Steve Smith: A look back at Bristol football in September 1939
Both Bristol clubs, like the majority of sides nationwide, had already played three league matches by the time all spectator events were halted a few days later.
The 1939-40 season kicked off on Saturday, August 26. Bristol City, who finished eighth in Division Three South the season before, travelled to Aldershot and emulated the previous season's result at the Recreation Ground by winning 1-0 in front of a 6,000-strong crowd. John Turner was the scorer, and it was to be his only goal for the club.
Making their City debuts that afternoon were Frank Curran, a prolific goal scorer with Accrington Stanley and neighbours Bristol Rovers, as well as Jack Vidler, a veteran of more than 240 matches for Plymouth Argyle with 95 goals to his name.
Bristol Rovers, on the other hand, were just glad to still be in the Football League, having finished bottom of Division Three South the season before. It was the only time Rovers finished bottom, and meant they had to go through the re-election process.
With 45 votes, they survived to fight another campaign, along with fellow strugglers Walsall (36 votes).
Reading came to Eastville on the opening day and a crowd of around 10,000 witnessed a thrilling start to the season.
After Ray Warren had brought the home side level at 1-1 with a rasping free-kick from halfway inside the opposition's half, Rovers went ahead when Jimmy Watson, back at the club for a second spell following a four-figure moved from Notts County, headed in a second goal for the Pirates.
But the Royals scored an equaliser to ensure a share of the points.
Both Bristol clubs played midweek matches on August 30, with City going down 2-1 at home to Norwich City in front of 11,544 fans packed into Ashton Gate, while Rovers suffered a 2-0 defeat in Suffolk at the hands of Ipswich Town with 8,844 in attendance.
This sets the scene for that first September Saturday of the season.
On Friday, September 1, there had begun a large exodus of children leaving London, which is where Rovers were headed to face Crystal Palace.
Naturally, national attendances were down – 380,000 fans went to games on the second weekend of the season, compared to the opening day's 600,000.
Several games in the capital kicked off in late afternoon as many outbound roads were now one-way. Rovers though went ahead with the traditional 3pm start, but by around 4.45pm they had suffered their second defeat of the season under manager Brough Fletcher as the Eagles won 3-0 to erase memories of their 5-0 midweek defeat by Reading. As for City, another home match produced goals for Bob Hewison's boys, but no home win as Brighton surrendered a 3-0 lead at Ashton Gate to eventually share the points in a 3-3 draw.
The table that Saturday, a day before the declaration of war, saw Reading and Exeter undefeated at the top. City were ninth, with three points, and Rovers were among a group of four clubs at the foot of the table with one point.
Elsewhere the goals had been flying in; Bournemouth were annihilating a sorry Northampton 10-0 at Dean Court in the same division, while Notts County won 4-2 at Cardiff City.
Meanwhile, at St James' Park, Newcastle were thumping Swansea 8-1 in Division Two as late arrivals Tottenham wasted no time in winning 4-3 at West Bromwich Albion.
The 5pm kick-off for Arsenal in Division One did not hamper the Gunners' goal-scoring sensation Ted Drake, who helped himself to four goals in a 5-1 win over Sunderland.
Defending league champions Everton were held 2-2 at Blackburn Rovers, but FA Cup holders Portsmouth went down 2-1 at Bolton.
Only two clubs could boast maximum points; Blackpool topped Division One on six points, and Accrington Stanley had the same tally in Division Three North. Only Stockport County in the same section had no points.
With Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war, the entire Football League was closed down and the records expunged for the first and only time in its history.
It was not until September 14 that friendly matches were allowed to go ahead, but in the interests of public safety, the attendances would be limited to around 8,000 or half the ground's capacity, with games commencing on a regional basis in late October 1939 and throughout the conflict.
Comment on this story