Boston Town Football Club is celebrating a major milestone this week, with the Mortgages For You Stadium, better known to generations of supporters as Tattershall Road, turning 60 years old.
It was on 21 August 1965 that the ground staged its first competitive fixture, when Boston FC, the forerunners of today’s Boston Town, recorded a 2-0 victory over Cresswell Colliery in the Central Alliance. Goals from Mel Smith and Bob Edwards secured the win in front of a crowd of around 800.
Long-time supporter Pat Rivett, who was present at that first game, remembers the excitement surrounding the new home. “I can remember going to that game and recalling how big the ground was,” he said. “The pitch was the other way round and incorporated a running track for the horse trotting racing. I don’t know how many races took place but it just didn’t take off. All for the better In my opinion, as it made the pitch so far away from the dressing rooms. The stand behind the goal is actually half the size it was, as it ran along the length of the pitch. I think the half they took away was used to help make the seated stand we have today.”
The move to Tattershall Road marked a huge step forward from the club’s debut season in 1964-65, when Boston FC played at the Mayflower ground. Matches there were staged on what Pat described as “an open field,” where spectators could often watch for free if they didn’t buy a programme.
“The changing rooms and showers were fine as they were part of the sports set-up but it was an open field really. There was a rope around the open side on match days but no gate for match fees. Basically if you didn’t want a programme no one could stop you watching the game for free.
“The original dressing rooms were there from day one and so was the clubhouse. I may be wrong but I definitely remember everything being in place that season.”
Despite those early challenges, the club’s first season at Tattershall Road proved unforgettable. Boston FC went the entire league campaign unbeaten, winning 36 matches and drawing four.
“By the time they sold Harry Godbold to Lincoln City in March they had all but won the league by then. I think Lincoln paid FC something like £1,100 for the transfer, which wasn’t bad for non-league in those days.
“It was a pure pleasure watching that first season down Tattershall Road. Forget about Arsenal – FC were the original invincibles.”
The ground itself quickly became central to the club’s identity, boasting new dressing rooms, a clubhouse, and what Pat remembers as “the first and probably only cockle shell car park in the country at that time.”
Sixty years on, Boston Town’s home continues to be a hub for local football, and for those who were there from the very beginning, the memories of that opening season remain as vivid as ever.
Boston Town Football Club’s stadium in 1975. Photo by Bob Lilliman, Groundtastic
Long-term Boston Town supporter, Pat Rivett
