9 October 1961 - Planes, Trains, And Automobiles

On 9 October 1961, Gillingham made a tremendous effort to reach Barrow for a league match and, for their troubles, left with a 7-0 loss.

The day started badly enough for Gillingham when their train to Barrow missed its connection in London. In an attempt to make it to the match on time, they chartered a plane to Blackpool, then took a set of cabs to Barrow's ground. When they finally arrived, it was well past the scheduled starting time, but the match went ahead.

Due to the late start, and because Barrow did not have floodlights, darkness soon became an issue, forcing the referee to halt the match in the 76th minute. By that time, Gillingham were already down 7-0. Given the scoreline and the fact that the delay had been caused by Gillingham, the Football League allowed the result to stand. It was just one goal short of their record defeat, an 8-0 loss to Luton in 1929.

31 December 1924 - Barrow Carries The Day(s)

On 31 December 1924, Gillingham and Barrow met for the fifth time in three weeks to resolve their FA Cup sixth round qualification match-up, with Barrow finally edging a win, 2-1.

The teams, both from Division Three, first met in that season's tournament on 13 December, playing to a scoreless draw in Gillingham. Five days later, they met for a replay at Barrow and again drew, this time 1-1 after extra time thanks in part to a penalty converted by Barrow's Harold Kay. On 22 December, they met at a neutral site and again finished 1-1 after extra time. Another Kay penalty ensured that the fourth meeting, played on 30 December at a neutral site, also ended 1-1, to set up a fifth meeting the next day.

Although the attendances had declined from the first match (9,000) to the fourth (2,325), a crowd of 4,242 showed up to watch the fifth meeting, which, like the previous two, was played at a neutral ground. There, Barrow finally secured the 2-1 victory with goals from Fred Laycock and Jim Carrick. In all, the teams had played a total of almost nine and a half hours.

Barrow's reward was a first round match-up against Division Two side Blackpool. They played to a scoreless draw at home, then fell to Blackpool 0-2 in the replay.

9 October 1961 - Planes, Trains, And Automobiles

On 9 October 1961, Gillingham made a tremendous effort to reach Barrow for a league match and, for their troubles, left with a 7-0 loss.

The day started badly enough for Gillingham when their train to Barrow missed its connection in London. In an attempt to make it to the match on time, they chartered a plane to Blackpool, then took a set of cabs to Barrow's ground. When they finally arrived, it was well past the scheduled starting time, but the match went ahead.

Due to the late start, and because Barrow did not have floodlights, darkness soon became an issue, forcing the referee to halt the match in the 76th minute. By that time, Gillingham were already down 7-0. Given the scoreline and the fact that the delay had been caused by Gillingham, the Football League allowed the result to stand. It was just one goal short of their record defeat, an 8-0 loss to Luton in 1929.

31 December 1924 - Barrow Carries The Day(s)

On 31 December 1924, Gillingham and Barrow met for the fifth time in three weeks to resolve their FA Cup sixth round qualification match-up, with Barrow finally edging a win, 2-1.

The teams, both from Division Three, first met in that season's tournament on 13 December, playing to a scoreless draw in Gillingham. Five days later, they met for a replay at Barrow and again drew, this time 1-1 after extra time thanks in part to a penalty converted by Barrow's Harold Kay. On 22 December, they met at a neutral site and again finished 1-1 after extra time. Another Kay penalty ensured that the fourth meeting, played on 30 December at a neutral site, also ended 1-1, to set up a fifth meeting the next day.

Although the attendances had declined from the first match (9,000) to the fourth (2,325), a crowd of 4,242 showed up to watch the fifth meeting, which, like the previous two, was played at a neutral ground. There, Barrow finally secured the 2-1 victory with goals from Fred Laycock and Jim Carrick. In all, the teams had played a total of almost nine and a half hours.

Barrow's reward was a first round match-up against Division Two side Blackpool. They played to a scoreless draw at home, then fell to Blackpool 0-2 in the replay.