Sunday admission sheets

[tranmereandy1]

Does anybody know when the requirement to stop producing Sunday admission teamsheets to gain entry to the ground came into effect? I can’t work out why you could buy a programme but not pay to watch the game, was this some Sunday trading not allowing entertainment! [/url]

[colchestersid]

At West Ham the last Sunday team sheet was the Phil Parkes testimonial on 19th August 1990

The Sunday Observance Act had been on the statute books for 200+ years. Amendments to the legislation in the 1970s meant it became legal to play professional sport on a Sunday but it was not allowed to charge for admission

To get around that cricket (and then football) charged for the team sheet (or scorecard) which then allowed admission. Motor racing circuits charged for car parking

All of which was a bit of a nonsense - by the early 1990s there were no longer any legal challenges being made (the various "Keep Sunday Special" campaigns had fizzled out) and the Sunday Trading Act in 1994 swept away all previous legislation to give us the framework we have today

In summary then - from 1974 to 1990 the teamsheet ruse was used by some clubs, from 1990 to 1994 clubs just chose to ignore the law and from 1994 the law was changed

[tranmereandy1]

Thanks that’s really useful just need to figure out the last Sunday game Tranmere played in 80s now!

[RIKERBCFC]

Some clubs made it admission by programme during this time and did not issue teamsheets so you see programmes from this era with higher cover prices than normal.

[farmersboy]

During the miners strike in 1974, clubs were not allowed to use floodlights, consequently midweek games had to be played in the afternoon. To compensate for the lack of income, some clubs experimented with playing on Sundays. As they were not allowed to charge admission, some clubs sold a team sheet at the turnstile for the usual admission price, which is why you sometimes see team sheets marked 50p. There was supposed to be a free turnstile, but I never saw one. Initially the novelty value saw an increase in attendances. Pompey had 32000 for a cup game against Orient and 19000 for a league game, also 38000 for an away cup game against Forest , as opposed to 8000 for a home midweek afternoon game.

[Flaming Pie]

Farmersboy, your mention of the strike brought back a few memories. I recall going to some of these games at Anfield and Goodison . One of them, ( not on a Sunday but it was an early kick-off Tuesday midweek) Liverpool v Coventry Feb 74. Attendance was low, 21, 656. Couldn’t remember the score or anything much about the match at all until l just had a look. What l do recall is during a break in play , Tommy Smith was leaning on a wall near us catching his breath. Coventry’s Tommy Hutchinson was standing near to him He looked at the winger and growled ‘ This f—-ing Scottish so and so hasn’t stopped moaning the whole f—-ing match. He’s starting to piss me off now!’ Tommy Smith certainly had a way with words ! Strange the things you remember