Fellows Park
Encyclopedia
Fellows Park was a football stadium
in Walsall
, England
. It was the home ground of Walsall F.C.
from 1896 till 1990, when the team moved to the Bescot Stadium
.
Fellows Park was situated about a quarter of a mile away from the club's present ground, The Bescot Stadium. The ground was originally known as Hilary Street until 1930, when it was renamed after H.L. Fellows, a club director. Walsall's record home attendance was at Fellows Park, when 25,453 spectators were present for the team's Second Division match against Newcastle United on 29 August 1961.
By March 1988, the club was planning to build a new stadium at nearby Bescot Crescent.Within two years, construction work was underway at the new stadium site and the last competitive game at Fellows Park was played on 1 May 1990, when Walsall - in the process of their second successive relegation which took them into the Football League Fourth Division
- drew 1-1 at home to Rotherham United
in the league.The final game played at the ground was on 11 May, when retiring defender Peter Hart's
testimonial was held there with local rivals West Bromwich Albion
providing the opposition. This game also ended in a 1-1 draw, with Gary Shaw
scoring an equaliser for Walsall in the 37th time to go down in history as the last player to score at the stadium in its 87-year history.
The new Bescot Stadium
was ready for the 1990-91 season
.
A reminder of Fellows Park remains in the new stadium, in the name of the H.L. Fellows Stand.
The old stadium was demolished soon after its closure and a Morrisons
supermarket built on the site.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was the home ground of Walsall F.C.
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
from 1896 till 1990, when the team moved to the Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium, also known as the Banks's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989-90 by GMI Construction with a reported build cost of £4.5m...
.
Fellows Park was situated about a quarter of a mile away from the club's present ground, The Bescot Stadium. The ground was originally known as Hilary Street until 1930, when it was renamed after H.L. Fellows, a club director. Walsall's record home attendance was at Fellows Park, when 25,453 spectators were present for the team's Second Division match against Newcastle United on 29 August 1961.
By March 1988, the club was planning to build a new stadium at nearby Bescot Crescent.Within two years, construction work was underway at the new stadium site and the last competitive game at Fellows Park was played on 1 May 1990, when Walsall - in the process of their second successive relegation which took them into the Football League Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
- drew 1-1 at home to Rotherham United
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
in the league.The final game played at the ground was on 11 May, when retiring defender Peter Hart's
Peter Hart
Peter Hart was a Canadian historian, specialising in modern Irish history.-Life:Hart was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland. He studied for one year at the Memorial University of Newfoundland before moving to study at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He graduated from there with...
testimonial was held there with local rivals West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
providing the opposition. This game also ended in a 1-1 draw, with Gary Shaw
Gary Shaw
Gary Shaw was an English football striker who played for Aston Villa in the early 1980s. His goals helped Aston Villa win the English First Division championship in 1980–81 and the European Cup the following year - the only Birmingham-born player in the team. In 1981 he was voted PFA Young Player...
scoring an equaliser for Walsall in the 37th time to go down in history as the last player to score at the stadium in its 87-year history.
The new Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium, also known as the Banks's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989-90 by GMI Construction with a reported build cost of £4.5m...
was ready for the 1990-91 season
1990-91 in English football
The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Arsenal won the league. Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager...
.
A reminder of Fellows Park remains in the new stadium, in the name of the H.L. Fellows Stand.
The old stadium was demolished soon after its closure and a Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
supermarket built on the site.