On This Day - 29th February - Vital Lincoln City

Depending on how you look at it, former Imps goalkeeper and current coach at Championship club Preston North End, Mike Pollitt celebrates his 52nd or 13th birthday on 29 February 2024. It is not believed that the ‘Leapling’ has however ever played in a competitive match on those days. As the date this year falls on a Thursday, there don’t even seem to be any games scheduled at the whims of television such as ‘Europa’ ones. (Indeed, Thursday fixtures for The Imps have been limited to 51 of which 17 were on Boxing Day.) But what of 29th February over the 33 times it has occurred post 1884 and a mere 6 Saturdays? Well, records show that City played on only four of those latter occasions plus once on a Friday and that being the only one at Sincil Bank.

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The only teams in Division 3 North who didn’t play on the 1936 Saturday were Hartlepools Utd and Lincoln, who subsequently met at Sincil Bank on Wed 18 March, but the reason why is not apparent. The Friday game in 1980 was the only Division 4 fixture that evening and one of three on that day of the week that season. The logic is again not readily apparent, but a handful of Friday games have been actively scheduled over the years as opposed to being specific avoidance of the following day. With the demise of Bury, League 1 in 2019/20 consisted of only 23 teams and 29 February was a programmed blank Saturday for the Imps. A 3 – 2 home win versus Burton Albion the following weekend then brought the season to a premature Covid conclusion after 35 games.

But, what of the future? 29 February 2028 is a Tuesday so, perhaps through rearrangements (weather and cup-runs) the Imps will have a fixture. The following occasions are a Sunday and Friday respectively with the next Saturday not due until 29 February 2048.

Writer: exhertsimp