It is the most famous promotion season of them all at Carlisle United.
And, as the Blues’ 1973/74 campaign reaches its 50th anniversary, the News & Star is celebrating the historic feat with a special new series.
Five decades ago Alan Ashman and his squad embarked on a campaign that would take United into the top-flight of English football for the first time.
Their dramatic season made all-time legends of Ashman’s players and took them to a level of the game they had not reached before and have not since.
To mark the half-century since United hit their greatest heights, we are rolling back the years to chart their season in detail.
Coming soon, every week we will feature news, key match details, on and off-field drama, gossip, controversy and more as it happened across the campaign.
We will delve into our archive for all the vital headlines and some of the forgotten stories from United’s stunning season.
We will draw on the reporting of the Evening News & Star’s Ross Brewster as he covered every aspect of the campaign all the way from pre-season to the remarkable finale.
And we will include further features along the way to help ensure United’s 1973/74 journey is recaptured in all its glory.
As well as featuring in the newspaper, our series will be available online exclusively to News & Star digital subscribers.
We are currently running a special flash sale on subscription at just £4 for four months, or £44 for a full year - the latter will get you access to our entire nostalgia series as well as every single article we write about the Blues across the 2023/24 season, as well as fewer ads and reader rewards.
Click HERE to subscribe, or tap the 'Subscribe' button at the top of the page.
The special discount offer ends on Wednesday night at midnight - so don’t miss out on the chance to share in the 50-year memories of United’s finest footballing achievement.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here