SCUNY, RICKY, HARTLEY, YANKY

23rd August 1958
A few firsts at Scunthorpe's first home League match of the season, a 1-1 Second Division draw with Ipswich Town. It saw Scunny's first ever match in the second tier of the Football League, their first League match as Scunthorpe United (they had previously been Scunthorpe & Lindsay United) and - for those of you interested in ground architecture - it saw the official opening of the first cantilever stand in British football. The cantilever stand - a stand with no roof supports to block the view - was built on the cheap by a local steel company hoping to use it as a showcase for other clubs. It survived until the Old Show Ground staged its last match in May 1988 before the club moved to Glanford Park. The cantilever stand is pictured below during demolition of the old ground which was inevitably replaced by a supermarket.

23rd August 1978 The summer signings by Tottenham of Argentine World Cup stars Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa meant an eagerly-awaited home League debut for the duo. A ticker-tape welcome and 47,892 fans were at White Hart Lane on this day in 1978 to give them that welcome. But visitors Aston Villa hadn’t read the script – Villa (the Aston Villa variety) beat newly-promoted Spurs 4-1.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=783429383271926  NICE VIDEO.

23rd August 1986 Hartlepool United’s Victoria ground hosted two League matches on this day in 1986. In the afternoon Hartlepool entertained Cardiff in a Division 4 match (1-1 draw, attendance 2800) while in the evening neighbours Middlesbrough – whose own Ayresome Park ground had been closed by the Official Receiver because of serious club debts – borrowed the Victoria ground for their Division 3 match against Port Vale (2-2 draw, attendance 3690).

23rd August 2015 The Major League Soccer meeting of LA  Galaxy and New York City was hyped up as the 'British Invasion', the first meeting of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the MLS. But as is often the case reality didn't match the hype - Gerrard played but Lampard didn't with Robbie Keane scoring twice in Galaxy's 5-1 thumping of NYC.