As Oxford United kick off the new season, here's a reminder of the good old days at the Manor Ground at Headington.

On this occasion a record league crowd of 17,751 watched United take on the old enemy Swindon Town in a Football League Division 3 promotion clash, write Tom Trewlis and Will Vaukins.

This picture was sent in by reader Tim Venn, of Halliday Hill, Headington, Oxford. It was taken by Oxford Mail photographer Jim Griffiths at the Good Friday match in April 1968.

The caption reads: "The Cuckoo Lane corner of the Manor Ground. Usually empty, it was packed with fans on the perimeter track and up the floodlights."

The ground was so crowded that 500 fans were turned away at the gates and offered refunds.

The Mail reported: "Despite continuous attempts by police and stewards to pack people in, fans in the London Road stand would not move away from the entrances."

The atmosphere among the disgruntled fans was "a bit unpleasant" at first, but they finally formed an orderly queue to collect their entrance money before drifting away.

The game, however, was a disappointment - the third goalless draw in five meetings between the clubs.

As the season drew to a tense close, three teams - Bury, United and Torquay - were locked on 48 points each in the battle for promotion.

A month later, United were champions and celebrating promotion to Division 2.

They finished top of the table on 57 points, one more than Bury, winning 22 and drawing 11 of their 46 games.

Although the game attracted the biggest league gate, it fell well short of the record.

That was set at the FA Cup sixth round tie against Preston North End in February, 1964, when 22,700 fans squeezed into the stands.

Do you recognise yourself in the picture or remember the match? Were you turned away?

Research by Alex Stamp

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