Ah, the memories...............

Being crammed in like sardines when we played Australia and again when we played in the first world club challenge......
Watching Greame west come running out on his debut and thinking he was a giant..........
Watching Nicky Du-toit dive headfirst over a line of defenders to score a try.............
The crappy shed where they used to sell player profile cards ( I think they were cards? ) and souveneirs etc.............
The pies................Fighting my way back from the bar with a dozen meyt n prater pies for my older brother and all his mates.........
The beer................
Some once shouting at Gerry Kershaw " you couldn't referee a rice puddin'" - I never understood that one!
Ian Roberts' debut and then seeing him cry at the press conference when he left...............
The "boo boys" having a go at Shaun Edwards when he was having a shocker.............

I could go on all night....
Ah the memories...........

Like many of you, I have too many to put down on paper. The Wigan/Saints derby matches were always special. I will never forget the last game at CP, what a day.
If I had to choose one then the World Club Championship in October 1987 against Manly. 38,000 crammed into CP and no room to move. I went with my dad and granddad, midway through the 2nd half I needed to got to the luxury toilet facilities, a monster of a guy in front of me turned round and said "now then lad, were does tha think you're gooin?", to the toilet I replied, "not a bloody chance, tha will have to go were thee stand". I looked at my granddad who just shrugged his shoulders at me. Needless to say the guy in front of me wasn't too impressed with me when he felt his wet leg

Oh happy memories

Paying 6d to go in the "hen pen", the smell of wintergreen when the players ran out of the tunnel, steam rising off the forwards when they packed down for a scrum ( the winter years ),Bostons tries,the power of McTigue,Barton,Collier later Tuigamala,Platt and Skerrett,the shear guts and determination of Fairbairn,Bell,Farrell and Edwards,the speed of Offiah,Gill,Lake and Ferguson,the wizadry of Gregory,Bolton,Miles and Kenny,Australian touring sides in dark blue shorts !,seeing the floodlights in the distance whilst walking to the ground for night games,going in through the turnstiles at the Kop end and using the wall as an unofficial toilet ( I even saw women using it when a big crowd was on ),plants growing out of the roof of the Kop,god I could go on forever,I miss the place now as much as ever,no other rugby ground had the same atmosphere as Central Park and none ever will.

Lots of Saints fans loved the old place"if your going to beat the pies do it at there place" the derby matches were stunning-A question(not trolling!!)
When you lot had to sell the ground, did anybody protest and try and stop the move?. Such a shame much better than that aircraft hanger you play in now!!!!

There are loads of memories I have of the place from matches to the fact that when I first started going, I could never get over how they stopped the traffic on the junction when the game ended to let all the fans get out of the ground. Favourite moments are the 42-36 win over Bradford when Edwards scored four tries and still had time to get sin binned for fighting with Graeme Bradley, the last game obviously, standing with two Halifax fans when we beat them 22-21 in the last minute after being behind all game with a last minute penalty, and the lads couldn't even watch it they were so nervous, beating Oldham 44-16 and the team getting booed off because the fans thought they weren't trying

, and the game against Saints when we won the Championship and Henry Paul scored from his own drop out. One last memory was walking around the outside of the ground a couple of days after the last game with the ground silent, thinking that I'd never get to go in there again. I've never been near it since.

The first and only time that I went to Central Park, we'd scored a try, and I was walking and dancing to the Flute for 50 pence song thing, and tripped on a step and fell flat on my face.

Have to say I used to love derby day at Central Park - even though we were usually on the end of a hiding! The atmosphere in the kop on those occasions was something to behold - None better I think than in the '93 8-8 game.

We also had a few humdinging Semi Finals there and won our one and only JP trophy at CP in '88 so the memories - thankfully - weren't always of defeats!

The North Stand on derby day is good, But it's not the Kop and never will be.

1985 when Brett Kenny kicked for the corner and the ball was collected by Phil Ford (who was at least 5 yards offside when he caught it) in one of our last league games of the season (v Hull KR). I nearly burst a blood vessel with cheering that try.

We all thought we would win the league that year (for the first time in decades) but it wasnt to be.

The burger van fire during the 40-2 defeat v Queensland.

Finding a padlock in the ground and locking it over the bridge of a fellow fans spectacles (before a Saints game) thus preventing him from being able to see any of the action until the second half when he returned to the ground having had the lock hack-sawed away.

Writing a letter under the guise of Abe Frohman from Chicago (in 1993) and asking the programme editor to omit my real name for fear of retribution, only to see a programme with my letter in it credited to "Chicago".

The letter was in response to the constant moaning from the fans sat in the Pop Stand, and a Mr IG Roberts of Westhoughton who seemed to take ultimate pleasure in bemoaning "the new moronic chanting army".

As a youngster sat on the ringside and Boston sliding in to score in the corner and seeing my mam jump on his back.

Again from my ringside seat, a scrum and McTigue was packing down for Wigan just in front of me.. All I heard was whoosh. The pack broke up and there was one of the opposition pack laying flat out and Mac running to get into position.

On the Duggie side a cup game v Leeds and Wigan losing 11 - 9 with two minutes to go.
Mick Sullivan scored in the coner and Griffiths kicked the goal from the touchline to give Wigan a 14 - 11 win.

1965 on the Kop.
Wigan v Saints in the cup. McTigues brilliant slight of hand to send Roy Evans 40 yards under the post at the Kop end.

I could go on and on and on. (many think I do

)

The last ever try at central park......

went with my dad to the game against bradford to officially open the floodlights, ther was somewhere in the region of 36,000 people on the ground for a friendly. another great day out was the annuak pre-season sevens competition. bu the best memory for me was the championship decider against widnes when we lost, which was a lock out and it was an evening game to boot!

One of my favourite memories as well. A spontaneous pitch invasion by several dozen Kopites & one of those occasions when people hug complete strangers (The Bradford game at the JJB a few years back with the Renouf/Radlinski try was a similar experience).

Oh how we like to look down on today's South Standers but forget that many of us used to take great delight in launching ale all over the Popular Side press pack.

You can now join the throng that is JTB & myself who both wear that very cap!

To the regiment !!

I was there

Well you may also recall the following abuse aimed at various players and referees during that period:

"Are you still frequenting gay bars Eastwood" long before it was commonly accepted that Paul Eastwood "drove the other bus".

"Campbell, I hope your kids get Green hair and walk backwards" - aimed at Ronnie Campbell after another inept refereeing performance.

Another memory to add.

Wigan 92 Runcorn 2

Runcorn's first team went on strike for more pay after drawing Wigan in the cup but their board refused to increase their pay. As a consequence, their coach, 46 year old Bill Ashurst, a former Wigan stalwart played, and, after being pretty annoyed at something that Andy Goodway did or said, walked 20 yards to plant his head "Zidane" style on Mr Goodway.

ha ha

It could be a pretty unforgiving environment for out of form Wigan players as well. Colin Whitfield regular taking on the guise of pantomime villain & even Shaun Edwards copping for vocal abuse in 86.

It was sometimes more entertaining watching some of the speccies. I remember watching one fella (it wouldn't be unkind of me to say that I suspect he was low on intelligence & hailed from one of those no-go estates opposite Pizza Hut) hand over a £20 note to his woman (a new acquaintance I suspect) to get him a pint from the Sully Bar part way through the first half. Five minutes turned into ten & still no sight of his woman, so he goes to investigate. Next thing he bursts out onto the Popular Side, face a deathly pale colour telling anyone who'll listen that she'd took the £20 walked into the Sully Bar, straight out the back & probably into town with his hard earned giro money.

the river caves!!!

It must hurt you to see a ground being demolished that was still alot better than the one you are playing in now.

You've got me there