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History » Shay Records
Whilst it would be fair to say that Halifax Town have never exactly set the football world alight, the Shay has been the scene of some historic matches, not least its very first Football League game on 3 September 1921. It's history now, of course, that Town defeated Darlington 5:0 in front of a crowd of over 10,000, although as Town slipped towards the bottom of the table during the course of the season, attendances fell also.
The FA Cup competition has brought record attendances to the Shay. The records have been broken as follows:
22,023 v Manchester City, 2nd round replay, 6 Feb 1924 |
29,235 v Luton Town, 5th round, 18 Feb 1933 |
35,621 v Stoke City, 4th round, 31 Jan 1953 |
36,885 v Tottenham Hotspur, 5th round, 14 Feb 1953 |
Halifax Town were still in the Third Division (North) when they played all these matches against higher division opponents. In their cup run of 1953, Stoke City became the second Division One side to lose at the Shay (Cardiff were the first). Tottenham too were a Division One side but Town never really threatened and the visitors won 3:0. An historic match nevertheless, and there have been others.
On 31 July 1971, Halifax Town defeated a Manchester United side containing such star names as Alex Stepney, Bobby Charlton, Dennis Law and the great George Best. Then, on 5 January 1980, Paul Hendrie scored the only goal on the Shay mudbath that knocked first division Manchester City out of the FA Cup.
Giant-killing of the highest order, and another historic cup match.
It's fair to say with confidence that the 36,885 figure that watched the Tottenham game will never be bettered. Though the Shay could once hold 40,000, safety measures dictate that it never will again. In fact, the capacity put on the Shay has reduced dramatically since the early 70s:
1970 - 38,000 |
1972 - 25,000 |
1977 - 23,000 |
1979 - 16,500 |
The capacity stood at 16,500 until 1985 at which time the Popplewell Report into ground safety was released following the Bradford City fire disaster in May of that year. All standing areas at the Shay were closed, and for a time, while it remained seating only, the new capacity was set at a pathetic 1,777.
Safety work was subsequently carried out and the capacity raised to 3,600. When Halifax Town were paired up with Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup in January 1988, in an effort to keep the tie at the Shay, more work was carried out and the capacity was raised further to 4,021. An almost full house attended that Forest game - 4,012!
When the council took over the Shay in 1987 it became part of Calderdale Leisure Services (CLS) and in July 1988 new plans were announced for the ground. A new stand was purchased from Scunthorpe United and other major ground improvements were being made.
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