Chairman John Radford has this afternoon revealed the old North Stand clock to One Call Stadium, which is now displayed proudly above the Bishop Street Stand for all to see.
The clock was part of the North Stand when it was erected in 1957 and the supportersâ club at that time ran what was the biggest football club lottery in the country and the proceeds from this enabled the supporters to completely finance the building and the clock.
When the old North Stand was demolished, the clock disappeared for many years. However, around six years ago, Stagsâ director Steve Hymas spotted it in a pile of rubbish ready to go into a skip.
Steve says: âThe memories started to drift back of the old North Stand in full voice and the smell of beer and meat pies. I could not bear to see it lost and put it on the back of my pick-up.
"After keeping the clock in my garage for a year, I took it down to âTom The Clockâ in Mansfield Woodhouse, an elderly gentleman who did watch repairs in a little old shop on the main street.
âAlthough at first, he wasnât relishing the task of restoring it to its former glory, I continued to visit Tom to check on the progress of the repairs, however it was merely lent against the wall covered in dust, looking forlorn.
âI then heard a rumour that âOld Tomâ was going to retire and I hastily went down to the shop and checked on the clock - luckily the clock was still there and I was told that he had got the mechanism working but nothing else.
âLuckily, at the time, Stags had a director on board â Darren Bland of Blastline, who deal with materials such as metal. I took the clock into his workshop and over the years it has been given a new glass cover and the metal case was repaired. The clock face and hands were left in original condition and once again, the clock survived,â Steve said.
âA chance meeting with local estate agent John Sankey, who sponsored the clock for many years, brought about its return to One Call Stadium.
âJohn popped his head into the boardroom one matchday, looked into my eyes and said to me: âWouldnât it be great if we could get the old clock back?âÂ
âTo his shock, I told him I knew where it was and if he sponsored it I could get it back â it will be more of a shock if he pays up!
âSince that day, I have agreed with Darren Bland that given the work that his company have carried out on the clock, it will be returned to the club for all to see.
âThe clock has been installed in memory of my daughter Kim, who sadly passed away on 04 June 2015 to the dreaded cancer and it will now be displayed on top of the Bishop Street Stand, with a plaque commemorating her passing.
"Long live The North Stand Clock!"
