The Vetch Field was the home ground of Swansea City from 1912 till 2005 and it was hardly a surprise that Swansea moved to the Libery Stadium rather than develop the Vetch Field. It was that enclosed that at one point at least two neighbouring houses gardens actually overlooked the pitch, and we mean that literally, legend has it one home owner actually used to prop a ladder against his garden wall to watch the game !!
Bizarrely it must also be the only football ground named after a cabbage, that vegetable being what was grown on the land before the football club moved in. Another apparent strange “fact” about the ground is that the surface was originally made of concrete for the first season of football there.
Below is a picture of the ground (taken from a 1970s Football review magazine) showing how the ground looked like … without concrete pitch, cabbages or blokes on ladders !!
The text on the picture reads as follows;
“Swansea Citys Vetch Field ground has atop limit set at 34,444 spectators with seating for 3,831. The record gate was 32,796 for a fourth round FA Cup tie against Arsenal in February 1968. The playing surface measures 110 yards by 70 yards. Inset: City manager Harry Gregg.”
The picture above is available for sale (along with loads more Swansea football memorabilia) on our main site Footybits, a link to which is at the top of this page.