Wanted - orig or copy - George Reader (Exeter, Saints)

[yachtsmun]

Hi all.

I'm looking for an autograph (original, copy or image) from George Reader, who played for the following sides:

1919-20 Exeter City
1920-21 Southampton

Additionally, Reader was a linesman and referee between 1936 and 1950, and was later a director and chairman of Southampton F.C. (1963-1978).

Any help very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Toby
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Always looking for pre-1980 Cowes homes, pre-1987 Cowes aways, and any other bits and bobs relating to Cowes F.C. and I.W. football in general. Someone has to.

[RoddyN]

And famously refereed the 1950 World Cup Final between Brazil and Uruguay.

[Raven on the Wing]

You sound like a fan of the the blue and white stripes to me. The old Cowes FC programmes of that era (pre 1980) were , little more than a typed sheet of players names ( often including A Nother )and a little comment, wrapped in a cover of adverts. The few I have are too precious to me to sell, but the better ones is a match against Trowbridge Town away, in the 1st qualifying round of the FA Cup on Sat 8th Nov 1969. Cowes legends that day included ex Saint Harry Penk on the wing, Jim Hendy in goal, the tigerish Micky Sheridan and also Pete Surman up front. Sadly we were walloped 5 -0.

[yachtsmun]

Raven on the Wing wrote:

You sound like a fan of the the blue and white stripes to me. The old Cowes FC programmes of that era (pre 1980) were , little more than a typed sheet of players names ( often including A Nother )and a little comment, wrapped in a cover of adverts. The few I have are too precious to me to sell, but the better ones is a match against Trowbridge Town away, in the 1st qualifying round of the FA Cup on Sat 8th Nov 1969. Cowes legends that day included ex Saint Harry Penk on the wing, Jim Hendy in goal, the tigerish Micky Sheridan and also Pete Surman up front. Sadly we were walloped 5 -0.

Indeed I am, Raven - you sound like an old Westwood regular to me! Would be great to hear what programmes (and memories) you have. I have around 2,500 Cowes programmes going back as far as 1897, but plenty of gaps in the pre-1980 collection. Mickey Sheriton has been a regular visitor to Westwood again the past few seasons, coming over from the mainland to watch games.
_________________
Always looking for pre-1980 Cowes homes, pre-1987 Cowes aways, and any other bits and bobs relating to Cowes F.C. and I.W. football in general. Someone has to.

[Raven on the Wing]

I was just thinking as I logged in to see your reply this morning, was that the right spelling for Micky Sheriton ( Sheridan) ? As usual the programme itself got the away team names wrong ! I was a regular fan at Westwood park from the mid sixties, until I left the Island with my job in 1976.
I even played one season for the Reserves in Island league 2. Scoring in front of my dad at the Park Road end was a highlight ! He was on the terracing outside the snack bar. Is it still there ?
I only have a few Isle of Wight programmes including the Hants Senior Cup Final of 1997/8 , at the Dell, which I attended. Newport beat Fareham Town 1-0.
When did you start following the "Yachtsmen". Do you have recollections of Pat Parker and Floody also ex-saints. Saints are my main source of programmes. I am sure they featured George Readers story on more than one occasion. Cheers for your reply.

[yachtsmun]

I started going in 1984, aged 11, a few weeks after we moved to the Island, so no direct memories of Pat Parker or John Flood, but heard plenty about them.

Westwood's changed a bit since your day but still feels like the same ground. The small East stand was demolished c. 1990 having been battered in the 1987 storm, and the terrace went c. 2003 to make room for the new clubhouse, but the rest of the ground has been perked up a lot.

Below are photos from late-1970s - main stand looking pretty tired, c. 1995 (looking a lot better), and a more recent one.






_________________
Always looking for pre-1980 Cowes homes, pre-1987 Cowes aways, and any other bits and bobs relating to Cowes F.C. and I.W. football in general. Someone has to.

[Raven on the Wing]

Thanks for the great pics of Westwood Park. I lived in Park Road myself at one time, just opposite Parklands Ave.
I was one of the "Westwood boot boys" back in the days of the skinheads in the early seventies. Big rivalry with "The Port". Ryde Sports were Hants league, and Vics in the lower Hants leagues.
The Hampshire League was a very good standard, with Fareham Town and Basingstoke Town usually in the top four. Newport would give them a good game, particularly when they had Barry Allen and Eddie Walder and co. We were usually a league below them. Bigger crowds as well, although, not the huge numbers they had in the late fifties.
Are most of your progs, of the single typed sheet for Cowes then ?

[yachtsmun]

Raven on the Wing wrote:

Are most of your progs, of the single typed sheet for Cowes then ?

Pre-war are a single folded page printed both sides (all adverts apart from the line-ups), then a few years of small single sheets after WWII, then back to single folded sheets for most of the 1950s. The sixties were the trifold foldout type and included a few club notes, then seventies were a single-sided A4 tucked inside a generic cover.

In 1980 staple technology reached the Isle of Wight, and we've never looked back since (aside for some of us, who insist on looking back, misty-eyed...)
_________________
Always looking for pre-1980 Cowes homes, pre-1987 Cowes aways, and any other bits and bobs relating to Cowes F.C. and I.W. football in general. Someone has to.