Football Programmes Centre

PaulM · Joined: 30 Jun 2011 Posts: 30

Can anyone identify the players / team in this photo. From the hairstyles I was thinking 1960s but the press stamp on the back indicates its earlier than that.

PaulM · Joined: 30 Jun 2011 Posts: 30

Flaming Pie · Joined: 26 Nov 2016 Posts: 969

It’s got a bit of a non- league look about it Paul. Training in the dark under the lights after work or college. Could be wrong, but unless it’s a visiting foreign team,, don’t think the pros trained under lights?

Pete’s Picture Palace · Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2022 5:27 pm Post subject:

Afraid the players are a bit distant to identify. In those hoops I can only guess Celtic, QPR or Reading, or maybe non-League as Mr Pie suggests, which seems likely as those clubs probably wouldn't be training in their regular 1st team shirts.

The PA Reuter stamp is a 50's one, early to mid probably as by late 50's the "Central" exchange on the stamp had been superseded by "Fleet Street", and the actual number 7440 stayed the same.

On top of it was probably the green Press Association label which has been removed - very often the case, more's the pity as it carried all the right information.

PaulM · Joined: 30 Jun 2011 Posts: 30

Thanks both

ndg1860 · Joined: 27 Aug 2020 Posts: 202 Location: London

Two things. Given that they are wearing a strip, perhaps it is players warming up prior to a floodlit friendly?

Also, it is definitely not QPR as when they wore hoops, those hoops went down the sleeves. QPR wore white shirts from 1953 to 1960 as well.

Flaming Pie · Joined: 26 Nov 2016 Posts: 969

A bit of a wild guess, If it’s non-League perhaps it’s the Walthamstow Ave players in training before they took on Man Unt FA Cup 4th Round Jan/Feb 1953? First game they held Man Unt to a draw, so there was a replay at Highbury. Amateurs taking on a top team and drawing with them would definitely have been a big deal at the time . Perhaps the press wanted some photos for newspaper coverage and they could only get an evening training session? If you check some of the London papers from around that date , the actual photo could be with the article.

PaulM · Joined: 30 Jun 2011 Posts: 30

Yes, I did think of Walthamstow, prior to their replay with Manchester United at Highbury, partly because the photo came as part of a batch, quite a few of which were Arsenal-related.