Ashton Gate Saturday, August 28th, 1976   First Division Attendance: 25,316       Bristol City 1-1 Stoke City
1976 /77

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Club: Bristol City Ground: Ashton Gate Date: 28 August 1976 Match: Bristol City v. Stoke City, Football League Division One Result: 1-1 Attendance: 25.316 Remarks 1976 was a good year to turn 12. The Saints gave untold pleasure to millions when they beat Manchester United in the Cup final. The long hot summer saw a drought and in cricket the West Indies “whitewashed” the England test team. Things were looking up in the West Country where while the Wurzels were unlikely chart toppers Bristol City were promoted to the top flight. My mum took me to my first and her last game. Ashton Gate was buzzing for City’s first top flight game since the early part of the century. The first memorable impression was that the pitch was bright green which was a rare sight after the drought in the summer. Clearly the club had found some way around the hose pipe ban. We stood in the away end which was mixed with home and away fans due to the bumper crowd, initially declared as over 30,000 which was later corrected downwards to an unlikely 25,000. The game is famous for the challenge by Peter Shilton on City striker Paul Cheesley that ended the Big Cheese’s career. As a sign of things to come City let in a soft equaliser in a game they dominated and it would take a dozen games before I saw City win their first match in my presence. It was already too late, there was no turning back. I was hooked for life. This was the best day I could remember in my short life.