Millmoor, the home of Rotherham football from 1907 to 2008, firstly Rotherham County until 1925 then the amalgamation of County & Town into Rotherham United FC was & still is a special place in the hearts & minds of Millers’ fans of a certain age.

Salubrious it was not, in fact, it was a neglected mess of a mismatch of different sizes & shaped stands but as with other old traditional Football Stadia, it had a magic that modern sanitised all seated bowls, that are the norm these days, fail to recapture.

Tivoli End

The kop end if you will behind one goal housed 2700 fans in its standing heyday & generated a wall of noisy support for the Millers when full.

Railway End

Covered cavernous away end behind the other goal that housed around 2500 travelling fans when standing was allowed.

Millmoor Lane

A mixture of open terrace & two covered seated mini stands which ran the length of the pitch opposite the main stand, a unique feature that gave Millmoor much of its character, reminiscent of Oxford’s Manor Ground.

Main Stand

Originally a mixture of seating & standing below but was first made all-seater after Hillsborough in 1990, then in the early 2000s the then board knocked the stand down & started to build a new one before they ran out of money. This half-built stand became an unwanted feature of the club’s final few seasons at Millmoor.

Personal Memories

Easter Monday 1971 was my first experience of the Millers & their home.

My Auntie, already a dyed in the wool Millers fan offered to take me to the match v Wrexham as an Easter treat. I remember not being all that keen as my first allegiance at that time (9 yrs old) was to Don Revie’s all-conquering Leeds side but I agreed to go.

Experiencing live football, the crowd noise & the atmosphere the small 4500 crowd generated transfixed me. The game finished 1-1 but I was hooked & became a lifelong Millers fan from that day.

There were many highs & lows, promotions & relegations along the way but my love for my club has never waivered & the “old girl” as I call her still stands proud to this day mainly hosting junior football, vegetation sprouting from the terraces visible around 300 yards from our current New York Stadium home.

Stand out games:

1978/79 Millers 3 Arsenal 1

The 3rd division Millers outplayed a Gunners team packed full of superstars in a never to be forgotten August Tuesday. Terry Neill’s Gunners included the likes of Pat Jennings, Liam Brady, Frank Stapleton, David O’Leary & Malcolm McDonald but after Stapleton gave them an early lead the Millers roared back with goals from Richard Finney, John Green & Dave Gwyther on an unforgettable night. Only 10500 in the ground that night but it sounded like 30000.

1980/81 Millers 2 Plymouth Argyle 1

With promotion guaranteed with victory at Carlisle a fortnight before Millers fans were already in party mood ahead of this game where victory would see the team crowned 3rd Division Champions. It wasn’t a good game as nerves were getting to them but Ronnie Moore & a late Rod Fern goals got the job done to ignite celebrations that lasted well into the night.

1981/82 Millers 6 Chelsea 0

This isn’t a typo, it actually happened.

Following the previous season’s promotion player-manager Emlyn Hughes & his Millers side were starting to struggle coming into this daunting fixture with the Kings Road superstars but home fans needn’t have worried as the Millers blew the Londoners away with a hat-trick by the Late Rod Fern, two Ronnie Moore goals & a strike by club legend John Breckin.

P.S We beat them 4-1 at Stamford Bridge in the same season.

words Ian Bradley, D3D4 writer