20 years to the day

By Nathan Jackson
May 11 2005

Today is the 20th anniversary of one of the most tragic incidents in footballing history. May 11th 1985 was a day that was supposed to be remembered for Bradford City lifting the 3rd Division Trophy, however, a fire in one of the main stands claimed 56 lives.

The fire started in the Main Stand during the match. Most stands at ground back in the 80's were made of wood so the fire spread quickly and killed 56 lives including those of Lincoln supporters, Bill Stacey and Jim West. Just prior to this incident, Bradford City captain, and now Huddersfield Town manager, Peter Jackson had lifted the Division 3 Championship after one of the Bantam's most successful seasons in history.

The tragic events of May 11th saw radicial chances in footballing law, the most effective was the banning of stands being made of wood and that in certain stadiums, smoking wouldn't be permitted in the stand except for in an open air situation (i/e outside of the siting area). Lincoln's way of remembering Bill Stacey and Jim West was to named a stand at Sincil Bank after them and all our sympathies go out to the family of those 2 men.