Farewell to much more than Best, Charlton and Shankly

About 2,000 fans are expected to gather to say their goodbyes to the old ground.

Workington rose to and fell out of the Football League there, while Bill Shankly and Keith Birkenshaw cut their managerial teeth in the Borough Park dugout.

And, occasionally, fancy dans from the top flight got to tread the hallowed (or hollowed) turf.

Club historian Steve Durham, 72, first became interested in the Reds in 1963 and has a lifetime worth of experiences here.

"It's very mixed emotions," he says ahead of the final match.

"Obviously, you can take the history and the memories with you but it's been home for so long.

"You do get attached to it in a funny sort of a way."

Reds took on Manchester United at Borough Park in 1958 - and got off to a flyer [Workington AFC]

Like many Reds' supporters, he has been through the gamut of emotions over the decades.

"When I started in the early 60s, we played the Carlisle United match that would draw 18,000 people here - it's difficult to comprehend now."

But there had been an even bigger draw. FA Cup 3rd round, 1958, the Busby Babes of Manchester United just a month before the horror of the Munich Disaster.

Borough Park welcomed 21,000 people that day - roughly the population of the entire town today and a far cry from the 800 average gate reached this season.

It took just five minutes for Clive Colbridge to put the Reds in front, the romance of the cup alive on the cold Irish Sea coast.

That lead lasted until 10 minutes into the second half when a quickfire Dennis Viollet hat-trick saw reality triumph, but what a day.

Bobby Charlton (third from the right) returned to Borough Park for a guest appearance for the Reds [Workington AFC]

"And then there were the dark days after 1977," says Durham.

"We dropped out of the Football League, became non-league, semi-professional, and for nearly three decades we struggled."

Several publicity stunts were pulled to bring some money through the turnstiles in those difficult years.

Bobby Charlton, who had been at Borough Park in the Manchester United team during the famous FA Cup match, returned to guest for Workington in 1978.

As a 40-year-old he played for the Reds in a match against the recently formed Fort Lauderdale Strikers – an American team that attracted stars such as George Best.

The latter also pulled on a Reds shirt in 1986, guesting for the team in a friendly against a Lancashire Football League XI.

At the time crowds coming to watch the game were below 250, but about 3,500 people turned out to watch a football legend.

Steve Durham will miss the old place [BBC]

Durham recalls: "It was a struggle to keep the club going. It's only in the last couple of decades where we've been on the up."

But with men's and women's football attracting ever more interest and support, the facilities at Borough Park could no longer cope with demand.

"Unfortunately, as much as there's so much history here, the building's well past its sell-by date and we need to move on for future generations," Durham admits.

A new stadium will be built to replace of Borough Park and be a shared home for the football club and Workington Town RLFC, as well as housing community facilities.

"The time is right, you know, we've got to make that move."

Borough Park has been the home of Workington AFC since 1937 [BBC]

Saturday's fixture against Leek Town will be a celebration, Durham says, with old players invited to do a lap of honour for the last game here.

"Last week we were under a bit of pressure because we were in danger of getting relegated, but because we won at Warrington, there's no pressure on this game.

"We can relax and say goodbye to Borough Park."

And as the stadium's end nears it has become a magnet for ground hoppers getting a last - and maybe first - look at the old relic.

A 5,000 capacity stadium will replace Borough Park, but not the memories [Cumberland Council]

"We've had three or four groups of Dutch fans that have come across to visit the ground," Durham says.

"And throughout this season we've had people from the length and breadth of the country."

He says Saturday will be emotional for many, with the ground prepped for demolition and Workington's skyline about to change for good.

"From a personal point of view it will be sad to go, but I'm in favour of the move and I think it's got to be done."

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More on this story

• Call for ex-players lap of honour at 1937 stadium's 'grand send off'
• Date set for football stadium demolition

Related internet links

• Workington AFC