1997

I still get shivers down my spine when I recall Vicarage Road in May 1997. The entire season had been pretty pnenomenal and then this. Needing just a point from our penultimate game against a side in with a shout of making the playoffs, and with three minutes to go with the score at 0-0, linesman Wendy Toms (famous for being the first match official not to have a willy - except for Kevin Lynch of course), flags for a penalty against Gordon Armstrong. At that point I could see it all going horribly wrong and the Shakers remaining in division two.

But someone called Super Dean Keily had other ideas, flinging himself low to his left to keep out Tommy Mooney's penalty kick. Three minutes later and we were promoted to division one.

It was the best single moment of my life.

Seven days later, Millwall visited Gigg for the last match of the season. Now if you told me pre-season that in the Bury vs Millwall match on the last day, one team would win the championship and the other would finish mid-table, i'd have been happy to settle for the latter. However, 9000 Bury fans crawled out of the woodwork to cheer the boys on to a 2-0 victory, courtesy of goals from Ronnie Jepson and Lenny Johrose, and the trophy was ours. Incredible.

LEFT : David Pugh and Skipper Chris Lucketti hold aloft the 2nd division championship trophy and BELOW : Terry and Hugh Eaves wave it about a bit amidst scenes of joy at a packed Gigg Lane. Happy days indeed.