Question First time you touched the ball in a game.

[borientater]

I once caught the ball from an Alan McCormack shot , thing is i was not at the game , i was in prittlewell chase at the time :smile:

 

[Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset]

This zone is getting mor like ITV every day. Think of an obscure situation and run a series on it. Top marks to DTS for thinking of this one. Can't wait for the thread which asks us to recollect best dump in a football stadium (have a tale to tell on that one too).

Anyway, my effort on this thread:

Circa 1977 home v Hartlepool. 5 mins to go and we are winning 1-0. Ball comes off in to the West Stand for a Hartlepool throw. 'Pool are desparately trying to hurry things up to get an equaliser. Ball comes to me (then aged 14) and I lob it straight over the approaching Tommy Gibb (ex Newcastle hard nut). Mr Gobb launches a volley of obscene abuse in my direction which even Mrs Brown might find offending. West Stand, hitherto in deep coma but always partial to ignoring the 'Gentlemen no swearing' sign, stir from their slumbers and give it back to Mr Gibb with equal venom but greater volume.

Hartlepool eventually collect the ball and score from the move created from the throw in. It finishes 1-1.

My Dad wrote to Mr Gibb afterwards and obtained an apology - wish I'd kept it.

UTB

 

[South Bucks Shrimper]

I have never touched the match ball at a Southend game, but had a go at the half time challenge during the Northampton play-off match. Failed miserably.

When my son was at junior school he got complimentary tickets to Wycombe (our local club). We were sitting in the family stand and as I turned round to say "crikey, you could get hit by the ball sitting here" it hit me in the back of the head :'(

 

[canveyshrimper]

Actually thinking about this it is heavily in favour of those that sit in the South Upper. Lets face it over the years our forwards have sent far more shots into the Upper than anywhere near the goal, and those sitting at the far ends of the stands are far more likely to get a touch than those directly behind the goal.

DoDtS

...and they still consistently mis Fatso.

 

[Parold]

Spookily mine was Friday 13th January!!! It was 1989 at home to Fulham when I was a ballboy - a shocking 0-0 and David Crown spanked it at my leg and it bloody hurt.

 

[southchurch]

This zone is getting mor like ITV every day. Think of an obscure situation and run a series on it. Top marks to DTS for thinking of this one. Can't wait for the thread which asks us to recollect best dump in a football stadium (have a tale to tell on that one too).

Have only touched the ball with fingertips a few times as its flown past. But do have a great dump at the Hall story too.

 

[Barry Labs]

Touched the ball twice during the same game. Well actually, before the game. Daryl was being warmed up by John Gowens at Cambridge away...I was sitting quietly eating my pie, unfortunately right behind the spot where Daryl wasn't stopping Gowen's shots. Hit twice, one on either knee...but pie stayed in tact.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Actually thinking about this it is heavily in favour of those that sit in the South Upper. Lets face it over the years our forwards have sent far more shots into the Upper than anywhere near the goal, and those sitting at the far ends of the stands are far more likely to get a touch than those directly behind the goal.

DoDtS

I've sat directly behind the goal in the South Upper for the last 8 years and haven't even felt threatened by a shot in all that time.

It might have been a different story if I was sitting in the family stand in the South-West corner when Alan McCormack was in his pomp.

 

[class]

My first time was when I was a program seller at Roots Hall when I was about 13. I was walking around the perimetre track during the game, when the ball went out for a throw in and was rolling straight to me. Without even breaking my stride, I flicked the ball up at a perfect height for the approaching Julian Hails to catch and take the throw!!

 

[Beefy]

Adding to FS i remember the days of the North Bank prematch "Sammy give us a ball, Sammy Sammy etc.." the ball was then hurled about with increasing velocity until someone got hurt which seemed to calm everyone down a touch, another favourite pastime was trying to smash the flourescent tubes HEALTH AND SAFETY !!!! :omg:

If that counts then my vote of 'no' is wrong. I distinctly remember touching the ball a few times as a kid during that pre-match ritual. One game it came to me and I tried to chuck it into the back of the stand but it hit some poor woman in the face. Not my finest hour. :blush:

 

[leeblue]

The ball touched me tbh, it was back in the days of danny o'shea, I had been training with my team before going to the hall for a night game and had managed to break my thumb in three places, but me and the old man would rather have lost limbs than miss a game, so we agreed to go to A and E after the game, so there i am standing at the front of the west stand with a couple of mates and my thumb has now swolen to comedy size, o'shea makes a big tackle and sends the ball flying towards us, guess the exact spot on my body it hit.......yep my already broken thumb, i never really liked o'shea after that nite

 

[united we stand]

I remember many years ago , a ballboy at the old Southbank end, he was obviously a bit of a goal keeper as when one of the opposition hit a shot , which went wide, he rose and clutched it to his chest rather well.
Unfortunately he had underestimated the power and the shot threw him backwards, as he had jumped to get the ball his heels clipped the top of the wall and he flew backwards onto the terracing, It was one of those moments where you didn't know wether to laugh or wince....

Y.

If you are referring to approx 30 years ago (give or take a year)then his name was Stephen Hillis , Hullbridge Sports U12's (ish). Steve got the biggest cheer of the night when he got up. I was part of the Hullbridge team and remember it well. It was also the first time I ever touched the ball

 

[TrueBlue]

Who remembers my volley at northampton away few years ago?

 

[class]

Who remembers my volley at northampton away few years ago?

I do, that was classic!!

 

[andyblue]

The two times that stand out for me were -

About 1982 I was a ball boy and George Best was playing for Bournemouth. The game was crap and finished 0-0 but I was behind the north bank goal and remember throwing him the ball.

Second was at the 10-1 mauling of Aldershot in the Leyland DAF around 1990. I had gone on my own and was standing on the north bank. Someone shot wide and the ball just missed me, I dodged rather deftly to the side to avoid it. However, it hit one of the vertical pillars behind me and flew straight back at me, smacked me on the back of the head and knocked me down a few steps onto my knees! I wanted the terrace to open up and swallow me. At least there were only 1500 there to share my embarassment.

 

[sadsy]

Christophe's first touch was so bad that his second was usually a tackle !

 

[stickyboy]

If you are referring to approx 30 years ago (give or take a year)then his name was Stephen Hillis , Hullbridge Sports U12's (ish). Steve got the biggest cheer of the night when he got up. I was part of the Hullbridge team and remember it well. It was also the first time I ever touched the ball

yeah must have been about 30 yrs as reckon I was only 12 ish then!

 

[ol blue eyes]

Not sure of the first, but I do remember catching the ball at White Hart Lane from one of our wide shots before throwing the ball back to Robinson.

An amusing incident at the game was when Fav's made a good save and the blues faithful chanted 'Englands Englands number one Englands number one' , only for the current England Keeper to raise his hand to us in mistaken acknowledgement !

Earlier this season when a ball was smashed into the roof of the East stand cannoning down to bounce up from the floor before I grabbed it.

 

[Shrimper]

Never touched it but the Daggers game made me think my face would be smashed as I was right at the front.

 

[Ozzer]

I remember many years ago , a ballboy at the old Southbank end, he was obviously a bit of a goal keeper as when one of the opposition hit a shot , which went wide, he rose and clutched it to his chest rather well.
Unfortunately he had underestimated the power and the shot threw him backwards, as he had jumped to get the ball his heels clipped the top of the wall and he flew backwards onto the terracing, It was one of those moments where you didn't know wether to laugh or wince....

Years ago when the ball went in the northbank during the warmup it was kept for a while and lobbed about a bit. On on occassion someone was trying to chuck it the length of the stand , so they gave it a good heave, it hit one of the roof girders a couple of yards into its flight , ricocheted downwards and straight into the side of my face, Once my mates had stopped laughing, they helped me find the remains of my glasses and stem the flow of blood from the cuts and the battered nose..

I remember the ball boy going over backwards! It was near the south/west corner flag. That was some years ago.