Why have I chosen this date and this particular fixture? I'll let you know at the end of the story.
It began as an ordinary afternoon on a cold winter's day. One of my pals was a keen Barnsley supporter. We went with him as mates do.The match began in the usual way. Just before half-time it began to snow. The referee allowed play to continue. The snow covered all the pitch at Oakwell. Me and some pals were stood in the Ponty End of the ground. Eventually no-one could see the painted white lines on or around the pitch. The snow stopped falling and there followed a huge cloud of dense fog . The referee still allowed play to continue. Suddenly some smoke appeared over the back of the main stand. It was smoke coming from the school nearby. It looked as though the caretaker had decided to stoke up the fire inside the school boiler. The ground was now enveloped in a mixture of both smoke and fog (smog). The match referee looked at his watch and blew his whistle for half-time. During the half-time break several people marked out the lines on the pitch using heavy duty brushes. The players then took to the pitch and the match got under way.
Final score of this match in the then League Division 4 was Barnsley 3 Rochdale 1 even though for some time afterwards I believed the score had finished 3-2 to Barnsley.
Why did I choose to tell this story?
One of my pals at that game was none other than the guy who used to post on here as Andy Monium. Andy is still a keen Millers' supporter.
