1987: Trouble in Scarborough

It should have been a day of celebration, an atmosphere befitting an historic occasion for anyone associated with the Football League debutants Scarborough. After winning the GM Vauxhall Conference in the 1986/87 season, the club managed by Neil Warnock was about to step into unchartered territory. 

"Very proud, obviously," Scarborough Chairman Terry Brown declared as the crowd filtered into the Athletic Ground on Seamer Road for Scarborough's opening Division Four match against Wolves. "At present, everyone's behaving themselves. The Wolves fans seem very happy. I just hope it finishes like this."

Oh dear. It did not take long for things to escalate, as what had promised to be a carnival afternoon descended into terrible scenes that filled television news reports for the next few days. With an estimated 3,500 Wolves fans making their way to the seaside resort over that weekend, there was always potential for trouble.

"There must have been quite a few people in Scarborough for whom Football League status was about as welcome as a punch in the mouth," David Lacey wrote in the Guardian. Those who did feel anxious would have had their worst fears realised on Saturday August 15, 1987. 

It had been an expensive summer for Scarborough. Spending over £120,000 on ground improvements, the club also spent over £1,000 making sure there were extra police resources in place for the visit of Wolves. But even that was not enough. Come the end of the match, the club faced a bill of over £20,000 for damages and were forced to draft in extra police from York.

The match would be delayed as fans clashed prior to the kick off, but it would take a shocking incident to well and truly light the fuse. With many Wolves supporters climbing on to the roof of the stand above the segregated supporters, 23-year-old Andrew Charlesworth from Cannock was about to take centre stage in a horrifying scene that sadly summed up the day.

Charlesworth crashed through the roof and hit the terracing 30 feet below, the shocking moment captured for all to see in subsequent news reports. It was a clip that left you genuinely open-mouthed at the terrifying consequences. Receiving the kiss of life on the terrace, Charlesworth was taken to hospital. 

Staggeringly, Charlesworth would later discharge himself, although he had broken bones in his neck, and left hospital with his arm in a cast and without any shoes or money. Unsurprisingly, the incident left him with physical pain and mental scars since that day. Yet Charlesworth did manage to revisit the ground ten years later, in order to apologise to the club for his part in proceedings.

With tensions already high, the reaction of some Scarborough fans to Charlesworth's fall did little to help. Soon rival fans were clashing once again, as police and their dogs were sent in to try and contain the violence. Eventually a game of football even broke out.

It was a shame that the 2-2 draw was completely overshadowed. Stewart Mell, a fireman by trade, gave Scarborough the lead, before Steve Bull and Steve Stoutt handed Wolves a half-time advantage. Ray McHale would equalise shortly into the second half with a fine volley, yet not many were talking about the action on the pitch come the end of the match.

Further violence broke out during the half-time break. Wolves fans raided a refreshment kiosk, smashed toilets, and threw a lot of the resulting debris on to the pitch, leading referee Joe Worrall to delay the second half. Warnock and Wolves manager Graham Turner helped to clear the pitch, the latter appealing to the away fans for calm.

After the match, an exit gate was torn from its hinges, as Scarborough and football in general counted the cost of the afternoon. It was hardly a great endorsement for the push to get English teams back into European club football competitions and for Barclays Bank, who were starting their £4.5 million sponsorship of the Football League.

The reaction was understandably scathing. "I think they're a set of animals," Brown stated. "Ken Bates was right. They should electrify the fences." League President Philip Carter was equally disgusted. "I am appalled, outraged, all the words you can sum up, by this mindless hooliganism."

Above all, it was sad that Scarborough's day had been ruined, as the Guardian's Michael Henderson related. "Scarborough did not have to wait long to discover the delights of the Football League. From the moment the first phalanx of Midlands misfits lurched along Seamer Road at one o'clock, the gruesome braggadocio if soccer yobdom was in full bloom. Scarborough's day, year, was spoiled utterly."

Warnock hinted that extra policing was needed. "We don't deserve to get back into European football until we sort out the hooligan problem once and for all. Even if it meant getting 3,000 coppers for one game, then so be it. The offenders should be put in prison for up to a year."

A total of 56 arrests were made on the day - including 40 Wolves fans - yet Warnock may have been disappointed when fines were handed out to those involved. But in the immediate aftermath, it was the punishment handed out to Wolves that dominated the enquiry that would be held on the Friday after the events.

Wolves away matches were made all-ticket before the disciplinary committee met, yet Wolves Chairman Dick Homden pondered if football should follow the lead of Luton. "I thought it was terrible when Luton imposed their ban on away supporters, but now I believe it is the only way we have of stopping the trouble." The possible solution of membership cards for fans was also revisited.

The hearing resulted in Wolves receiving a £5,000 fine and their supporters being banned for the next six away matches. FA Disciplinary Chairman Les Mackay was forced to defend the perceived leniency of the penalties.

"We don't consider it a light sentence. Wolves will be without support for six away matches and, with the fine, that is sufficient punishment for a club who might be involved in promotion. The £5,000 fine, given their present financial plight, is extremely high. Don't forget, they nearly went out of business last year."

Wolves would recover from the shame caused by their fans on the opening day of the season. Winning the Fourth Division and Sherpa Van Trophy double, the revival under Turner began in earnest. Bull and Andy Mutch would combine to great effect as the pain of the previous few years gave way to feelings of joy.

Scarborough would finish in a respectable 12th place in the 1986/87 season and remained in the Football League until Jimmy Glass' intervention in 1999. But 20 years after the Wolves match, the club was no more. The Athletic Ground, or the McCain Stadium as it became, would be demolished in 2011. Some may argue that Wolves fans tried their best to do that back on that fateful August day in 1987.