Saturday, 21 February, 2004. A day that wont mean too much to many, but on this fateful day, Hull City faced Torquay United in a League Two encounter. Yes, you did read that right. I should know, I was there. And not only that, but Torquay won the match 1-0, with Martin Gritton's win sealing the victory.
Fast forward 4 years or so, and things couldnt be more different for both clubs. Torquay find themselves out of the Football League altogether, after years of mismanagement. On the other hand Hull find themselves in the Premier League, after a meteoric rise to the top. A true rags to riches story..or is it? I'd say more of a team finally fulfilling their potential.
You see, Football is full of supposed sleeping giants - teams who continuously flatter to decieve, season after season. But Hull really were punching below their weight, and crowds of 18,000 in their League Two days proved that fact. In fact, average crowds went up by a quarter in this time, thanks in no small part to Hull. And even in their troubled times at the turn of the century, Hull achieved big crowds when on the verge of relegation and possible extinction. The potential of Hull as a city has always been there to see.
In 2001, Hull were given a fresh start. After emerging from adminstration, with Adam Pearson stabilizing the club's finances, the council paid for a 25,000 seater stadium, now known as the KC Stadium. This was the start of a new beginning for Hull City, a chance for the club to really prosper and realise their undoubted potential.
Back to back promotions from League Two to the promised land of the Championship followed for the Tigers, under the management of the experienced Peter Taylor. The ambition was clear to see, with experienced campaigners like Nick Barmby brought to the KC Stadium to achieve their goal and establish themselves in the Championship. But even at this early stage, dreams of Premiership football seemed like little more than pipe dreams.
Enter Phil Brown. The man who assisted Sam Allardyce so well at Bolton, who would have thought he would be the man to take Hull to the promised land? Things didnt quite work out at Derby for Brown, with poor results and his direct style hardly appealing to the Derby County faithful. However, he got another chance in management after the departure of Phil Parkinson at Hull and took it with both hands.
The way his team approached the Arsenal game was a masterstroke, not deciding to sit back and soak up pressure, but to take the game to the Gunners with what was essentially a 3 man attack. It paid dividends, with a 2-1 victory at the Emirates, the first domestic away victory there in 40 attempts, and only the second ever defeat at the Emirates stadium. It's been called one of the greatest Premiership upsets of all time, and you cant argue with that.
And it's not only Arsenal that have felt Hull's wrath. Newcastle and Fulham have also been punished by the Tigers. Hull currently find themselves in 7th place, just one spot from the European places, and their no fear attitude is ever so refreshing to see in the Premiership. Write them off at your peril, as many have already found out.
One of the more remarkable stories of Hull's climb through the divisions is that the spine of the team remains the same, with Boaz Myhill, Michael Turner, and Ian Ashbee climbing all three divisions with the Tigers. Many players may have come and gone around them, but these players have been everywhere imaginable, from the Moss Rose to The Emirates Stadium. It's been a fantastic journey.
It's been a truly remarkable rise to the top for the Tigers, and there were some tough times.
Owners going to jail for fraud, fans being locked out by bayliffs, and at one point the threat of non-league football loomed large. Administration and extinction really was a possibility. But that was then. This is now. And the bad times will make all the recent success taste all the sweeter.
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