What are your favourite 5 pieces in your collection?

[craig]

I know for most people it would be too hard to narrow down their favourite piece in their collection, so what are your 5 favourite pieces? Not necessarily in order as that would prove to hard also

Ill give mine later on this evening when i can cut it down to 5 from about 15 which i have in mind at the moment

[seand]

Mine would all be ones with a personal attachment....

1) Varteks v Dundalk 02-3 UEFA Cup
My first Euro away trip. So proud to see Dundalk in Europe, and a great trip. Pity about the 5-0 tonking.
2) Ireland v England 1988 European Championships
Ray Houghton's revenge for 800 years of oppression and occupation!
3) Liverpool v Spurs 91-2
My first game at Anfield, when I was still an impressionable lad and a big Liverpool fan, and when Liverpool were a bit less charmless than they are now. I don't actually know what my first Dundalk match was as Dad just started bringing me, as you do.
4) 2006 World Cup finals tournament brochure, signed by Franz Beckenbauer
What a great trip the 2006 World Cup was. Got to 6 matches and saw a lot of Germany. Got this programme at Togo v Switzerland when a mate organised VIP tickets for us in the awesome Westfallen Stadium, Dortmund.
5) Barry Kehoe XI v Jack Charlton International XI
Dundalk legend- and I do not use the word lightly in this case- Barry Kehoe was on the verge of a move to ManUtd when he was struck down by cancer. Kehoe said feck that, beat cancer and came back to lead Dundalk to the double in 88. Cancer had another go. Kehoe came back again. This programme was also Kehoe's autobiography, a great read. As well as a great player Kehoe was a complete head-case and a really great guy to chat to. Sadly he died in 2002 aged 40.

[sharrowblade]

All programmes on a purely individual blast from the past

1. Sheffield United v Stoke City 14/2/48 - The Old man's first ever game. Took me ages to find a great copy.

2. Spurs v Man City 100th Cup Final 1981 - First trip to Wembley, could still hear the sound of the crowd in my ears when I went to sleep that night.

3. Wheatsheaf v Tavern Pirates 1993 Sheffield Nomads Sunday League Cup Final at Davy McKee's Ground.

4. Sheffield Eagles v Wigan (Rugby League) 1998. Unforgettable.

5. Lincoln City v Burton Albion (Programme, tickets & Teamsheet)
My little un's first league match. The look on their faces when they realised they were going to a match, followed by that look when they realised it was Lincoln City. Afterwards, one said 'Thanks Daddy for taking me to the match', whilst the other said 'Thanks Daddy for taking me to the pub'. I'm not sure who's the clever one.

Total Value: About £36.50

Obviously, I've gone for sentiment rather than value or scarcity.

[kcs]

what a question...... will give it a go

Leeds v Middlesbrough 1934/35 - only pre-war home

Leeds v Notts County 1991/92 - My first visit to Elland Road

Leeds v Wolves 1989/90 - My first Leeds home

Ashford v Charlton 1989/90 - PSF, my first memory of a programme

Ashford v Baldock 1990/91 - I was mascot for the mighty town, aged 9!!!



Also love any Leeds home from 1947/48 as they have a great front cover and character about them!!
_________________
Nuts and Bolts Web Design
https://www.nutsandboltsarchive.co.uk/portfolio.php

Showcase your collection in an online programme guide!
Display your research in a comprehensive history archive!

[Molineux Phil]

Everton v Aston Villa 23/8/61 ,were it all began for me ,my first sighting of the footballer the late Derek Dougan his debut for Villa a love afair for me that has lasted nearly 50 years.
Wrexham v Peterborough United 14/12/63.
An early Christmas present from my elder brother a visit to the Racecorse , The Doog not dissapointing scoring two great goals for The Posh in a 3-2 victory.
Liverpool v Leicester 20/8/66.
A game vertualy on my door step,Liverpools opening fixture of the 66/67 season,a gloureious summers afternoon ,i was standing on the Kop with The Doog scoring another two goals at that end of the ground in a three minute spelljust before half-time to bring Leicester back in the game at 2-2,only to loose 3-2 to a dubious peno late in the game ?.
Wolves v Hull City 25/3/67.
My first visit to Molineux for a number of years to se The Doog make his home dabut for The Wolves ,i could not of chosen a more memorable game Doog finding the back of the net three times in an amazing performance.
Wolves v Don Revie xi (Doog Test).
Sadly my last sighting of The Doog at Molineux in a Wolves shirt,record attendance at Molineux for a Testimonial game 25,658 saies it all about the popularity of this great player.

[paulo]

Mine are all fairly new items but they all mean something to me:-

1) Signed Iwan Roberts shirt and book - signed for me when I helped with his book launch in the summer of 2004. He remembered me when I met him again on the last day of this season.

2) Limited medal issued when NCFC won the championship. I went to every game bar one that season, so it feels like I earnt it.

3) 1985 Norwich V Sheffield United Programme - my first game.

4) 2003/04 Watford V Norwich programme - the best season following NCFC ever. Great mates, great nights, great team, great season!

5) Signed Darren Huckerby shirt - I did a radio show with him for a whole hour, he was fantastic - even drove me home in his Aston Martin. Throughly nice guy, who has so much time for the club and its fans.

[craig]

Ok, So ive cheated a little bit and these aren't really my top 5 items, more like my top 5 "sets of items"!

It was hard enough getting this far

Clicking the thumbnail will pop up a large image.

1. Africa Tour Programmes 1969



3 rare programmes from a tour of South Africa in 1969 which saw us play Mauritius, Tanzania and Zambia. Copies of the Tanzania programme exist but this is the only original I've personally seen. Even in its condition with a heavy fold it should fetch £100+. Similar sort of price for Mauritius and Zambia was in a dealers catalogue marked up at £500 a couple of years ago but i wouldn't be naive enough to expect it to sell for that.

2. Ken Hollyman Collection 1942-1953



Most of my favourite items in my collection aren't actually programmes. Here I have an original war time contract from 1942 between Ken Hollyman and Cardiff City. Signed by Ken and Manager at the time Cyril Spiers (Played for Villa, Spurs. Managed Cardiff, Norwich, Palace and Exeter). Also some recent additions to my collection are a letter from Spiers to Hollyman in June 1945 informing him of the arrangements for the coming season now that the war had concluded. Also a little note from manager Trevor Morris, who replaced Spiers, informing Hollyman that he will be retaining his services for the 1953/54 season. Hollyman left Cardiff to join Newport in December '53.

3. European Hay Days! 1968-1973



A selection of "Ininerary and final travelling instructions" issued from the club to the players for our European games. They were given to me by Gary Bell who played 223 games for Cardiff and they cover the games against Sporting Lisbon (Oct 1973), FC Porto (Oct 1968), Real Madrid (March 1971) and Moscow Torpedo (March 1968). What a great time it must have been to a City fan! Sadly our route to European football was blocked in 1994 so I was never old enough to go away and see Cardiff play in Europe.


4. David Marshall, Match warn Goalkeeper gloves



Goalkeeper gloves that were allegedly warn by David Marshall during our game against Newcastle United at the Cardiff City Stadium during the 2009/10 season. They are signed by Marshall and are certainly the make of gloves he was wearing during the game however they come with no letter of authenticity as they were purchased off eBay shortly after the game. However, i believe them to be authentic - hopefully!!

5. Real Madrid v Cardiff City, 1971



A large match poster advertising the Real Madrid v Cardiff City game in March 1971 at the Bernabeau. It was brought back from Spain by Gary Bell and passed on to me. Its condition isn't great but I'm not to worried about that as its a unique piece. I have been threatening to send it off to ProgPres and one day I will so that i can get it nicely framed and displayed.

Well that's my top 5. I know i cheated a bit but it was my original question so im allowed to

Also I've just tonight bought newspaper clippings from 1922, 1929 and 1947. The 1947 reviews the whole 1946/7 season when Cardiff won the Division Three South and these items will surely be right up there in my "Top 5" when they arrive.

[Plymouthargyleseller]

I only have 1 favourate
yeovil town v plymouth argyle
carling cup tuesday night yeovil 3 argyle 2
my first away mach
_________________
Hi, I am a programme seller on a matchday at plymouth argyle

[BertD]

Hmm.

KPT (Finland) vs Wimbledon, early 80's pre-season friendly. My first game in Europe

Wimbledon vs Croydon, early 80's pre-season training ground friendly. For a couple of years I produced the reserve and youth team programmes, and I produced one for this game (one of only two first team programmes I've ever done). Only half a dozen people turned up and less than ten were sold. Quite possibly Wimbledon's rarest programme.

Fisher Athletic vs AFC Wimbledon, Boxing Day 2008. With Fisher in dire financial straits they announced they would not be producing a programme for the game. As part of the AFC Wimbledon fanzine team we stepped in and produced a one-off, although rather rubbish, programme for the game.

Probables vs Possibles, 1938/39. A combination of rarity and unusualness combined with sheer size. A bit tatty, but beautiful nonetheless.

Wimbledon vs Tottenham, 1945/46 friendly. A tiny single sheet, not much bigger than A6, picked up for a few pence many moons ago, and probably the spark for my collecting bug. A truly delightful piece of paper.
_________________
Newest programme wanted:
11-08-1976 Wycombe Wanderers v Wimbledon (Friendly)

[Tynie Topics]

I'm cheating and going for two lots of five, one lot which is my five favourite items, follwed by five items that mean the most;

1976 Australia v Hearts
"Soccer World" newspaper which is also the official programmes, probably one of the rarest post-war Hearts programmes, had it for over 20 years and in that time never seen another for sale

1936-37 Hearts v Aberdeen
My first, and only, pre-war Hearts issue, reputed to be the great Tommy Walker's copy.

Scotland v England 1939
Picked it up quite recently and I love the history associated with the programme and the great names listed. Also the adverts hold a certain fascination!

Hearts v Hibs 1940/50's
OK I'm cheating slightly, but this was the era where the Edinburgh clubs took turns to dominate Scottish football and the programmes were also the best on offer.

Southern League v Athenian League 1921/22 @ Wimbledon
My oldest programme, picked up from ebay in a terrible state, expertly restored by Eamonn at Progrmame Preservations. One of the earliest Wimbledon programme I imagine.

then.......


France v Scotland 2007
Never thought I'd see the day we did the double over a side like France (as was then), great goal from Faddy and blagged a copy of the VIP programme and teamsheet from a French VIP after the game.

Croatia v Scotland 2000
A great week long trip with lasting friendships made. Didn't get the programme at the time as it ws VIP only but obtained it a year or two later. Start of a decade long obsession of following Scotland all over the place (yes, I'm masochistic)

Hearts v Dynamo Kiev 1982/83
A midweek friendly, so the St.Johns Ambulanceman who travelled on our supporters bus got me in to sit with him trackside. I was only 12 and the great Oleg Blokhin came over to collect the ball from the track, mis-controlled it and kicked it against me, it was a wet night and my programme got a bit grubby from the mud on the ball. Still have the programme! he did say sorry in Russian though, I think....This was my first season watching Hearts regularly in the depths of Divison One.

Wimbledon v Liverpool 1988/89
First Wimbledon game after moving down south and a mate persuaded me to go along, Plough Lane was a great place to watch the big teams being humbled! Now a Dons Trust members and get down to see a few AFC games every season.

Blackburn United v Haddington Athletic 1992/93
My first stab at programme editing for my local club, still doing it off and on 20 years later.
_________________
https://www.flickr.com/photos/footballprogrammes/albums

[Plymouthargyleseller]

Tynie Topics wrote:

I'm cheating and going for two lots of five, one lot which is my five favourite items, follwed by five items that mean the most; 1976 Australia v Hearts "Soccer World" newspaper which is also the official programmes, probably one of the rarest post-war Hearts programmes, had it for over 20 years and in that time never seen another for sale 1936-37 Hearts v Aberdeen My first, and only, pre-war Hearts issue, reputed to be the great Tommy Walker's copy. Scotland v England 1939 Picked it up quite recently and I love the history associated with the programme and the great names listed. Also the adverts hold a certain fascination! Hearts v Hibs 1940/50's OK I'm cheating slightly, but this was the era where the Edinburgh clubs took turns to dominate Scottish football and the programmes were also the best on offer. Southern League v Athenian League 1921/22 @ Wimbledon My oldest programme, picked up from ebay in a terrible state, expertly restored by Eamonn at Progrmame Preservations. One of the earliest Wimbledon programme I imagine. then....... France v Scotland 2007 Never thought I'd see the day we did the double over a side like France (as was then), great goal from Faddy and blagged a copy of the VIP programme and teamsheet from a French VIP after the game. Croatia v Scotland 2000 A great week long trip with lasting friendships made. Didn't get the programme at the time as it ws VIP only but obtained it a year or two later. Hearts v Dynamo Kiev 1982/83 A midweek friendly, so the St.Johns Ambulanceman who travelled on our supporters bus got me in to sit with him trackside. I was only 12 and the great Oleg Blokhin came over to collect the ball from the track, mis-controlled it and kicked it against me, it was a wet night and my programme got a bit grubby from the mud on the ball. Still have the programme! he did say sorry in Russian though, I think.... Wimbledon v Liverpool 1988/89 First Wimbledon game after moving down south and a mate persuaded me to go along. Now a Dons Trust members and get down to see a few AFC games every season. Blackburn United v Haddington Athletic 1992/93 My first stab at programme editing for my local club, still doing it off and on 20 years later.

geddon buy, hearts v aberdeen, thats good stuff
_________________
Hi, I am a programme seller on a matchday at plymouth argyle

[ToffeeDan]

Good question: I suppose most of them would be items other than programmes which most others would also have: So I'll try:

1. Keating's History of Everton 1878-1928 (1st Edition) - been in the family for 80 plus years.

2. Team sheets from the late 70s and early 80s which were only handed out to a handful of Directors, Press and supporters (a total of about 75 of these) - as well as some other rare (minor game) programmes like the Gornik team sheet.

3. Aquascutum Sterling Silver Football to commemorate Everton vs Villarreal

4. Duncan Ferguson's signed Versace Tie (and other signed items stretching back to the 60s)

5. Original Videos made by the club in 1984-5 and privately distributed - showing all the goals on the club's video camera (now readily available on DVD etc).

plus a few personal items directly sent by the club to my family..

In terms of Programmes - probably my extensive collection of 1960s programmes - virtually all Everton first class homes/aways (but not all those elusive postponed and European aways however) and a large number of reserve and youth plus friendlies (and trying to complete set of all post-war away wins)

[mancitymark]

Good but tough question that but I would go for the following programmes and mainly all of a personal and sentimental level.

1. Luton v Man City - Nov 30th 1985 - My first City game and everyone remembers there first programme & game.

2. City v Huddersfield Sept 15th 1984 - Given to by my cousin Mick McCarthy and signed by the entire first team squad that day.

3. Signed collection of City testimonial’s including Colin Bell, Paul Power, Alex Williams, Ian Brightwell, Paul Lake, Kenny Clements, Eric Nixon Etc

4. Sept 89 City 5 Utd 1 Programme signed by 8 of the side that played that day, Been painfully tracking them down over the years and sending it off to be signed.

5. 1967/68 Championship season as have every programme home & away, Friendly & postponed. Although missing the end of season friendly at Bury in which Malcom Allison came on a sub and the City fans started singing 'Allison For England'.
_________________
Every Man Needs A Hobby

[treble99]

nice little thread this.
it made me search and think at the same time which is never a good combination

1 Everton v Newton Heath programme season 1888/89
this is my oldest programme involving Manchester United.
the game is a pre league friendly

2 Sarajevo v Manchester United
the reason this is sentimental to me is that as well as being worth an absolute fortune i actually discovered its existence in the early years of my collecting.
i employed a lady to work for me who had just gone through a divorce.she was moving home and i offered to help her move.
she was leaving outside her old house a big tea chest of programmes that had belonged to her ex.
his father had been a journalist and this programme was only avialble to dignitaries and journalists.
it was a "no programme" game to this point and i got it for free for doing a good turn and helping somebody

3 Newton Heath Bazaar brochure 1901
bought at the first auction i went to
cost me what appeared to be a fortune in those days but not seen it since.
basically the start of Manchester United as we know them.
a great read,a huge amount of history and probably worth a significant amount more than i paid for it

4 Manchester United v Aston Villa programme FA Cup 4th February 1911
the first FA Cup tie to be played at Old Trafford.
it conjures up great ideas of what it must have been like.
currently on loan to the Manchester United museum as it is 100 years old

5 i couldn't miss out on something Munich related so i have chosen a hand written letter which was written by Tommy Taylors landlady to his parents just after the Munich crash.
she talks about "how she can't believe what has happened" and "she will leave his room exactly as it is until they are able to speak to her"
you can feel the despair and fear and frustration.
this is the human side of the tragedy.
very moving.well it moves me anyway

[Lord Doggett]

Wow, after reading Treble99's top five I feel distinctly amateur with my collection!

Anyway here goes.....

Watford v Plymouth 1950/51
The oldest programme I have in my collection, I wish I had more from this era, and far less recent ones, as it's just full of fascinating adverts and definitely a joy to look at.

Watford v Colchester 1977/78 FA Cup
My first Watford Match.

Kaiserslauten v Watford 1983/84 EUFA Cup
Our first trip to Europe, autographed and tatty, I've since replaced this with a mint copy, but this is the one that was in my pocket when "I was there".

Everton v Watford FA Cup Ticket 1983/84
Our only time in an FA Cup Final, since replaced the match progrmme, but this was MY ticket!

The Yellow Experience Issue 13 (Watford Fanzine)
I used to produce this litary masterpiece, this issue featured a 9 page interview with Graham Taylor, he was just a fantastic man to chat to, in fact he wouldn't shut up, after the interview we chatted for a further half hour with him running around his office showing me all manner of memrobilia and photos relating to his time at Watford.[/b]

[goonerboy]

my five items are more sentimental than valuable. Although my collection goes back many prewar years generally it is programmes of matches that mean something to me that are my favourites.

1. Crystal Palace v Arsenal Friendly 1970. A preseason friendly at the National Recreation Centre where Palace played preseason friendlies for a few years in 60s. My first ever match. I was only 7. My Dad was an Arsenal fan and persuaded me that they were better than Palace who were our local team at the time. How right my Dad was as Arsenal went on to win the double in my first year of supporting them.

2. Arsenal v Liverpool FA Cup Final 1971. I remember watching it at home on the telly in colour on a hot May day and the wonder of Charlie George's winning goal.

3. Plymouth v Bristol City April 1986. Plymouth won promotion that night. I went down with some Plymouth mates and due to their contacts we ended up in the players lounge after the game for one hell of a piss up. The programme is signed by all the players, is creased and stained but what a night.

4. Stevenage v Arsenal Preseason friendly July 2002. First away game for my youngest son and he was well excited. Priceless.

5. Next purchase to fill another gap. You can't beat that feeling of excitement as you open that envelope knowing it contains another from your wants list and that you now have it.

[CelticFan1888]

excellent posts guys facinating stuff !!
here goes my top 5

1. obvious .. celtic v inter milan european cup final programme 1967 in mint condition , wont bore everyone with the significance of this game

2. celtic v bohemians select , 1952 programme , testimonial programme for celtic's greatest ever servant willie maley , who was also a member of the original 1888 side.

3. celtic v dundee utd , scottish cup final 1988 programme , my first ever game as a 8 year old , match we won to complete our double in our centenary year.

4. celtic v hibernian coronation cup final 1953 programme , fantastic old programme from a bygone era , a cup celtic won after all the best sides in britain at the time took part.

5. scotland v norway hampden park 1989 , in the pouring rain , i managed to keep my programme in excellent condition , my very first scotland game and what a night it was!
_________________
HAIL HAIL THE CELTS ARE HERE

[1974]

What a great topic for a thread!

1. Barcelona v Hibs 27/12/60 Inter City Fairs Cup
This was my number 1 want until a few weeks ago, I won it in the recent Sporting Memorys auction. The game finished 4 - 4 although Hibs were 4 - 2 up with 10 minutes to go! Hibs went on to win the 2nd leg 3-2 at Easter Road.

2. Hibs v Stade Rheims 18/04/56 European Cup
EC semi final in the first year of the competition. Just as well Hibs didn't win as the programme for the final now sells for about £6k!

3. Hibs v Celtic 30/10/48 League
My only 'old style' Hibs programme. They were issued for 3 seasons prior to 49/50.

4. Aberdeen v Hibs 19/04/47 Scottish Cup Final
Just because it's a really nice 40's programme.

5. AEK Athens or Dnipro v Hibs UEFA Cup
The 2 away euro games I've attended. The Athens game was postponed whilst we were en route due to the twin towers attack the previous day. We stayed for a night out and returned the following week for the game. As for Dnipro, a trip to deepest darkest Ukraine was an experience I'll never forget.

[pastpirate]

Been meaning to post on this thread for ages but just couldn't decide on the five I would pick. On another day it would be another selection I guess. But today I will go with these five.


-----------------------------------------------------
1. 5-8-1972. Bristol Rovers v Shefield United at Eastville, The Watney Cup Final.
My first game and what a way to start. We won the cup on pens.
-----------------------------------------------------
2. 2-5-1990. Bristol Rovers v Bristol City. Div 3. At Twerton Park.
If Rovers win we are promoted. If City win they are champions. We won and a few days later beat Blackpool away to take the title. Bloody wonderful. 18 days later we were going to Wembley. (See no 3)
------------------------------------------------------
3. 20-5-1990 Bristol Rovers v Tranmere Rovers at Wembley. Mickey Mouse Cup Final.
I never thought I would see Rovers at Wembley. Though we lost is was a great day.
-----------------------------------------------------
4. 25-5-2007. Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury Town at Wembley. Div 2 Play Off Final.
City had already gained promotion to the Championship and we had NEVER been 2 divisions behind them. We HAD to win and win we did. Having lost at The Mill Stad a few months before this was another of those great days.
-------------------------------------------------------
5. 13-1-1906 Sheffield Wednesday v Bristol Rovers at Hillsborough F.A.Cup 1 The jewel in my collection due to it's age.
-------------------------------------------------------
_________________
I am not gas, I am a Pirate.

www.bristolroversmemorabilia.weebly.com The definitive list of Bristol Rovers programmes

[Dodge]

Nice thread.

I collect stuff from St Patrick’s Athletic in Dublin so it all about them.

1) Leinster Senior Cup final v Transport (neutral) from December 1947 – Trophy won as a non league side and stated the ball rolling towards achieving league status. Not too hard to find on e-bay I got mine for £10 Possibly the first programme for a Pats game (garyspain will know for sure)
2) Away to Hearts 1988 UEFA Cup – I started going to games regularly in the 87/88 season and I remember copies of this programme on sale in our ground the week after. I chose to buy a magazine with my “pocket money” instead and it sold out. Even though I was 9 (nearly 10) I knew I’d made a mistake. Went to a few fairs in Dublin and couldn’t find it (remember I was a kid and there was no internet) and always regretted it. Finally bought it about 10 years ago and currently going on e-bay for about 50p
3) Home v Bohemians April 1990 – Final league game of the season in the year we won the league for the first time in 34 years. Programme was a bumper edition (well over double the pages in a normal issue) and contained a review of every game that season. I’ve had to buy a new copy as my original was read so much
4) Paul Osam Testimonial 2002 (v Shamrock Rovers) – I was on the organising committee for the testimonial year and even though I’ve had a few pieces published in the programme throughout the years I think it’s the only time I’ve been thanked in all that time. LOL
5) Away v Elfsborg 2008 – Just as a memento of a brilliant trip. Coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in Sweden (We came from being 1-0 down with 2 minutes to go to win the second leg 2-1 too).