Parades go by
"Memories like this can’t be bought. There will never be another day like this," Howard Wilkinson told the crowd in the Town Hall, and even the other days like that weren't quite like it.
Before I got caught up in overthinking the resonance and meaning of Ethan Ampadu's head inside a traffic cone, I had meant to only briefly skip through Monday's parade — what could there be worth saying about some slow-moving open top buses? — and run through some history of open top buses, charabancs, and cancelled pork pies. So here are some highlights of Leeds United parades gone by, going by.
Without the focal point of a presentation 2025's parade was chaotic by design, and the tension between spontaneous and organised fun has often been at the heart of how Leeds has received its champion soccer team. For a long time this was a city where rugby football ruled and sockerists were seen as mad, a little to be pitied. The Second Division champions of 1924, the first United side to win anything, were welcomed off the train in Leeds after losing their final league match 3-1 away to Nelson. 20,000 United-mad fans didn't care much about that. They put the players in a charabanc, an early kind of single decker open topped and sided bus, and with a brass band leading the way, paraded them along Boar Lane, Duncan Street, Vicar Lane and Lower Headrow. That's the same route as Leeds took 101 years later in 2025, only instead of carrying onto Upper Headrow, they turned left down Briggate on their way to a reception at the Empire Theatre. This was one of the smaller music halls in the city and is now basically Harvey Nichols.
It wasn't the last celebration of that promotion. In his desperation to drum up more interest now Leeds had a First Division team — and to pay a large debt — new chairman Major Albert Braithwaite held another celebration on the evening after the first game of the next season, at the Town Hall, where the promoted players were given medals by the club and gold watches courtesy of the Supporters' Club. It's never too late to say thank you, and never too late to bring the class of 2020 back together for medals and gold watches.
This is not Leeds United's first promotion...
Relive the glories of 2020 and 1990 — and 1964, 1956, 1932, 1928 and 1924, too.
All did not go well in the First Division so in 1928 Leeds were celebrating promotion from the Second again, this time from 2nd place, this time with a more chaotic greeting on the day promotion was won at Chelsea. 2,000 fans came to Wellington Station that night to meet the players' train, but the team was blocked at the exit by a man and a woman whose cars had got in each others' way, causing an argument that Leeds United walked right into. While the drivers, 'Sat in their seats exchanging candid comments on the other's lack of manners,' the fans took their chance to grab the players, lifting Charlie Keetley on their shoulders, who made a run for it as soon he was dropped to the safety of the Midland Hotel.
United failed to secure the title, losing 5-1 at Stoke City and handing it to Manchester City, but the Lord and Lady Mayor put on a better organised reception for their return. The Leeds City Prize Band led the team around the city while thousands cheered them, on their way to King Edward Restaurant for toasts and speeches. (This eventually became the Halifax Bank, on the corner of Fish Street.)
Getting promoted away was a theme for Leeds. In 1956 the team secured 2nd place by winning 4-1 at Hull City, where manager Raich Carter filled the players' teacups with champagne in the changing rooms before they were all taken to the steps of Leeds Civic Hall. 2,000 people came and suffered through speeches by Carter, chairman Sam Bolton and the Lord Mayor, waiting to hear from the best player in the world, John Charles. "With the support you have given us, we have done very well," he said. "Promotion is a great thing." It's one of the milder post-promotion statements we've heard from players, but after nine seasons outside the top flight, he wasn't wrong.
Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman
In 1964, two goals by Alan Peacock and one from John Giles in the first half-an-hour at Swansea Town sent chairman Harry Reynolds off to a nearby pub to buy champagne for the dressing room to enjoy at full-time, with a promise of stopping for fish and chips on the way home. At Elland Road a week later the players took a banner out with them to thank the fans, but they weren't champions for another week, after beating Charlton away. In club suits Don Revie's young team were taken to the Civic Hall to show off the trophy on the steps.