selkie wrote:I fancy going to this game, I have never seen Leeds play at Plainmoor which is hardly surprising as it was in 1955 when we made our one and only visit.
I have done a little research and I am not able to find even a friendly game taking place in Torquay between our two sides.
The game we did play at Plainmoor was a third round FA Cup game on the 12th January 1955 when we were turned over 4-0 after a 2-2 draw at Elland Road. Torquay could even have prevented that visit to Plainmoor by us as they were 2-0 up at Elland Road but we managed to pull it back to 2-2 with the legendary John Charles getting a 70th minute equaliser. In the replay things could not have got off to a worse start for us when right back Dunn miscued a clearance allowing Sam Collins to score a first minute goal. It was almost an hour though before Torquay increased their lead. Again Dunn was involved as a Harold Dobbie shot deflected off him into the net. The third goal was a shot from Ron Shaw across the face of the goal which bounced in off the far post and the rout was completed on 88 minutes when ex Leeds player Don Mills tapped in the fourth.
The crowd that day was 11,429 with gate receipts of £1,329 that is an average price per ticket of just less than half a crown, that is 2s 6d or 12.5 pence in today’s money. A programme at Leeds nowadays costs 32 times that.
Don Mills was one of I think only 7 players who have played for both clubs. Torquay had sold him to QPR on the 1st January 1950 for £12,500 which was a massive amount in those days he had made 34 appearances for Torquay. QPR then sold him to Cardiff a year later for £12,000 before Leeds picked him up for nothing 7 months later. He played 37 games for us before Torquay got him back on the 1st December 1952 also for free and he went on to play another 308 games for Torquay.
The other players to play for us both are Wallace Clark in the 1920’s, Bobby Webb in the 1950’s, Tony Currie in the 70’s for Leeds and 80’s for Torquay and more recently in the 1990’s Lee Sharpe, Paul Pettinger and Mark Ford.
Back to the present last season Leeds had the largest travelling support in the Championship with an average of 3106. Leeds will travel in force to Plainmoor they will drink, they will be friendly, they will have a good time and fill the local coffers. With the game being on a Friday that will boost the attendance as those that will travel from Leeds will only need one day of work. Plenty of others will be making a week of it and there will be the local Leeds fans also to bolster our numbers. I would be surprised if we could not shift 1300 tickets with the added ingredient of it being a new ground for most.We sold 3000 for a friendly in Falkirk and 3500 for a game in Norway last year.
I wish you good luck in the play-offs and will see you in July.
Finally NewtonGull you are a gent, with a clear and correct perception of what is right and wrong acceptable and unacceptable.
i feel i have to correct you.
i went to flakirk which was an evening game and around 800 leeds attended.
on the saturday we travelled to motherwell were around 2,000 leeds attended.
ill go along with the 3,500 in norway.
i expect around 2,000 leeds in torquay.
regards.
:slap:
