Tuesday 25 April 2017

Five years of That 1980s Sports Blog

Time flies when you're having fun. I can't believe that it is five years since I published my first blog on sport in the 1980s - an opportunity to vent my spleen regarding Arsenal's loss to York City in 1985 - and in that time I've managed to rattle off 214 more pieces.

Thursday 20 April 2017

1986/87: Division Four relegation battle

Lincoln City are on the verge of a return to the Football League, but thirty years ago they were not so lucky.

When the Football League announced a series of structural reforms in the game during April 1986, one particular innovation appeared to be long overdue. Out went the antiquated re-election system that would decide whether a club remained in Division Four, the days of the "old boys network" thankfully at an end. In came automatic promotion and relegation between the Fourth Division and the GM Vauxhall Conference, with the champions of the latter replacing the team finishing rock bottom in the Football League.

Wednesday 5 April 2017

1980s: Grand National predictions

Tipping a Grand National winner is a tricky task - the last time I got it right was Mr Frisk in 1990 - so for a bit of fun this week, I've decided to take a look at the predictions made by some of the experts in the 1980s, with regards to the horses that would go on to win the famous race at Aintree.

Monday 3 April 2017

1987 World Snooker Championship

Looking back at the 1987 World Snooker Championship, as Steve Davis gains some revenge over Joe Johnson, and the sport is dragged into a debate involving the usage of performance enhancing drugs.

There were a number of players with a few points to prove as the 1987 World Snooker Championship commenced on Saturday April 18. None more so than the reigning champion, and the man he had beaten in the 1986 final. For Joe Johnson and Steve Davis, the next few weeks would go a long way to answering any doubts regarding their current standing in the game.