Huracan and Boca Juniors combined?

In a previous life I used to peddle sports memorabilia and one of the more interesting items I uncovered was a collection of South American press photographs from the 1920's and 1930's.

Soccasox!

I'd love to know if anyone ever had a pair of these or indeed still owns them.

Taken from the mid 1960's when hip people would use phrases such as 'Natty Gimmick', there's a limited range of teams as you can see, although there's probably more choice than there is with some manufacturers today who think there are only around six teams worldwide.

They came in self-fitting Bri-Nylon, and were excellent if you had Farah slacks that stopped somewhere above the shin. Not so great if they couldn't be seen over your DM's though.

The Changing face of – Football Mascots

Mascots at football matches are seen by many as a recent innovation and the notion of a man in a giant cat, dog or swan costume certainly is a relatively new creation. There was a time however when all you needed to become a mascot for your favourite team was an umbrella, a rattle and a balloon!

In a copy of football league review from 1965, we stumbled across this photo of Norwich City’s Peter Judds – here he is…

Appearing in the talking point of the week, Peter said that he went around with his umbrella and rattle to get the crowds in a ‘good humour’. He would also place a Norwich balloon in the centre circle for young fans to run on to the field and burst and by the mid 1960’s, he’d been doing this for fifteen years.

Women and Football in the 1960's

While reading through Football League Review, or any football publication from the 60's and 70's for that matter, it's fascinating to see the attitude to women in the game. It seems to echo the cringeworthy 70's sitcoms where women are known universally as 'birds' and should 'know their place'. I don't of course condone this but I reproduce three letters from the Review's postbags.

It Wouldn't have Happened in my Day

I’ve dealt in football memorabilia for some time now and it’s fascinating to read articles from yesteryear published in programmes, magazines and the like. Was it a more innocent age?

One recurring theme throughout the decades is that of hooliganism. The following is a reader’s letter published in the Football League Review of March 28th 1967.

JIM DALY WANTS TO KNOW. IS HE A SOCCER HOOLIGAN?

Says this 23 years old fitter from Leeds 9: “I must be. A couple of years ago I was fined £2 for causing a disturbance on a football ground. My name appeared in the papers.”
What was his offence?

Says Daly: “At an away match I ran on to the pitch before the start with three white balloons in my hand. All I wanted to do was plant them in the middle of the pitch as part of the pre-match build up. But I was stopped by the police, taken outside the ground as charged”.

And he stressed: “I did not resist being taken into the hands of the constables, I did not resist eviction and I did not use bad language. When I realised that a dim view had been taken of my running onto the pitch I did nothing about which anyone could take exception”.

Jim Daly admits now that he was wrong to let his high spirits get the better of him. He doesn’t argue that it was right that he should be charged and fined.

What he points out is this: “People might label me a soccer hooligan, but I’m not. How many other so-called hooligans are real hooligans?”

There is obviously a serious point that still stands forty years later. People are labelled as hooligans for less serious offences. This particular case just seems to highlight a more innocent age when the worst thing someone does when they are in high spirits is run onto a pitch carrying three white balloons.