish. Not sure exactly when but we lost. We played in an all white kit.

Was on the North with my dad. Nobody sang or anything much. They would clap politely at appropriate moments, probobobarbly overwhelmed at siiting in what was the poshest stand in England at the time. But there were loads of people chucking their cushions onto the pitch afterwards. I thought it looked like fun and was was some kind of tradition.

 

"Dad, why haven't we go a cushion to chuck?" 

 

He never answered, just looked a bit glum.

 

I had spent half the match watching the support on the Kop anyway and decided that was where I wanted to be.

 

My dad was in charge of demoishing the old slum housing in Attercliffe and somehow got me a seat in the directors box on the South which was normally reserved for the lord mayor of Sheffield but he couldn't come due to having unfinished business with armed pimps and his brothel.

 

There were no cushions there either but we ended up beating Bolton bleedin Wanderers 2 - 1.

 

We played in blue shorts against Chelsea.  

[swfc4_sufc0]

1 hour ago, Sham67 said:

 

We played in blue shorts against Chelsea.  

Top post! Sums up what this forum is all about. 

[Mr Farrell]

Just out of interest, what would mint condition cushions be worth to collectors on here ?

[Paolo Di Catio]

18 minutes ago, Mr Farrell said:

Just out of interest, what would mint condition cushions be worth to collectors on here ?

 

If you've got one, I'll give you a tenner for it 

[Mr Farrell]

52 minutes ago, Paolo Di Catio said:

 

If you've got one, I'll give you a tenner for it 

Think you are seriously  underestimating the serious collectors on here.

 

[Buxtongent]

On ‎23‎/‎06‎/‎2016 at 21:57, sparkowl said:

 

A cushion was never going to hurt anybody, I think it was around the same time they used to walk round the touchline with a sheet above their heads for everyone to throw coins into, although to be fair that was after the game. Imagine what health and safety would make of that nowadays.

 

One cushion, probably not, but this was a complete rain of cushions, and made It impossible to play football, as you can see from the pictures. The players themselves, and tis includes Wednesday players, took shelter away from them.

 

As for the 'sheet' idea, I remember this well. The 'sheets' were lorry tarpaulins, which the men held over their  heads as they marched round the ground. The idea was for people to throw coins in. I well remember one incident, possibly the last time they were used, followed the Creswell Colliery Disaster, when some 90+ men lost their lives. A national Disaster Fund was launched, and to the end, a collection was taken  at lots of Public gatherings, including football matches. The one at Hillsborough took place when Wednesday played Newcastle United. Newcastle had a novelty in those days in the form of a Mascot, a man dressed in a top hat and tails, in black and white halves, carrying a Newcastle scarf and bearing an old-fashioned rattle, of the large variety fancied in those days. As he went round the ground, cheering to the crowd, he was following the tarp, and was stooping to pick up any coins which had missed the tarp, and throwing them into the tarp. As he rose from picking them up, some twerp threw a coin, but instead of throwing it, skimmed it. It struck the chap just above the eye. Half an inch lower and it could have had his eye out. The mascot simply ignored the injury, waved to the crowd and continued until he reached the corner flag under where the new scoreboard stands now. He was stationed a small contingent of St.John Ambulance men, as was the custom in those days. Here, he had a plaster put over the profusely bleeding cut, then continued on his trip round the ground. I never remember seeing the tarps used again, though do seem to remember collection boxes being passed around in the crowd.  

The memory of this incident comes back to me whenever ANYTHING is thrown onto the field, an idea to which I am totally opposed.

[Mickjj]

On 23/06/2016 at 21:56, Mickjj said:

I've still got one