One of Blackburn Rovers' longest-serving ticket holders has joked about watching his beloved club in the afterlife, when the time comes.
David Fitzpatrick, 80, is featured in a special celebration by Blackburn with Darwen Council as Rovers mark their 150th anniversary.
It is also 30 years since Rovers won the Premier League, becoming the only small-town club to win the top division since Ipswich in 1962.
David Fitzpatrick has been following Blackburn Rovers for more than six decades, attending his first match back in the 1950s.
And, when his grandson Lowen was born the first thing he bought him was his own season ticket.
He said: “There were crowds of more than 40,000 when I first started watching Rovers. My grandad had supported Rovers, my dad too – it’s in our DNA.
“I was only a lad when I first went to Ewood Park. Back in those days, juniors would be passed down the crowd to a little form by the pitch – no thought for health and safety then.
“We’d take our blue and white rattles and watch from the sidelines – the players like giants to us.”
David said supporting Rovers is just like life, where you have 'ups and downs' but you ‘stick at it, no matter what’.
When the club was formed on November 5, 1875, the team played in green and white quartered shirts and then changed to the beloved blue and white halves.
David said: “While the first game I watched was at Ewood Park, when I was at college at St Mary’s, I used to play football on the very same pitches where it all started – up on Oozehead Lane.”
The history books recount how Blackburn Rovers’ first ground was off Preston New Road. One of the ‘features’ of the pitch being a cow pit – or watering hole – close to the centre circle.
David said:. “When I first started going to watch, there’d be brass bands at half-time,
“When we’d play Everton, there’d be a ‘Toffee Lady’ dressed all in blue with a basket, throwing Everton Toffee into the crowds. It was brilliant.”
“I was there, at the game at Liverpool with my son Ciaron.
“We were losing the game and were all glued to a radio that someone had in the crowd, waiting for the Manchester United result to come in.
“When it did, the whole place erupted – even the Liverpool fans celebrated with us.
“I was sat close to Jack Walker at the time, and I remember looking over and he had tears in his eyes – he was absolutely overcome. What a fabulous day that was.”
He added: “I used to say to my boys that we were watching a legend in our own time when watching Shearer.
“It’s hard to pinpoint a favourite player, though. I was lucky to watch the likes of Bryan Douglas and Ronnie Clayton, who have stands named after them.
“And, while he’s not a player, my all-time favourite Rover must be Jack Walker.
“He was a true supporter, he grew the club, and without him, we wouldn’t have won the Premier League.”
In a poignant tribute to Jack when he died, the club said: “Jack Walker – the club’s number one supporter in every possible sense.
“His love for Rovers knew no boundaries, and his loyalty and commitment could never be brought into question.
“Jack’s vision that the academy was the way forward, that it would bring players on, was spot on.”
David says the academy has been a major legacy for the club pointing to brothers Scott and Adam Wharton as great examples of its success.
He said: “I watch all of the Crystal Palace games, and Adam is class – he has time on the ball, his passes are perfect, and he is a beacon in the middle of the park.”
David has travelled up and down the country following his beloved Blackburn Rovers.
He was at Wembley in 1987 when Rovers beat Charlton Athletic to win the Full Members’ Cup – Colin Hendry, another club legend scoring the winner. And he was in Cardiff with his sons Ciaron and Thomas when Rovers won the League Cup in 2002.
“Twice I’ve been on a bus that’s been hit by missiles thrown by Burnley fans.
“Football is in my blood, and Blackburn Rovers is too, it’s true that it’s part of the fabric of our community – a proud part – and one I’ve enjoyed sharing with my own children.”
“I just hope that there’s a good life after here, and when the time comes, I can continue watching from above!”
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery will host a free exhibition celebrating the club’s history from April 5 to June 14.
Steve Waggott, chief executive of Blackburn Rovers Football Club, said: “We are all so looking forward to celebrating 150 years of the club – our proud history, our achievements and the pride of our town.
“Our club is very much built on people like David and his little grandson Lowen. Their loyalty and the loyalty of all our fans is the very foundation of Blackburn Rovers.
“And the motto on our badge is as relevant today as it was back in 1875 – Arte et Labore – by skill and hard work. Long may that continue.”
Share