125th Anniversary by Chris Moorcroft

125th Anniversary

May 2011 will mark the 125th anniversary of Shrewsbury Town but how should such an event be marked? 125 is a more unusual milestone to mark than say 100 or 150 but 2036 is too far ahead to consider right now. The game of 1886 of course was very different to that of today, many clubs didn't exist back then and the Football League itself was still 2 years away. However many clubs had been taking part in the FA Cup and friendlies for up to a decade or two. By the time the club was formed about half of the current football league and premiership clubs had been up and running, however the 1880's was certainly a busy time because a third of the clubs that currently occupy the top 4 divisions had been formed. In fact Arsenal (under its former name Dial Square), Plymouth Argyle, Kidderminster Harriers and Motherwell were created in the same year.

One fact worth remembering is that before the move to the ProStar, Gay Meadow was not the only ground town have played their home games. In fact the club had been up and running for 14 years before the ground was used. A few locations were used including the Copthorne barracks. It may therefore be important to make them different from the events that marked Town leaving Gay Meadow. With regard to where the Club was formed opinions differ, but The Lion Hotel, along with the former (Turf Hotel in Claremont bank) status as one of the two locations discussions were held should take a role in the celebrations.

One way of deciding how the anniversary should be marked is to look how other teams have done it. Some teams invite a premiership club down to play a friendly, others dress up in the kit that was worn when the club were formed. A plaque could be erected at the ground or several items of collectable items could be produced such as a commemorative plate with images of the past. The list could go on and on. Perhaps the 125th anniversary therefore has come at the right time. It has been suggested by many that the ground needs to become less bland and needs to lose some of its 'identikit' image, and have been critical because of it. This could be the ideal time to change some of these views.

If anyone has any further ideas I am sure further ideas with be asked for nearer the time. We will need as many ideas as possible so that the celebrations can become memorable and special with the fans involved as much as possible. Hopefully Town will be able to mark it on the football pitch of course but that is something that you certainly can't pre-plan.

Chris Moorcroft