Record Brighton attendance see the Seagulls hammer Fulham

Unless the Albion are suddenly able to expand the Amex by 6,000 seats or the club takes their making up of attendance figures to a new extreme, then the record crowd set when Brighton faced Fulham on December 27th 1958 is unlikely to be beaten.

36,747 flocked to the Goldstone Ground that day to watch the Seagulls, the highest ever attendance for a Brighton home game.

Plenty of Albion fans are aware of the year, the opponents and the number of supporters who crammed into the Goldstone as it is a part of Brighton history – but not many are aware that it could have been even more.

Those who were there reported there were still spaces on the North and East terraces to accommodate as many as 2,000 additional supporters.

Indeed, there were murmurs of a campaign to get the official capacity of the Goldstone raised to 38,000 following the Fulham game.

And the Brighton attendance record was set with the new West Stand only one-third completed. Promotion the previous May meant the Albion could afford to replace the original 1900s structure with the building that would remain in place for the next 40 years of the Goldstone’s existence.

The new West Stand was to be built in three stages. The first stage would see the middle third completed. The second stage was the section at the south end of the ground. The stand would then be completed with the building of the northern third.

Of course, the north section was never finished; hence why the West Stand only covered two thirds of the pitch. And at the time Fulham came to Hove, the southern section had not been built either.

Had it been up and open, even more supporters would have had seats to watch the Seagulls take on the Cottagers. Maybe even a crowd in excess of 40,000 would have been possible with a fully constructed West Stand.

The question which seems to creep up most frequently in relation to Brighton setting their record attendance against Fulham is… why Fulham?

You might reasonably expect one of the clashes early in the Albion’s rivalry with Crystal Palace to have drawn more.

Or when Alan Mullery’s side were flying through the divisions in the 1970s on their way to taking Brighton into the top flight for the first time.

Brighton garnered quite a reputation for upsetting higher division clubs in the FA Cup between the 1920s and 1950s, when the competition was at its peak and massive crowds came out to be charmed by its magic.

Clashes with the biggest names in the land would surely have brought more to the Goldstone than a Division Two clash with Fulham.

The answer is because the 1958-59 season smashed all previous attendance records with the Cottagers match the tip of the iceberg.

Brighton were competing in the second tier for the first time ever having won the Division Three South title the previous season.

After a sticky start which included a 9-0 opening day defeat away at Middlesbrough, the Albion gradually warmed to the task of competing at a higher level and that encouraged more and more people to come and watch.

A league average of 22,460 had previously been unheard of with nearly half a million spectators passing through the Goldstone turnstiles.

Even the reserve side benefitted, drawing a frankly ridiculous average crowd of 3,850 to their games played at the Goldstone.

It was a surge in crowds unlike anything seen in Brighton history other than the jump from Withdean to the Amex.

And then there was the draw of Fulham and the timing of the game. Christmas fixtures were always popular and the Cottagers were promotion favourites with an all-star line up including George Cohen and Johnny Hayes.

The biggest attraction in the Fulham squad though was Jimmy Langley. The former Brighton captain was returning to the Goldstone for the first time since his £12,000 move to Craven Cottage in February 1957.

Langley had since gone onto win three England caps much to the pride of Albion fans and he remained an immensely popular figure with the Hove faithful.

Festive football in the mid-20th century often meant playing the same opponents in quick succession. That was the case here, Brighton having been beaten 3-1 at Craven Cottage on Boxing Day. Adrian Thorne got the consolation.

Fast forward 24 hours and most would have expecting another Fulham win. Brighton started the day 20th in the table having not climbed higher than 16th all season.

The Cottagers meanwhile were in the formidable form which saw them finish in runners up spot, seven points clear of Sheffield United in the days when you only received two points for a win.

With that record crowd packed into the Goldstone, Brighton chose a good day to give their best performance of the campaign. Tom Dixon scored twice along with another for Thorne as the Seagulls blew away Fulham and all their big names, running out 3-0 victors.

Speaking about the day, Brighton striker Dave Sexton later said: “It was a helluva gate and a great atmosphere.” Langley received a fine reception but the noise levels ratcheted up with each Albion goal.

Victory saw Billy Lane’s side move into the dizzy heights of 17th. There was no looking back from there and inspired by the crowd and their 3-0 win against Fulham, Brighton won nine, drew three and lost only six of their 18 remaining matches to finish 12th in Division Two.

The 36,747 crowd returned gate receipts of £4,376. In 2023 terms, the Albion make that amount from seven West Stand Upper season tickets.

1958 may have been a cheaper, simpler time but that attendance record set when Brighton beat Fulham 3-0 continues to stand the test of time. And to think it could have been even more.