Photo supplied by Michael Turner, who wrote to us, saying:
Hi Guys,
Found an old March 1976 copy of Australian Cricket the other day, which included the attached – taken at the TCA Ground during the West Indies tour in January 1976.
Thanks Michael. What a treat!
A City Of Hobart website states: The TCA Ground playing area is nearing completion of extensive works to improve the playing surface, drainage and irrigation. A new scoreboard is also set to be installed shortly.
Ric Finlay, writing for ESPNCricInfo some time ago, states: The press, originally accommodated under the old scoreboard (which was built in 1907), were relocated on the top deck of the stand in 1977, the year of Tasmania’s admission to the Sheffield Shield.
A brief history of the ground by Austadiums does not refer to the scoreboard but AC/DC, greyhound racing, World Series cricket and the 1978/79 Gillette Cup all get a mention.
Scoreboard pressure 
The Powell, Pascoe Payne stand recalls the glory days of Hobart, when the Tigers won numerous premierships from 1959 to 1966. The dominant ruck trio in the TFL. Powell, was the big, quiet ruckman from Tunnack in the country, Mal Pascoe, who came from Essendon was among the first ruck rovers and with his tree trunk legs kicked 60 yards easily and frequently, and Burnie Payne was a bank teller who spent a year with St Kilda, when it was Tasmanians’ adopted VFL side (Baldock, Stewart, Howell, Bonney and Bingley) but did not stay as the family didn’t like Melbourne.
Sadly, the Tigers were later expelled, like many inner city clubs (eg Fitzroy) from the league, by then a statewide league.
Not a great ground for footy due to its massive curvature, its fairly circular shape and its dog track (the devotees used to stand by 44 gallon drum burners to keep warm).
Unlike the MCG, which is really the MFG (I can hear flannelled fools rumbling and grumbling now) it was primarily a cricket ground, although it has also hosted amateur and SFL football…and unless memory deceives me I took my only slightly high mark there in about 1973.
Thanks Stephen, for those insights and info. The only ‘slightly high mark’ I took was as a boy, above, and then into, the agapanthus bushes in the backyard.
That old cricket scoreboard was left to rot after about 1984 when the TCA put an electronic scoreboard in at the ground, that’s now used as a billboard on the hill side of Blundstone Arena. The old cricket scoreboard pictured here was demolished in September 1989.
Actually the old cricket scoreboard was pulled down in 1984 when the Indoor Cricket Centre was built on the Tasman Bridge side. An electronic one was built in its place and was eventually unbolted and moved to Bellerive when cricket moved across there but it had major problems constantly and was replaced. It is actually still standing but is covered by a large billboard.
Thanks for that info. Much appreciated.