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Manchester United programmes 1950's/60's
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Manchester United programmes 1950's/60's

 
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roughyedz



Joined: 16 Jul 2010
Posts: 608
Location: Oldham

PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 1:43 am 
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It has puzzled me for years as to why a lot of Manchester United programmes for the 50's in particular have 2 different versions issued ???
One has a token and the other ( exactly the same programme, have just a blank space where the token should be. I assume that they are both official proigrammes, both because of age ( ie its the correct paper and age wear ) and also it has the printers on the back page of both types.

So any explanation as to why some dont have a token would be most informative .....thanks

P.S. i was once told that the ones with tokens were sold inside the ground and the ones without a token were sold outside the ground ???????
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Stourbridge Lion



Joined: 15 Feb 2010
Posts: 136

PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 9:18 am 
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Programmes with blank tokens were those given out either as a complimentary copy or by subscription.
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Dorking



Joined: 05 Feb 2010
Posts: 2414

PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 9:30 am 
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Always found the Man United 'tokens' thing a bit amazing. Surely if you went to most games but had to miss one, you'd get someone else to buy you a programme???

Was it just for an entry in a ballot or did a complete set of tokens in theory guarantee a ticket.

Would love to know more about this if someone wouldn''t mind (without going to the trouble of writing pages and pages!)
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Stourbridge Lion



Joined: 15 Feb 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 9:42 am 
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Totally correct Dorking it was a farce,people would buy a bundle of programmes inside the ground and have a fistful of completed token sheets for if and when United got to a final,somebody who hadn't attended a game all season had as much chance of getting one as somebody who had been to all 42 games. The only way to queue jump as regards getting a ticket was if you were a season ticket holder or had any special tokens that were issued at some reserve games.
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Rocky



Joined: 15 Jun 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 10:44 am 
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It sounds like a nightmare for the ‘completest’.

Would anybody know if this practice also involved the Youth Cup programmes of the era? The Manchester United v Middlesbrough 59/0 tie comes to mind in my instance.

As always, I'm looking forward to Leslie's response regarding Man Utd topics.
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/187311548@N07/albums

https://www.flickr.com/photos/117760314@N07/albums
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roughyedz



Joined: 16 Jul 2010
Posts: 608
Location: Oldham

PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 12:06 pm 
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Stourbridge Lion wrote:
Programmes with blank tokens were those given out either as a complimentary copy or by subscription.


Surely the very least you would WANT if you subscribed to the programmes for the season WOULD be a TOKEN ? ? ? . . otherwise why pay a subscription for a 2nd class service ?
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Stourbridge Lion



Joined: 15 Feb 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 1:44 pm 
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Yes Rocky the Youth Cup games generally had a token which was usually on the front cover to make matters worse for future collectors! 😕
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Rocky



Joined: 15 Jun 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 2:16 pm 
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Stourbridge Lion wrote:
Yes Rocky the Youth Cup games generally had a token which was usually on the front cover to make matters worse for future collectors! 😕
Yep, I'm fortunate to have a copy with the token intact but I'm wondering if there could be a second version which just has a blank space where the token should be.

Viewing Leslie's Flickr site, the Youth Cup Progs featured for the 59/0 season have a token on the front cover which may be telling.
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/117760314@N07/albums
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Stourbridge Lion



Joined: 15 Feb 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 6:51 pm 
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I'm pretty sure there was only one version for the reserve/youth cup games as attendances would have obviously been low for these games and I very much doubt if they would have been part of any subscription plan.
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Dorking



Joined: 05 Feb 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 7:44 pm 
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Thx for replies Easy
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MINSTERMAN



Joined: 01 Jul 2011
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 7:49 pm 
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I could be wrong here, but my understanding is that United issued programmes with tokens for all first team home games, and quite a few of the reserve matches. When the token scheme was introduced in the 1950s, most supporters didn’t travel away so I suspect that tokens were issued for the reserve games on Saturday afternoons but I could be wrong.

As times changed, and the Red Army mobilised for weekend road trips, I think the policy probably changed to only issue for reserves and youth if the game didn’t clash with a first team match. Then, the club would actually tell supporters in advance if there was going to be a token issued at a specific match, which would lead to thousands attending midweek Central League games. I suspect that these single sheet issues or 4-pagers will be really hard to get with the tokens still intact as most would have bought them for the token. If any copies were left unsold, the club would sell these post-match but would deface the token.

Of course, there were complaints from those who couldn’t attend, and complaints about people buying multiple programmes which meant that the print run would often sell out. I think there were also occasions when United gave away a token at the turnstile to end all such complaints about bulk-buying, but that was found to slow up admission to the ground and cause long queues.

I think there were also times in the mid-60s where the club would ask supporters to produce copies of away programmes for some away tickets, and the programme covers were heinously struck-through by pen on the cover to show that they had been presented for a ticket.

I’m not sure where collectors draw the line on programmes with tokens , as there could be a few variants for each game – subscribers copy (probably unnumbered/blank), matchday copy, and ‘compliments of the directors’ copies.

Hope this helps
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