The year 1975 saw a Bob Paisley inspired Liverpool F.C. lift the English First Division title (now Premier League) while here in Ireland, Dublin side Bohemians F.C. lifted the League of Ireland crown. And in Derry, May 1975 was about to see the beginning of a local football tournament that began as an idea, became an institution and remains a legend to this day: The ever popular 'Bull Park Sevens'. The 'Bull Park' was a competition which thrived on the circumstance of the times into which it was born and proved extremely popular with the local football enthusiasts. The very large crowds - indeed there were huge crowds at times - who supported this tournament for 10 weeks annually from the last week in May to the final which was always held on the last Thursday in July to coincide with the start of the Derry holiday fortnight, was a testament to its popularity with so many fantastic players, teams, games and above all else goals. No need for offside or VAR in this competition! Today, on the 50th anniversary weekend of the commencement of the first Bull Park Sevens, and for the next four weeks, we will take a look back at the halcyon days of a Derry football institution, remembering the games, the goals and, of course, the personalities - many no longer with us - who contributed to the competition's success. The tournament was the brainchild of its main organiser, Eamonn (Goile) Doherty who was ably assisted by a small band of loyal volunteers; men like the late Sammy Brown, Gerry Hegarty, Charlie Hegarty, Peter O'Hagan (Derry's best fundraiser!) and Jobby Crossan. Others lent a hand too, men like Gerry Stewart, Eddie O'Brien, Patsy Reddin and one John 'Ugg' Clifford who was Bull Park caretaker at the time. Revered Fr. Michael Canny also came on board for the final few years of the competition. Often for something to be successful several different factors have to come together at the same time and certainly that would appear to be the case with 'The Bull' as it was affectionately known. The city and district with its plethora of excellent junior sides, many boasting top senior footballers, and the intense local rivalries all added to the drama and entertainment. The context of the times also played a pivotal role. Only three short years earlier Derry City had been banished from the Irish League and in effect, from senior soccer which almost by default saw 'The Bull' become the Blue Riband football competition for the junior and senior footballers in the city and its hinterlands. The city was still stuck in a cycle of violence following Bloody Sunday in 1972 so 'The Bull' provided the people of the Bogside and surrounding areas a safe social gathering space when so little else seemed as if it was being promoted and provided for the people of the area. Finally, and importantly was the substantial prizemoney on offer which attracted some of the biggest names in the local game. Eamon Doherty takes up the story of how it all began.... "Although the competition didn't start until 1975, an enquiry was made in 1974 to have a 7-a-side competition in Bull Park. Approval was actually granted by the park superintendent, but only on the understanding that no person was to make money from it. The intention was football only, but it was eventually decided that should any money be left over after prizegiving and expenses that it would be donated to a local charity." Such was its success that a charity received a donation every year of the competition and some of those to benefit will be highlighted as we reminisce. The football competition itself was a knockout format, comprising of 32 teams with the games always played on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights.The entry fee back in 1975 was £3 per team and the prizemoney was £112. As the competition grew in prestige, however, so too did the prizemoney, eventually rising to £1,000 most years, but in 1980, kindly sponsored by local Bookmaker Hugo Toner, the prizemoney was a massive £2,000, a huge figure for the day and equivalent to almost £12,000 today. The winning team also received the Jim Doherty Memorial Cup. Jim, originally from the Westland area, would have spent many days in the 'Bull' in his younger days. He was tragically killed in 1974 while working in a factory in England, so it was very appropriate for the trophy to be named after him. The competition had its own set of rules. The pitch was ideal for seven a-side, smaller than a grass pitch, but most importantly there was no offside. A goal could only be scored when inside the opponents half of the pitch and playing time was 30 minutes each way. The remainder of the rules were the same as association football. The competition ran from 1975 to 1992, although for the last few years it felt like it had run its course when in 1992 teams entered without a fee yet the winning side still received a cheque for £500, provided by one generous benefactor. At this point it would be remiss not to highlight the sterling work of the competition's resident referees down through the years. Many of the tournament's officials have since passed but we fondly remember men like Matt Morrison, Charlie McDermott, Jimmy McFadden, Gerry Deeny, Sean Rodgers, Jackie McCauley and Francie McFadden, without whose loyalty and commitment the football could not have taken place. We should also mention the ball boys; John Doherty, John O'Hagan, the late Peter O'Hagan and Noel Brown who had the unenviable task of retrieving stray balls that may have ended up in the old desolate slaughterhouse in the 'little Diamond' area. Also many thanks to local bookmaker Willie Duffy who kindly sponsored the trophies on an annual basis, and local councillor John Tierney who also ensured that the council would be of assistance if the need arose. And how can we forget characters like the half-time 'penalty king', local Bogside lad Sean McGowan who revelled in the crowd's participation of his kicks and Celtic Swifts fanatic 'Conker' McGinley who greeted every Swifts goal with his customary jig, entering the pitch and gesturing to the crowds standing at the Marlborough Terrace railings, such incidents all adding to the fun and craic of it all. Today, we begin our look back with the first year of the competition - 1975 - and how it unfolded, and over the next three weeks we will look collectively at periods within the timespan 1976 to 1992. The inaugural Bull Park Sevens kicked off in glorious sunshine on Sunday, May 25th, 1975 with an exhibition game and to get the fledgling competition off to the best possible start, Jobby Crossan brought an 'International Select' which included Terry Harkin, Liam O'Kane, Tony O'Doherty, Eddie Crossan in goals and Jobby himself to take on an 'Inter-League Select' captained by Dougie Wood and including such players as Charlie Ferry, Sean McLaughlin, Chang Smith and Joe Healy in goals. My own personal anecdote of that opening night sums up, as an almost nine year old boy, the abnormality of the times the city was living through. I had spent the weekend at Gartan lakes with Manieville/Moor Youth Club and because of the lovely weather, I arrived back later than expected. As I ran to the 'Bull' across the back lanes adjoining Beechwood St. - Tyrconnell St. - Limewood St. I was abruptly stopped by an eight man British army foot patrol enquiring why I was running and where I was going. I have no doubts it was a fact finding mission as to why so many men/boys were gathering at Bull Park. As I entered the Park from the Westland Avenue gate the sheer size of the crowd, for a first night, has always stayed with me. The competition thus began and a look back highlights the strength of many of the teams; Celtic Swifts, Mailey's, Brandywell Harps, Parkhead, Westland Villas, Long Tower, Ross Parke, Old Park, Don Boscos, Crusaders. Many of the games produced ding-dong encounters like Celtic Swifts 6, Mailey's 4 or Long Tower 11, Westland Villas 8 (aet). Some truly memorable games with the high quality football and number of goals always keeping spectators interested and entertained. The semi-final line-up for the first year saw Celtic Swifts and Parkhead square up against one another while the other last four clash was between Long Tower and a very strong Ross Parke side. Two tremendously tight games with Long Tower prevailing 7-6 and a strong Parkhead team edging out the Swifts. The final was a fantastic game with both teams boasting many top senior footballers of the time. Parkhead had the Finn Harps trio of Charlie Ferry, Brendan Bradley and Tony O'Doherty while Long Tower could call on the services of Kevin 'Badger' Mahon and Felix Healy. Parkhead emerged victorious when Charlie Ferry scored the winner with the last kick of the game but it was a great final and certainly sold the competition for following years as the crowds kept getting bigger and bigger, as did the prizemoney. The charities to benefit from that inaugural year were the NSPCC and the 'Buy a Light, Save a Life' campaign for pensioners So the 1975 champions - the first Bull Park winners - were a talented Parkhead outfit and next week we'll look at the years 1975 to 1976 and highlight the winners and drama of those years.