1 week Ago
PARK Avenue Cricket Ground was a regular home for Yorkshire for more than a century, hosting 306 first class and 48 list A matches and attracting tens of thousands of fans to big fixtures. WE RECENTLY published a series of pictures from 1980 taken by Bradfordian Ray Banyard,at the beginning of a huge redevelopment, which included the demolition of the adjoining football ground. Responding to the pictures, which were also posted on the ‘We Grew Up in Bradford’ Facebook site, Alan Moore posted a newspaper cutting headlined: Welcome Home: Terry back playing at Park Avenue.
Dated Tuesday April 12, the article, which included the above photograph, reads: ‘A fairytale return to Bradford Park Avenue ground for Terry Dolan. Terry began his league career at Park Avenue 15 years ago, before playing for Huddersfield Town, Bradford City and Rochdale. On Sunday he returned to Avenue as manager of Bradford Sunday League side East Bowling Unity and led them to a 2-0 win that clinched the Second Division championship over the home team Prince Arthur.
Terry has run East Bowling Unity since the team was formed four tears ago and has piloted them to successive championships in Fifth, Fourth, Third and Second Divisions. To crown his day he scored from the penalty spot. Prince Arthur are one of three football teams using Park Avenue, where the playing area has been restored by Bradford Council, who own the ground.
And Terry, who has been employed by the parks department since retiring from league football at the end of last season, has been working on the restoration work from his base in adjoining Horton Park.’ When we published Ray’s pictures, we asked whether anyone had any memories of the ground before its extensive revamp. Kevin Haley emailed to say how sad it made him feel to see Ray’s ‘superb photographs of the old Park Avenue football ground during it’s various stages of demolition’.
He commented: ‘I started watching Avenue in 1964 and continued to support them till they were wound up in 1974 and saw well over a hundred matches at the stadium. Park Avenue was a truly historic and beautiful ground full of character and capable of holding 37,000 spectators. It had three covered stands and the main grandstand ran the length of the pitch and had three gables - one at each end and one in the centre.
‘In one corner of the ground was a small pavilion known as the ‘Dolls House’ which accommodated the club offices and dressing rooms. It was one of the most atmospheric football grounds I have ever been in’. He added that the ground should not have been neglected and not allowed to pass into history.
‘It’s fortunate that there still remains quite a few photographs as a reminder of how special the ground was,’ he adds. Michael Reynolds posted on the We Grew Up in Bradford Facebook site, stating that he remembered ‘Freddy Trueman storming in from the pavilion end and the great Yorkshire team at the time.’ Peter McKay responded: ‘at his peak, Trueman started his run with his back to the wall in front of the Pavilion stand.
’ Audrey Reedman posted that her dad and neighbours went to the ground on a Saturday. 'We lived a 15 minute walk away', she commented..
