As we near the end of our year-long VR100 celebrations, what better way to reminisce than by looking back at the most remarkable moments from a century of Watford FC at Vicarage Road.

A dedicated team of Watford-supporting experts on Hornets history have been working hard to draw up a list of the 100 most memorable moments to have occurred at The Vic, from the opening game on August 30, 1922 right up until the VR100 Matchday on August 30, 2022.

Featuring golden goals, amazing matches, promotion parties and even some non-footballing occasions, whittling a century of incredible moments down to just 100 proved a tricky but rewarding task.

And now it’s over to you! We’re asking supporters to tell us what they believe to be the stadium’s most memorable moments by taking part in an online vote that will be split into four groups of 25 moments, listed in chronological order.

The most popular moments once voting has taken place will be put into a top 10, before one final round of voting to rank these cherished occasions in order.

First up, our initial 25 includes memorable moments from the grand opening all the way up to the late 1970s. Read on for information on each moment, and then cast your vote to tell us which you believe to be the most memorable. Voting for this round closes at 5pm on Sunday May 28.

Vicarage Road was formally opened by Colonel Charles Healey, who conducted a ceremony and kicked the match ball onto the pitch ahead of a 0-0 draw with Millwall, played in front of 8,618 fans.

In the stadium’s fourth match, Fred Pagnam finally netted Watford’s first goals at the new venue, bagging a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Exeter City.

Eddie Mummery became the first and only Watford player to score five goals in a single league match at The Vic, doing so in an 8-2 win over Newport County.

Just four years after moving to Vicarage Road, Watford posted a remarkable 10-1 win over Lowestoft Town in the FA Cup, still the club’s biggest ever victory.

Tommy Barnett scored the game’s only goal, but half-back Neil McBain was the star performer as Watford beat mighty Preston in the FA Cup, their first ever win over opponents from a higher division.

In the build-up to Watford’s surprise 1-0 win over Second Division Bradford in the FA Cup fifth round, the players and manager Neil McBain all got their hands dirty with essential building work required to increase the ground’s capacity by 5,000.

Billy Lane scored a three-minute treble in a 6-0 win over Clapton Orient; the fastest hat-trick ever seen at The Vic. It’s just a shame it was only witnessed by a lowest ever league crowd of 1,309!

The first crowd of more than 30,000 packed into Vicarage Road as 32,384 watched a 1-0 FA Cup loss to Manchester United, most famous for a Taffy Davies effort that appeared to cross the line but was not given.

Installed for around £3,000, floodlights were used at The Vic for the first time against Luton Town in the specially-launched ‘Watford FC Invitation Cup’, with evening fixtures opening up important new revenue opportunities.

A remarkable 7-1 win over Crystal Palace was inspired by centre-forward Roy Brown, who became the first black player to score a hat-trick for Watford.

A project undertaken by the Supporters Club, the new 200-foot-long Rookery Stand cover was in place for a goalless draw with Stockport County, offering welcome shelter at an end that had been uncovered since 1948.

For the first time in club history, Watford overcame First Division opposition by beating Birmingham 2-1 in the FA Cup, with the 31,314 attendance still in the Vicarage Road top five.

Having already scored three against Chester just 24 hours earlier, Cliff Holton bagged a second hat-trick in as many days as Gateshead were comprehensively beaten 5-0.

Having secured promotion from Division Four with a game to spare, Watford’s 2-2 draw with Walsall on the final day was played against a backdrop of celebration, with fans flooding onto the pitch at full-time.

Described as one of Watford’s finest ever goals, popular forward Charlie Livesey lit up The Vic with a solo effort in a 2-1 win over Oldham, collecting the ball around halfway and charging through the defence before driving a crashing shot home.

Seventeen-year-old Tony Currie announced himself to the Vicarage Road faithful in style, scoring twice on an unforgettable debut in a 4-0 win over Bristol Rovers.

Even the opposition keeper applauded when skilful winger Stewart Scullion dribbled past five players, saw an initial shot saved before beating another five and scoring in a 5-0 win over Stockport. The Watford Observer called it ‘one of the greatest goals ever seen at Vicarage Road’.

Stewart Scullion was at his tricky best once more as Watford dispatched Grimsby Town 7-1, giving a certain fresh-faced Mariners full-back named Graham Taylor a torrid time.

Still the biggest ever crowd at Vicarage Road, 34,099 packed in to see Watford take on Manchester United in an FA Cup replay, with George Best and Denis Law excelling in a 2-0 win for the European Cup holders.

Surely the strangest goal to have been scored at The Vic, Brian Owen’s bizarre strike deflected 50 feet into the air before being caught by the wind and dropping into the net as Tranmere Rovers keeper Jim Cumbes went in search of the ball behind the Rookery goal!

Forty-nine years after joining the Football League, Watford finally reached Division Two thanks to a 1-0 win over Plymouth with four games to spare at the end of a history-making 1968/69 season under Ken Furphy.

The first of two FA Cup giant-killings witnessed at The Vic in the space of a month, Division One Stoke City were beaten 1-0 courtesy of a long-range strike from Colin Franks that whistled past World Cup-winning keeper Gordon Banks.

Liverpool came to town in the FA Cup quarter-finals and Vicarage Road’s second largest crowd of all-time, 34,047, was treated to a glorious afternoon thanks to Barry Endean’s flying header in a 1-0 win.

Having become Vice President in 1973 and later joined the board, boyhood Watford fan and global popstar Elton John played his first Vicarage Road concert to over 31,000 supporters, generating nearly £30,000 for the club.

A 2-0 home win against Huddersfield Town might on paper appear unremarkable, but not when you consider it was achieved with nine men following first-half red cards shown to Tony Geidmintis and Alan Mayes, prior to a Keith Mercer double.

Key sources:

'100 Years at Vicarage Road' by Geoff Wicken
Watford Football Club archive