Hard to believe that 46 years ago the South Stand at Eastville burnt down following our first league fixture on 16th August.
The game, against Orient, finished all square at 1-1 and both goals arrived very early on. David Williams gave Rovers the lead on 14 minutes but the lead was cancelled out just two minutes later when John Chiedozie netted for the visitors.
The attendance was 5,831 and Eastville would never look the same again, as fire ravaged the South Stand less than 24 hours later..
It was thought that the fire started at around 2.00pm on Sunday 17th August and the alarm was raised by Clarke Osborne General Manager of Bristol Stadium Ltd which owned Eastville.
He said; ‘I was in the office when my Afghan Hound started crying. I think he must have sensed something. I couldn’t see or smell anything and I walked back to my office.
‘Then the lights started dimming and I saw some smoke. I opened the door and there was thick black smoke coming from one of the offices. I tried to tackle the fire with an extinguisher but it was no good, as the smoke was overpowering.’
Over 50 firemen took two hours to control the blaze and the heat was so intense that it melted the golden boot award awarded to the club’s youth team during a summer tour to Holland.
Following the fire Rovers played three league games and two League Cup ties across Bristol at Ashton Gate, home of Bristol City.
It was, though, a bleak season for the club as they finished in 22nd place in Division Two and were relegated to the Third Division having gained just 23 points from their 42 league games.
In fact, it was a double Bristol relegation as City finished one place and seven points better off.
