The Roar of the Crowd - David Ross

Remember that legendary time when the turnstiles of Scotland's football grounds groaned under the pressure of thousands, when gates were closed before kick-off and fans turned away in their droves? 
No? Just as well. According to the findings of David Ross in this entertaining and informative book on following the football, many of these halcyon days are more myth than memory. Some of the best attendances are NOW! More people watch the live professional game than in glory days of the Sixties.
This is the first comprehensive look at attendances at Scottish football games. From the largest League crowd (118,567 for Rangers vs Celtic, January 1939) to one of the lowest (32 for East Stirling vs Leith Athletic three months later), this book tells the stories behind the figures.
And the phenomenal crowds that watched Scotland at Hampden Park are considered. For over forty years Hampden held the world attendance record and even today every significant crowd record in Europe is held by Scotland's National Stadium.

DID YOU KNOW?
* In the year after World War II, Partick Thistle, Clyde, St Mirren and Third Lanark all sited within 10 miles of each other were among Scotland's best supported clubs.
* In 2004 it would take the worst supported club (East Stirling) TWELVE YEARS to draw as many as the best (Celtic) do in one game.
* More people than ever are watching Scottish football but most are doing so at only two venues Ibrox and Celtic Park are now drawing more spectators than during their supposed heyday in the 1930s50s.

David Ross is a freelance writer and journalist. He runs the scottishleague.net website and is the author of several books on football including The First 100 Years of Hampden (First Press, 2003), Everygame (Kilmarnock FC, 2001) and Simply the Best (Yore, 1995).