History of Bristol Rovers F.C. - The 1950s

The 1950s

The 1950s was the most successful decade in the history of Bristol Rovers. The club reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup twice, achieved their highest ever placing in the football pyramid, won a divisional title and had a player called up to the England squad. Geoff Bradford won his first and only international cap for England in 1955, when he played, and scored, in a 5–1 win over Denmark. This was the only time a Bristol Rovers player has ever played for England.

During the second world war, the Bristol Greyhound Racing Association had invested money into Bristol Rovers, and as a result the Greyhound Association had taken control of the football club's accounts and board of directors. In 1950, an FA commission, after examining the club's books, fined Bristol Rovers £250 and ordered the greyhound company to relinquish its controlling interest in the football club and banned club secretary Charles Ferrari from football club management.

In the 1950–51 season Bristol Rovers reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time. The quarter-final was against Newcastle United at St James' Park and was a 0–0 draw. The attendance at this game was 62,787, and it remains the largest ever crowd to watch a match involving Bristol Rovers. The replay at Eastville attracted an attendance of 30,074 to see Newcastle win 3–1. This season also saw the adoption of Goodnight Irene as a favorite song of Bristol Rovers fans. The song was sung at the Rovers fans by supporters of Plymouth Argyle before a match at Eastville, because a version of it was in the charts at the time, and again to taunt the Rovers fans after Argyle had taken the lead. Rovers went on to win the game 3–1 and replied to the Plymouth taunts by singing Goodnight Argyle. The song remained popular with the Rovers fans, and over the years became the anthem of the supporters.

The first league title to be won by Bristol Rovers since the 1904–05 Southern League championship was the 1952–53 Division 3 (South) title. This was the first time Rovers had won promotion since joining the Football League in 1920.

The highest ever league placing by Rovers was achieved in both the 1955–56 and 1958–59 seasons, when the team finished in sixth place in the second tier of league football. In 1955–56, Rovers only missed out on promotion to the top flight by four points.

Perhaps the most impressive win in the history of Bristol Rovers was the 4–0 FA Cup victory over Manchester United, managed by Matt Busby, on 7 January 1956. Five of the United players on that day were later to die in the Munich air disaster. In the same competition during the 1957–58 season Rovers reached the quarter-final for the second time, where they lost 3–1 to Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Honours

• Football League Division 3 (South) – 1952–53
• Gloucestershire Cup
  • Won – 1954–55 and 1955–56
  • Shared – 1950–51, 1953–54 and 1958–59