11:32am Wednesday 10th March 2010
FOOTBALL fans at the Reebok Stadium yesterday stopped to mark the 64th anniversary of one of the sports biggest tragedies.
On March 9, 1946, 33 people were crushed to death in the crowd at a Wanderers home match at the club’s former Burnden Park home.
The site of the ground is now an Asda supermarket, but then 85,000 people had crammed into the terraces to watch the FA Cup tie against Stoke.
Many had wanted to see Stoke star Stanley Matthews and had even climbed over walls to get into the ground when the turnstiles were shut.
The overcrowding at the Embankment end forced the barriers to collapse and bodies fell on top of each other and on to the pitch, suffocating many fans.
The dead and injured were laid out on the pitch as players were ushered back to their dressing room, but the scale of the disaster was not realised at the time and officials, fearing trouble if the game was abandoned, resumed the match.
It ended 0-0.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/trade_directory/