THE floodlights at Craven Park were officially switched on 50 years ago this week.

WHEN: Monday, September 12, 1966

WHERE: Craven Park

IN many ways, the 1966/67 season can be considered a watershed one for rugby league.

Beset by dwindling attendances and the financial struggles of some clubs, the sport was searching for ways to make itself more appealing to spectators.

One of the biggest changes was the introduction of the rule restricting the team in possession to four tackles – raised to the now-familiar six in 1972 – followed by a scrum in the opening months of the season in a bid to increase attacking play.

That change to the laws of the game had been successfully trialled in the midweek BBC Two Floodlit Trophy, a televised competition which had begun the previous season and paved the way for more clubs to start installing floodlights at their grounds.

One of those to take that step was Barrow, who became just the 11th side to erect lights at their home and thereby gave themselves more flexibility as to when they could stage fixtures at times other than the traditional Saturday afternoon slot – along with allowing them to enter the aforementioned Floodlit Trophy.

“Ways of life have changed considerably since the early years when the enthusiasts set aside Saturday afternoons for a feast of rugby, and those in the game today recognise that competition from other sports and entertainments is so very wide and fierce at this time of the week,” the Evening Mail reported at the time.

“It is only in recent years at Barrow and other centres that the fight has really been on to keep up an interest.

“It is not so very long ago that Barrow had no difficulty at all in packing the terraces when they had a really good team. Their present potential, with the additional help of lights, could revive those grand days.”

This investment did not come cheaply though, with the floodlights costing £7,000 – equivalent to £122,247 in 2016 when adjusted for inflation – which was raised entirely by the club's Progressive Branch.

These donations meant the club could afford to install the lights without resorting to taking a loan out from the RFL, which would have needed repaying at an eight per cent interest rate.

The Evening Mail made note of the fact Barrow had already “made efforts to cater for spectators with licensed bars on the ground,” but also hailed this latest development as “their biggest step forward.”

The date set for the official switching-on of the lights was set for Monday, September 12, 1966 – 50 years ago this week – and the hosts could have hardly asked for more high-profile opposition, with defending champions and Challenge Cup holders St Helens making the trip to Craven Park for the match.

Vickers-Armstrong chairman and managing director Mr W D Opher was the man tasked with performing the pre-match ceremony, while the bumper 5,800 crowd were entertained prior to kick-off by the Ulverston Town Band performing “a selection of music suitable for both young and old.”

On the pitch, St Helens' all-conquering team featured rugby league greats such as Tommy Van Volenhoven, future BBC commentator Ray French and former Barrow scrum-half Tommy Bishop, who would later return to Craven Park for a spell as coach.

Unsurprisingly, it was the visitors who dominated proceedings, but as Evening Mail reporter David Cunliffe noted: “Barrow's tough cover defence repeatedly repelled all that mighty Saints could throw at them, but their attack was given little chance to make more than a token reply for three-quarters of the game.”

Stand-off Eddie Tees kicked Barrow into an early lead, only for a chip-and-chase from Bishop to result in him going over for a try which was converted by Albert Hayes. Tees and Hayes then exchanged penalties before St Helens' Bob Prosser went over for an unconverted score two minutes before the interval.

Barrow had to weather a storm after the break and then gave themselves hope 10 minutes from time when their international winger Bill Burgess finished off a fine move involving Ray Hopwood, Tees and Mike Watson for a converted try.

It was not to be though and with one minute left, Albert Halsall settled any St Helens nerves by crashing through for a try and the conversion which followed sealed a 15-9 win for the away side.

This be the first of several near-misses for Barrow during the 1966/67 campaign, with them reaching the semi-finals of the Floodlit Trophy before losing to eventual winners Castleford and suffering a shock defeat to Featherstone Rovers in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley.

But long-term, there was no doubt the lights would prove to be a worthwhile investment.