A cold night in October 1981 and Grimsby entertained Watford in the League Cup 2nd Round (1st Leg). Watford included a host of familiar names such as Steve Sherwood, Kenny Jackett, Pat Rice, Luther Blissett, Gerry Armstrong and a young John Barnes.
The Grimsby team was the first i remember watching from the Constitutional corner, behind a fence, on a milk crate as a young lad. My memories of Blundell Park back then were of packed terraces, endless noise and a guaranteed mars bar at half time. Often, i was more interested in that than the result, much to the frustration of my dad who persevered in taking me and my elder brother Paul.
The Town team for the night was Batch, Crombie, Stone, Wiggington, Kev Moore, Brolly, Whymark, Cumming, Mitchell, Drinkell, Kilmore and Captain Joe Waters.
AlthoughIi remember little of the actual game, which town won 1-0 thanks to a Kev Moore goal, the memory of looking around the changing rooms, kit room, managers office and changing rooms is still vivid. I remember lots of wood panelling throughout, a fairly basic set up really, and i was surprised at how small the dressing rooms were. There was a real buzz of activity and then throughout the ground, a real sense of excitement which, at the time, filled the ground, unlike today's games which seem to be more sedate leading up to kick off (smaller crowds, seating and three corners unused probably account for that!)
I met all the players in the dressing room beforehand and was presented with a signed match ball from Nigel Batch. Not every mascot got one of these, however my dad dined at the illustrious cafe across the road from the ground on a fairly regular basis at the time and so did some of the players, and over time he got to know some of them pretty well....Nigel Batch being one of them...hence the signed ball. The mascot match kit wasn't a reproduction back then, just a plain black and white striped kit, and you even had to hand it back afterwards, unlike the expensive Mascot packages these days which include the full strip!
For me, this was quite an important point as a Town supporter...having been a mascot, there was no going back...it was GTFC for life...and so my journey with the club began...taking me to cleaning seats in the stadium in the early 80's to keep me busy during summer holidays, playing for Ray Gooch's youth team at the age of 16 for a year (albeit only a few times..but i did get to meet at the ground and get changed in the away dressing room each week before running off down the seafront fr two hours despite rarely getting a look in on a Saturday - if I'm honest, i still think i thought I'd made it even then!)
I became a steward after that, sitting in front of the main stand by the PA box. An opportunity to meet and speak to the players as they turned up for the games and get a perfect view of some classic games in the early 90's! I bunked off school early to visit places like Halifax, Scarborough and Peterborough and carried out a post mortem of each game the following day at school with my mates. When Dave Gilbert signed for Grimsby, I received instant recognition, although only from people who clearly had never seen the footballer in person...i was 6'1"!! I joined Grimsby Town Supporters FC in Grimsby Sunday League Division Ten and cut my Sunday league teeth with them, again, playing in an old GTFC kit was pure heaven for me back then!
And since then I've followed them through thick and thin, attending more memorable matches than I've got time to write about.
I live in Lincoln now and travel back when i can for games and have a 5 year old son who i've already taken a few times to matches...and as my Dad did for me in 1981, I am doing the same for my boy, despite being born in Lincoln...he is a Mariner...and on New Years Day 2014 will be leading the team out as Mascot for the game against Lincoln City. Something he may hold against me in years to come...but somehow, I think he'll thank me!
Dave Gilbert
The Alzheimer's Society recently launched a national initiative called Dementia Friends which is giving people an understanding of dementia and the small things people can do that make a difference to people living with dementia. Alzheimer's Society want to create a network of a million Dementia Friends across England by 2015 - for more information visit dementiafriends.org.uk
Memory added on December 12, 2013
Comments (Add your voice)
No comments have yet been added to this memory.
