Up the Pools - a celebration of promotion triumph

It took Pools 60 years to win promotion for the first time - and a further 23 to clinch the second.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Feb 2016, 12:20 BST
Updated 19th Feb 2016, 12:25 BST
It's all smiles at Hartlepool as players celebrate promotion.It's all smiles at Hartlepool as players celebrate promotion.
It's all smiles at Hartlepool as players celebrate promotion.

But, when promotion finally came in 1991 - on the back of a 3-1 win over Northampton Town - fans forgot all their troubles.

“In the previous 23 years, a new generation of fans had grown up with Pools’ record of failure,” reported the Mail.

Hartlepool United stars Rob McKinnon, Brian Honour and Paul Baker are pictured at the launch of Up The Pools - a book written by Mail journalists after the 1991 promotion.Hartlepool United stars Rob McKinnon, Brian Honour and Paul Baker are pictured at the launch of Up The Pools - a book written by Mail journalists after the 1991 promotion.
Hartlepool United stars Rob McKinnon, Brian Honour and Paul Baker are pictured at the launch of Up The Pools - a book written by Mail journalists after the 1991 promotion.
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“But, once again, the waiting had made the winning worthwhile.

“Manager Cyril Knowles built the team, and caretaker boss Alan Murray masterminded the finishing burst.”

Players such as striker Joe Allon, full-back Rob McKinnon and local hero Brian Honour all helped clinch the Third Division place.

Tragically, however, Cyril was diagnosed with brain cancer during the promotion push - and died just months after promotion.

Related topics:Northampton Town