Wilderspool Stadium, former home of Warrington Wolves, 66 facts

1898 (September 3): The first game to take place at Wilderspool Stadium. Warrington draw 3-3 with Swinton.

Wilderspool Stadium in the 1890s. You can even see the sheep on the pitch (Image: Contributed)

1900 (March 24): Wing legend Jack Fish becomes the first Warrington player to score five tries in a match as the team thrash Goole 44-0 at Wilderspool in the second round of the Challenge Cup. Fish also kicks seven goals for a match haul of 29 points.

1901 (September 7): Wattie Davies, Batley’s Welsh winger, jumps into the crowd and punches Warrington supporter William Brown, giving him a black eye. Davies had been sent off for fighting. He later appears at Warrington County Borough Police Court and apologises.

1906 (September 8): On the back of a decision to reduce Northern Union teams from 15-a-side to 13-a-side, Wilderspool stages its first 13-a-side game. Wire beat Hull 33-7.

1907 (December 21): The New Zealand ‘All Golds’ become the first touring side to play at the home of The Wire. Warrington win 8-7 in front of an 8,000 crowd.

1908 (November 14): The first Australian touring team pay their first visit to Wilderspool. Warrington win 10-3.

1909 (April 12): Warrington achieve a then club record victory by thrashing St Helens 78-6 at Wilderspool. Welsh forward George Thomas scores 33 points (five tries, nine goals), also a club record at the time.

1911 (September 2): The first stage of the main stand is opened by the club president Mr T Locker before Warrington’s 16-10 victory over Leigh.

1914 (January 17): Warrington’s first-team players who are on strike over the non-payment of a £1 bonus, address the 4,000 strong Wilderspool crowd after an A team game to explain their grievances.

1921 (March 2): More than 21,000 fans pack into Wilderspool to see the Challenge Cup first round replay against Hull. Warrington win 16-5. This is believed to be the first 20,000-plus crowd at Wilderspool.

1926: Wilderspool stages its first Lancashire Cup Final as St Helens beat St Helens Recreation 10-2. Attendance is 19,439.

1927: Wilderspool hosts its first Championship Final as 24,432 fans see Swinton defeat St Helens Recreation 13-8.

1929 (September 26): Wilderspool holds a record crowd for a Lancashire game as 24,000 see the county side lose 29-14 to Australia.

1929 (December 21): Tommy “Tubby” Thompson scores all 17 points (three tries and four goals) as Warrington beat Australia 17-8 in front of 12,826 fans.

1932 (January 2): The Wire versus Halifax at Wilderspool is the first league match to be broadcast on radio. Warrington lose 2-0.

1933 (April 6): Winger Tommy ‘Tubby’ Thompson becomes the first Warrington player to score six tries in a match as The Wire beat Bradford Northern 38-12 at Wilderspool.

A huge crowd at Wilderspool Stadium (Image: Stock)

1934 (January 13): The new changing rooms under the main stand are opened by the club president and mayor of Warrington, Councillor A Crowe, before the 16-8 victory over Hull.

1940 (September 14): While Warrington are playing Broughton Rangers at Wilderspool a German aircraft bombs the Thames Board Mills factory at Arpley Meadows.

1941-45: Wilderspool is commandeered by the military and the main stand is used as a store room.

1945 (November 17): Brian Bevan makes his Warrington debut as The Wire beat Oldham 12-3 at Wilderspool. ‘Bev’ fails to score.

Brian Bevan flies in at the corner for Warrington (Image: Newsquest)

1947 (February 1): Visit of Wigan generates then record receipts for a league game at Wilderspool, £2,143 10s 3d, after 26,127 fans pay at the turnstiles and approximately 2,000 season ticket holders also attend.

1947 (May 16): Wilderspool stages its first boxing show, featuring five bouts. The main event is the welterweight contest between Warrington’s Alf Taylor and Dave Edwards of Liverpool.

1947 (September 3): For the first time, more than 30,000 fans watch Warrington at Wilderspool as 30,150 see the Lancashire Cup first round tie against Wigan, who win 15-10.

1948 (March 13): Warrington’s first all-ticket home game sees 30,000 fans pay new ground record receipts of £4,145 to watch the Challenge Cup third round tie against Wigan.

1948 (March 29, Easter Monday): Brian Bevan scores a club record seven tries in a match as Warrington beat Leigh 28-8 at Wilderspool in front of a 20,000 crowd.

1949 (October 29): All 35,000 tickets for the Lancashire Cup Final between Wigan and Leigh at Wilderspool are sold but only 33,701 turn up on the day, so the record crowd of 34,304 set nine months earlier when The Wire lost at home to Wigan in the league still stands.

1950 (January): More than 6,000 spectators turn up to see the Canadian Olympic sprinter Ted Haggis make his debut on the left wing for Warrington against a Lancashire Amateurs side.

1950 (September 13): Harold Palin kicks a then club record 14 goals in a game as Warrington destroy Liverpool Stanley 73-0 in the first round of the Lancashire Cup at Wilderspool.

Harold Palin (Image: Stock)

1951 (December 1): Laurie Gilfedder becomes Warrington’s youngest player when he makes his debut against Belle Vue Rangers, aged 16 years and six months. His record is beaten four years later when Jackie Edwards makes his debut, aged 16 years and two months.

Jackie Edwards touching down for Warrington (Image: Contributed)

1953 (April 22): Brian Bevan equals his own club record by scoring seven tries in a match against Bramley at Wilderspool. Bevan’s seventh try takes his total for the season to 66, another record.

Transformation of the Popular Side, before the arrival of the Wilderspool Leisure Centre (Image: Stock)

Transformation of the Popular Side, before the arrival of the Wilderspool Leisure Centre (Image: Warrington Museum)

Transformation of the Popular Side, before the arrival of the Wilderspool Leisure Centre (Image: Warrington Museum)

The main stand before it was extended, prior to the arrival of the Brian Bevan Memorial Stand (Image: Stock)

The main stand after it was extended, prior to the arrival of the Brian Bevan Memorial Stand (Image: Newsquest)

Transformation of the Fletcher Street End, which can be seen here smaller in size and without its roof (Image: Newsquest)

Transformation of the Fletcher Street End, the roof is taking shape (Image: Warrington Museum)

Transformation of the Fletcher Street End, the roof is taking shape (Image: Warrington Museum)

Transformation of the Fletcher Street End, the roof is taking shape and the depth of the extension can be seen (Image: Warrington Museum)

The Fletcher Street End in the 1970s (Image: Newsquest)

Transformation of the Railway End (Image: Warrington Museum)

Transformation of the Railway End (Image: Newsquest)

Transformation of the Railway End (Image: Stock)

1955 (March 12): Brian Bevan scores the 500th try of his career as Warrington beat Workington Town 35-9 at Wilderspool.

Brian Bevan's 500th try for Warrington (Image: Newsquest)

1957 (November 16): Brian Bevan scores the 600th try of his career as Warrington defeat Bramley 29-17 at Wilderspool.

1959 (November 28): Brian Bevan scores the 700th try of his career as Warrington beat Blackpool Borough 30-12 at Wilderspool.

1962 (April 23): A crowd of 16,578 pack into Wilderspool to see Brian Bevan, made captain for the day, play his final game for Warrington.

Brian Bevan departs the Wilderspool field after his final game for Warrington (Image: Newsquest)

1963 (April 13): The last 0-0 draw at Wilderspool, Workington Town are the visitors.

1965 (January 30): Wilderspool observes two minutes’ silence for Sir Winston Churchill, who had died six days earlier aged 90.

1965 (September 28): Wilderspool’s first floodlights are officially switched on by Mr John Whitley, managing director of Greenall Whitley. To mark the occasion, Warrington play Wigan in a floodlit friendly and produce one of their best displays of the season to win 9-5.

Wilderspool Stadium's main stand with its floodlights (Image: Newsquest)

1970 (November 29): Wilderspool is the venue for one of Warrington’s most humiliating defeats, 50-0 at the hands of Salford. The Red Devils led 29-0 at half-time and went on to cross for 12 tries.

1972 (November): The £300,000 new Wilderspool Centre is officially opened. Complete with concert hall, bars, sauna and squash courts, patrons are also invited to dance to Eric Pepp, the resident organist. Life membership costs £105.

The Wilderspool Centre in the process of being built (Image: Newsquest)

John Bevan chasing a kick, with the Wilderspool Centre behind him (Image: Newsquest)

1973 (September 23): Former Cardiff, Wales, Barbarians and British Lions rugby union winger John Bevan makes a try-scoring debut for Warrington against Castleford at Wilderspool.

1973 (December 1): Wilderspool stages its one and only Great Britain v Australia Test match.

Warrington's own Bobby Fulton, playing for Australia against Great Britain at Wilderspool Stadium in 1973 (Image: Newsquest)

1974 (March 3): Scrum-half Parry Gordon scores five tries in a match as Warrington defeat Dewsbury, then one of the top teams in the country, 26-10 at Wilderspool.

> READ MORE WILDERSPOOL: The last league game played at Wire's old home

1978 (October 11): The Wire beat Australia 15-12 at a packed-house Wilderspool Stadium.

1982 (April 29): The main stand is burnt to the ground within the space of 20 minutes at lunch time.

The day the Wilderspool Stadium main stand burnt down (Image: Newsquest)

1982 (December 12): Bob Eccles scores five tries against Blackpool Borough.

The Brian Bevan Memorial Stand on its way (Image: Newsquest)

1983 (February 6): The new main stand, called the Brian Bevan Memorial Stand, is officially opened prior to Warrington’s 18-16 defeat of Hull.

Opening day for the Brian Bevan Memorial Stand (Image: Newsquest)

1984 (November 25): Quick thinking by the medical staff saves the life of 17-year-old scrum-half Paul Bishop after he had swallowed his tongue in a physical (but fair) tackle.

1985 (January 6): John Bevan scores his 200th try for Warrington in the gathering gloom against Hunslet.

1988 (January 1): In the New Year’s Day ‘derby’ against Wigan, ‘World War Three’ erupts after four players are sent off and one sin binned during the opening 20 minutes.

Warrington Wolves v Wigan, New Year's Day 1988, 'World War III' erupts (Image: Newsquest)

1989 (October 10): The Wire outplay recently crowned World Club Champions Widnes 28-6 in the semi-finals of the Lancashire Cup in front of a 10,240 crowd at Wilderspool.

1992 (October 13): Wilderspool’s smallest first-team crowd – 1,412 – watch Warrington beat Blackpool Gladiators 32-8 in the Regal Trophy preliminary round.

1993 (March 28): A minute’s silence is observed before the league match against St Helens in memory of two young boys, Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry, who were killed when an IRA bomb exploded in the town centre eight days earlier.

1993 (August 29): Brian Bevan statue unveiled on the Wilderspool Causeway roundabout.

1993 (October 18): Wilderspool’s floodlights fail during the match against Halifax, leaving the ground in darkness for 24 minutes. When the problem is fixed, Jonathan Davies is the matchwinner with a try, two penalty goals and a drop goal. The match finishes at 10.04pm and Warrington win 15-7.

1994 (January 2): All roads lead to Wilderspool for a titanic ‘derby’ with Wigan. The gates are locked with 11,379 spectators inside the ground and 2,000 more frustrated fans outside. Wigan win a match that ends in heartbreak and controversy 8-6.

1995 (October 8): Wilderspool’s biggest ‘gate’ of the season sees a thrilling Centenary World Cup game – New Zealand versus Tonga.

Wilderspool Stadium from the air (Image: Stock)

1997 (March 21): John Duffy becomes Warrington’s youngest player of the Super League era when he makes his debut against London Broncos, aged 16 years and eight months, at Wilderspool.

1997 (March 31): The Wire, under caretaker coach Paul Cullen, beat Wigan at Wilderspool for the first time since 1986 thanks to a wonderful team effort and a hat-trick of tries from Nigel Vagana.

1998 (September 6): Warrington beat Huddersfield 36-8 in the Wilderspool Centenary match.

David Highton looks for a way through the Huddersfield defence (Image: Newsquest)

2000 (February 27): Lee Briers scores 40 points (three tries and 14 goals) in an 84-1 victory against York – the record for a match at Wilderspool. Gary Chambers scores two of the 14 tries.

Lee Briers during the 2000 campaign, supported by Jon Roper (Image: Newsquest)

2000 (July 23): More than 200 supporters stage a sit-down protest on the pitch after Warrington throw away a 20-0 lead against bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield and Sheffield Giants to lose 44-24.

2003 (September 21): There is not a dry eye in the house as the last first-team league game at Wilderspool is played out. Wolves beat Wakefield 52-12 in front of a sell-out 9,261 crowd.

The Wire crowd is packed in for the last first-team game at Wilderspool Stadium (Image: Newsquest)

2003 (October 26): Warrington Pipe Band play ‘Auld Lang Syne’ after Warrington beat New Zealand ‘A’ 28-26 in the last first-team game at Wilderspool. Jamie Durbin scored the last try.

2004 (January 4): Mark Hilton’s Testimonial game is played at Wilderspool, the pre-season friendly ending 34-16 against Leigh Centurions.

Warrington Wolves v Leigh Centurions pre-season friendly at Wilderspool in January 2004 (Image: Newsquest)

2004 (February 1): With The Halliwell Jones Stadium not ready to host a crowd, Wilderspool stages its last Wire pre-season friendly against Salford City Reds.

2014 (May 15): The final game at the ground sees Gary Chambers’ Wolves Under 16s defeat Cumbria Regional Academy 46-16. Future Love Island television reality show contestant Jacques O'Neill was on the bench for Cumbria, while The Wire’s Ryan Johnston scored the last try on the ground.

Ryan Johnston goes over for the last try scored at Wilderspool Stadium (Image: Newsquest)

2014 (October): Bulldozers move in to demolish Wilderspool Stadium, 116 years after staging its first game.

Wilderspool Stadium being demolished in 2014 (Image: Newsquest)

Facts and figures courtesy of Gary Slater, Stanski, Mike Parsons