How old are we all?

[Tintowner]

I will be 52 in a couple of weeks.

A big Grimsby Town and Immingham Town collector.

Started collecting Grimsby programmes in the mid to late 1970s and had what I thought, a quite reasonable collection. In 1983 I sold the lot to Paul Clarkson of Matchday Programmes to help fund my first car. Still went to Grimsby games both home and away but never bothered with the programmes.

In 1990, I got involved with my local (and hometown) non league club, Immingham Town. I ended up becoming the programme editor (for 6 seasons) until their demise in 1995.

I then went back to watching football at all levels and my interest in the fortunes of Grimsby Town resurfaced and I was hooked again.

I actually started collecting Grimsby programmes again in the late 2000s and it became a little more serious than the last time. I now have every home and away from 1955 to present. I also have many from before 1955 but with a few gaps.

Still looking for Grimsby homes pre 1955 and Immingham Town1970s and early 80s.

PS: my wife just doesn't understand my obsession with it all.

[Retrosmith]

42 years young. Grantham Town season ticket holder and go to virtually every away game too. Grantham Town collection now at 3200 programmes going back to 1926. I have a lot of Grantham spare programmes so let me know if you need any v your club.

[morgan1927]

started collecting in 68 with just Cardiff then buying little bundles then Cardiff and arsenal built up a collection of 25.000 then brought a collection to sell of 50.000 which had a massive amount of Hereford in it well about 18.000 sold some of the Hereford at the time .carried on collecting and brought a Norwich collection and then went mad brought Leicester ,sheffield wed , sheff utd Bristol city .Bristol rovers .derby basic traveling all over the country buying collections .thousands from the isle of wight even 50.000 from the north which I had to hire vans 60.000 from a man in reading so now I spend hours and hours sorting them out but built up a network from devon .a couple of places in midlands and London who help me and I help them .am now 61

[Pete’s Picture Palace]

And now, after 78 entries, the average age has crept up to....

50.33 years.

[chelseachris]

58

Started collecting in the golden era late 1960's when older family and friends used to give their programmes away to kids like me.

Still collect mainly from games attended.

[manchesterunitedman1]

kpswannie wrote:

I've not long turned 44 Been collecting since the early 80s but only in recent years have I been able to spend large amounts on items I don't miss the days of programme catalogues and blind biding although I do miss the programme fairs where you could meet people I help run the Rangers memorabilia buy/sell page on facebook which as a group is going from strength to strength

So did you buy the Rangers v Manchester United Ticket from 1953 for £1100 ? because i most certainly did not!
_________________
Leslie Millman
Twitter: @manyuman1

To see 19,900++ original items relating to Newton Heath & Manchester Utd 1878-2023 then visit www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterunitedman1/sets to see entire uploads.

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[AberdeenBob]

Not quite the youngest but at 30 I can certainly help keep the average age down.

[Eck]

chelseachris wrote:

58 Started collecting in the golden era late 60's when older family and friends used to give their programmes away to kids like me. Still collect mainly from games attended.

If Leslie gives us his age it will bring it up even higher.

[manchesterunitedman1]

Eck wrote:

chelseachris wrote: 58 Started collecting in the golden era late 60's when older family and friends used to give their programmes away to kids like me. Still collect mainly from games attended. If Leslie gives us his age it will bring it up even higher.

do one!
_________________
Leslie Millman
Twitter: @manyuman1

To see 19,900++ original items relating to Newton Heath & Manchester Utd 1878-2023 then visit www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterunitedman1/sets to see entire uploads.

1000's more images to be uploaded, to view the latest uploads go to www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterunitedman1/

Click any images 21 MILLION views to date to the Flickr site since 2007 growing every day. New Uploads weekly. Thank You to one & all for visiting!

[PeterE]

45

I'll be honest - I'm surprised at the number of collectors who are younger or around the same age as me.

Been collecting since I was 10 when my dad got the 1981 cup final programme in John Menzies (remember them).

I've collected Aberdeen since starting going to games in October 1982, with a virtually complete home collection back to 1970, and stretching back past then.

I'm not as active as many on here by the looks of things, but try to look out more unusual items for the collection. I recently got a copy of the 1970 AFC Annual Report and a ticket from 1919.

I got rid of loads of extraneous items (football, rugby, speedway) last year to Sporting Memories Network, a charity that helps dementia sufferers with local groups who get together to talk about sports.

With a wife who just about tolerates my collection, and a daughter with only a fleeting interest in football, I'm sure it'll end up binned when I go, unless I let her know to get in touch with the AFC Heritage people when the time comes.

Until then, I enjoy the smell of brand new programmes, as an exile, they help keep me 'in touch', and I sometimes write for it with former player interviews. It's also good to keep in touch with other Dons collectors on the forum from time to time.

[Eck]

manchesterunitedman1 wrote:

Eck wrote: chelseachris wrote: 58 Started collecting in the golden era late 60's when older family and friends used to give their programmes away to kids like me. Still collect mainly from games attended. If Leslie gives us his age it will bring it up even higher. do one!

[markb9060]

I'm 58 and was born in 1958 about seven months after the Munich Air Disaster.

I definitely feel a connection to the immortal 'Busby Babes' and there are some quirky coincidences to support this.

Geoff Bent, one of the young lads who died was buried in the grounds of St John's church in Irlams o th height which was situated behind my late parents house when they retired. Strangely it was the only head stone out of hundreds visible over the garden fence looking out of the bedroom ! I still have a photo somewhere.

My Mum God rest her soul had her funeral even more strangely on the 50th anniversary to the day of the Munich Air Disaster.

Just getting back to Geoff Bent reading old newspapers, evidently there was a huge Salford turn out on the day...they lost one of there own.

None of the above stuff influenced my interest in the Busby Babes. I may have mentioned before that a family friend stumbled across some United programmes from the Munich season that he found in the loft of a council flat he'd moved into. As he wasn't interested in football he let me have them for nothing. I think that was the mid 1980's but it's almost as if fate would take me to an interest in the Busby Babes.

There was other stuff in that find including a freebie fixture card from an old newspaper called the Football Green. With no info on this long gone defunct sportspaper it sparked a project from myself to find out as much as I could.

All this involved contacting the Manchester Evening News including David Meek, Manchester United, Newspaper Library and loads of other people but the point is this all helped spark my interest in collecting and researching old United (and other) football memorabilia.

Of course I could be just kidding myself here. Wasn't it that day in September 1970 when I queued up for the first time outside the Stretford End Paddock as an excited 11 year old, paid my 20 pence, got in then there they were, hundreds of large shiny bright red football programmes stacked neatly selling like hot cakes and I just needed to have one. I Needed to have a keepsake of the Manchester United match day experience.

It's a tatty old thing now...but I'm not selling....Anything....Yet !!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/markb9060/

[Ugarte5]

49 here...

Been a Wrexham fan since 1976 and been collecting on and off ever since.

However, my current mission is to complete the scans on my website so it feels like I am collecting pictures now!

If anyone can help with scans of any of these I'd love to hear from you!
http://www.wrexhamprogrammes.com/can-you-help.html

Andy
_________________
www.wrexhamprogrammes.com

[Watfordchris]

I'm 31. Been collecting since I was 12. Very lucky that my father got me into it and I really caught the bug. I went through a stage of about five years where I collected amateur cup games as I love the look of non league programmes but sold up a couple of years back. Collect pre-war/war time Watford now and slowly building a nice little collection.

Don't see to many young lads at programme fairs which is a worry. I love going to the big London fairs but worry what it will be like in 10 years or so. Will it still be going? I truly hope so as you can't beat that feeling of walking into a room packed full of programmes, not knowing what you might find. It's a great hobby we have, and I hope it continues so.

Credit must be given to the likes of Gordon who organise other events and travel the country doing fairs. I really hope it pays off for you and get some good numbers through the doors. You deserve it.

Chris

[Shotsman]

Well I am 65. started collecting when aged about 11 when my father brought home a bound volume of Aldershot programmes for 1936/37. Collected general programmes and picked up loads as he had a hairdressers shop in Aldershot camp and clients would bring in programmes from games they attended.

I gave up and donated the lot to the Aldershot programme shop which kept the club afloat in the mid 1970s. My son caught the bug and it rekindled it in me. As far as I am aware I probably have the most extensive collection of pre-war Aldershot programmes and there are so few I ACTUALLY need I doubt if my collection will grow much. I mean who hads ever seen a pre-war barrow programme, let alone Barrow v Aldershot in the FA Cup in the 1930s?

[iucrmh]

I think I'm right on average, i.e. 51. I started collecting almost by accident, although I always kept programmes from games I had attended. When Chester FC reformed, I started going again, and with an 8 year old at the time, it was about the right time. Then, I thought I'd get the programmes for the games I missed and it snow balled from there.

[mustard68]

I`m towards the end of my 61-62 season. Been collecting since about 2011, after years of watching football without ever considering programmes.
After a few false starts, I've begun putting them on a website 10footballs.com but it will probably take the whole of 2017.
I`ve nothing but respect for what Lesley & others have done. Its a huge job.

[mark01]

I'm 64 tomorrow and been collecting anything relating to Bristol City over the last 40 years or so. Just come out of hospital after 2 weeks so no watching football for a couple of months. Just have to let the wife look after me!

regards, Mark

[sellsell39]

I have been 28 on the 17th of February for the last 13 years now !

[Auchinleckian]

Shotsman wrote:

Well I am 65. started collecting when aged about 11 when my father brought home a bound volume of Aldershot programmes for 1936/37. Collected general programmes and picked up loads as he had a hairdressers shop in Aldershot camp and clients would bring in programmes from games they attended. I gave up and donated the lot to the Aldershot programme shop which kept the club afloat in the mid 1970s. My son caught the bug and it rekindled it in me. As far as I am aware I probably have the most extensive collection of pre-war Aldershot programmes and there are so few I ACTUALLY need I doubt if my collection will grow much. I mean who hads ever seen a pre-war barrow programme, let alone Barrow v Aldershot in the FA Cup in the 1930s?

You were 65 back in 1986!