Dave Pendleton, former editor of Bradford City fanzine City Gent, recounts the history of Valley Parade as the club prepares to mark its 125th anniversary at the ground

On September 24, when Bradford City play AFC Wimbledon at Valley Parade, the ground will be exactly 125 years old.

Supporters will celebrate with a birthday party in the cafe and museum. There will be a birthday cake, birthday cards and claret and amber balloons.

Valley Parade was built by Bradford City’s predecessors Manningham Rugby Club over the summer of 1886. Manningham’s former ground at Carlisle Road had been compulsory purchased to allow for the construction of Drummond Road School.

The rugby club faced the significant challenge of finding a suitable parcel of land and then constructing a ground, all in the space of a single summer.

Their options were further limited by having to remain in Manningham – where the majority of their support resided – and find a piece of land large enough for a ground in a city that was an economic boom town.

When we understand those factors, we can begin to realise why Manningham Rugby Club built Valley Parade on a steeply sloping site.

Hemmed in by terraced housing, overlooking railway lines and a heavily industrialised landscape, Valley Parade was quite different from the quintessentially English Park Avenue ground of their main rivals Bradford Rugby Club (later Bradford Park Avenue AFC).

Park Avenue was the civic enclosure, beautifully adorned with a gabled stand and the ‘doll’s house’ changing rooms, not to mention the adjacent cricket ground, it was a world away from the smokey, workaday Valley Parade.

However, success came to Valley Parade when Manningham became the first-ever champions of the Rugby League in 1896.

Even greater prizes awaited when Manningham switched from the then declining Rugby League game and became Bradford City AFC in 1903. City won the FA Cup in 1911 and established themselves as one of the top five clubs in the country.

The glory faded after the First World War and by 1922 City had been relegated from the top division.

Valley Parade, which had been rebuilt in 1908 following promotion to the first division, by the 1980s had lost its Edwardian splendour. No-one needs reminding of the events of May 11, 1985 when 56 fans died and hundreds were injured in the fire that destroyed the ageing main stand in a matter of minutes.

The story of Valley Parade could have ended – one year short of the ground’s centenary. Bradford City were playing at a number of grounds while the future of Valley Parade was debated.

Bradford Council made no secret of its desire to see the club playing at a rebuilt Odsal Stadium, but City fans mounted a passionate campaign to return to their spiritual home.

A rebuilt Valley Parade, as a tribute to those whose lives were lost, became an irresistible cause. In 1986, Jack Tordoff oversaw the rebuilding of Valley Parade and, that December, City defeated an England national XI 2-1 in an emotional homecoming.

Since then Valley Parade has been extensively reconstructed into a 25,000-capacity all-seater ground. The club has risen to the heights of the English game and has crashed down to the bottom division in a dramatic decade. Despite that, the supporters still flock up Manningham Lane in large numbers, just as they have for 125 years. For thousands, Valley Parade is their second home, as important to the club’s identity as its unique claret and amber stripes.

The 125th anniversary festivities begin at 1pm, and admission is free.

l The story of the ground, Paraders: The 125-year History Of Valley Parade, written by David Pendleton will be on sale in November. The format will be similar to Glorious 1911, published last year, which told the story of the FA Cup victory and City’s golden era at the top of division one before the First World War.