Page 54 - 368603 LP250721 AWY AWY AWY Book (238pp A5)

character and the one time I actually glimpsed him in the centre of a running crowd he looked like Roger Daltrey playing Tommy. I don’t think he was really too much of a hard case, more of a talisman, but he was noted for being in the thick of things.
On 22nd March 1969 I attended my first derby match at Sid James’s Park and it was hair-raising at times. With my mates Anth and Col I got the train through to Newcastle Station and we started to make our way through a very narrow street towards the ground. We heard a commotion up ahead and suddenly a large gang of Mag youths came charging towards us from the opposite direction repeatedly chanting, “We’re gonna fuck the Fulwell!” Of course we weren’t wearing any red and white colours so we just backed into a doorway as they thundered past towards the station. I’m pretty sure we didn’t have tickets and we went in the Gallowgate End, which was full of our fans. With a minute or so left of the match we were descending the stairs to street level when we spotted a big group of Mags waiting for us down there with not a polis in sight. We stopped and as the whistle went a huge torrent of our fans hurried down the stairs and the awaiting Mag fans rapidly dispersed. As for the football, it was a 1-1 draw with Colin Suggett getting that equalizer with seven minutes to go. We got back home without a scratch and happy with the draw.
On 27th March 1970 I was in the Paddock again for the derby with Newcastle and the area around the ground that
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