My Dad didn't just witness it, he lived it - this is him:
Sons of Spurs heroes Bobby Smith and Danny Blanchflower relive glory | Daily Mail Online
Sons of Spurs heroes Bobby Smith and Danny Blanchflower relive glory | Daily Mail Online
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My dad took me to my first Spurs game in 1958 when I was 7 years old.
It was the start of what was to be a sometimes painful journey of following the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.
My first painful experience occurred a few years later during the summer holidays.
Me and 3 other boys from The Hood were bored.Some bright spark came up with the idea of going to the Spurs training ground at Cheshunt ,watch the team train and collect a few autographs.
Sounded like a good plan so the next day 4 of us set off for sunny Cheshunt.
3 of us wearing shorts and 1 wearing long trousers.
Wr decided that the best method of approach was probably to sneak in at the back of the ground.
Less chance of us being spotted and thrown out.
Started making our way through the undergrowth heading towards the players we could see in the distance.
It took us a while to work out that we were walking through a patch of stinging nettles.
Not something you should be doing wearing short trousers.
To add insult to injury we realized that the first tram were not training that day.
I went to games with my dad until I started secondary school,when I started going with my school mates.
As close to the half way line below the shelf was our preferred spot.Getting into the ground by 1:30 normally achieved the objective.
Matches from that long ago do tend to merge in your mind unless there is something notable about them.
Tottenham v Aston Villa in March 1966 was one such game. Tottenham played superbly during the first half of that game and after the first few minutes of the second half were leading by 5 goals to 1.
It finished up 5=5 with us hanging on at the end. Great entertainment but we were lucky not to lose.
During the following season I started going to away matches outside of London.
Highlight for me was April 1967 FA cup semi final v Nottimgham Forest at Hillsborough.
We won 2-1 Frank Saul scoring one of the goals as he did in the final against the chavs.
Frank Saul was almost the forgotten man of that decade.
He made his debut during the double winning season playing 6 games and scoring 3 goals.
He was only 17 years old when he made his debut.
Sadly he never really fulfilled his early potential.
His reward for scoring two vital goals that helped us win the cup was to be transferred to Southampton as part of the deal that brought Martin Chivers to Tottenham.
All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All thing wise and wonderful
He gave us Frankie Saul
Onwards to January 1968
Drawn away to Man U in the cup
Chivers scored twice in 2-2 draw.
Replay tickets on sale Monday at 10am.
Monday morning came,went to school got my mark in the register left by the back door to go to join the queue for replay tickets.
Felt a tap on my shoulder turned around and found myself looking into the face of my deputy headmaster.He was not a happy man
Dragged me out of the queue.marched me back to school whilst giving me a lecture on how disappointed he was with me.Thought I might get away with a couple of detentions.No chance.Out came the cane.
Once again I suffered pain for my support of the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.
Two games in 1969 stand out in my memory.Only one of which involved us.
15th March 1969 WoolwichvSwindon league cup final
Myself and two of my Park Lane mates were there for extra time when Don Rogers took Woolwich apart on the mud heap that passed fora football pitch.
It was really hard not to cheer or laugh when the 3rd goal went in.
The misery surrounding us was incredible.
Grown men crying because they felt so humiliated.
It was truly magical.
Finally September 1969 away to Derby County\
We were shite deservedly hammered 5-0
Me and my mates just wanted to get back to London as quickly as possible.
A view not shared by lots of our fellow supporters.
I think we were about 20minutes out of Derby when we realized this train was not going to make it to London.
The train or what was left of the train limped in to Flitwick station where it came to a halt.
Probably waiting for the arrival of the PC Plodd and his merry men
The rest you probably know a few hundred of the train wreckers decided to go and see what damage they could do to a small Bedfordshire Town while the rest of us crossed the tracks and got a train to London.
Not Park Lames finest hour
Jimmy Greaves finest finisher I ever saw,Dave Mackay and Mike England two of the hardest men to have worn our shirt John White one of the most skillful Not forgetting the wonderful Cliff Jones.
Happy days
It was the start of what was to be a sometimes painful journey of following the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.
My first painful experience occurred a few years later during the summer holidays.
Me and 3 other boys from The Hood were bored.Some bright spark came up with the idea of going to the Spurs training ground at Cheshunt ,watch the team train and collect a few autographs.
Sounded like a good plan so the next day 4 of us set off for sunny Cheshunt.
3 of us wearing shorts and 1 wearing long trousers.
Wr decided that the best method of approach was probably to sneak in at the back of the ground.
Less chance of us being spotted and thrown out.
Started making our way through the undergrowth heading towards the players we could see in the distance.
It took us a while to work out that we were walking through a patch of stinging nettles.
Not something you should be doing wearing short trousers.
To add insult to injury we realized that the first tram were not training that day.
I went to games with my dad until I started secondary school,when I started going with my school mates.
As close to the half way line below the shelf was our preferred spot.Getting into the ground by 1:30 normally achieved the objective.
Matches from that long ago do tend to merge in your mind unless there is something notable about them.
Tottenham v Aston Villa in March 1966 was one such game. Tottenham played superbly during the first half of that game and after the first few minutes of the second half were leading by 5 goals to 1.
It finished up 5=5 with us hanging on at the end. Great entertainment but we were lucky not to lose.
During the following season I started going to away matches outside of London.
Highlight for me was April 1967 FA cup semi final v Nottimgham Forest at Hillsborough.
We won 2-1 Frank Saul scoring one of the goals as he did in the final against the chavs.
Frank Saul was almost the forgotten man of that decade.
He made his debut during the double winning season playing 6 games and scoring 3 goals.
He was only 17 years old when he made his debut.
Sadly he never really fulfilled his early potential.
His reward for scoring two vital goals that helped us win the cup was to be transferred to Southampton as part of the deal that brought Martin Chivers to Tottenham.
All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All thing wise and wonderful
He gave us Frankie Saul
Onwards to January 1968
Drawn away to Man U in the cup
Chivers scored twice in 2-2 draw.
Replay tickets on sale Monday at 10am.
Monday morning came,went to school got my mark in the register left by the back door to go to join the queue for replay tickets.
Felt a tap on my shoulder turned around and found myself looking into the face of my deputy headmaster.He was not a happy man
Dragged me out of the queue.marched me back to school whilst giving me a lecture on how disappointed he was with me.Thought I might get away with a couple of detentions.No chance.Out came the cane.
Once again I suffered pain for my support of the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.
Two games in 1969 stand out in my memory.Only one of which involved us.
15th March 1969 WoolwichvSwindon league cup final
Myself and two of my Park Lane mates were there for extra time when Don Rogers took Woolwich apart on the mud heap that passed fora football pitch.
It was really hard not to cheer or laugh when the 3rd goal went in.
The misery surrounding us was incredible.
Grown men crying because they felt so humiliated.
It was truly magical.
Finally September 1969 away to Derby County\
We were shite deservedly hammered 5-0
Me and my mates just wanted to get back to London as quickly as possible.
A view not shared by lots of our fellow supporters.
I think we were about 20minutes out of Derby when we realized this train was not going to make it to London.
The train or what was left of the train limped in to Flitwick station where it came to a halt.
Probably waiting for the arrival of the PC Plodd and his merry men
The rest you probably know a few hundred of the train wreckers decided to go and see what damage they could do to a small Bedfordshire Town while the rest of us crossed the tracks and got a train to London.
Not Park Lames finest hour
Jimmy Greaves finest finisher I ever saw,Dave Mackay and Mike England two of the hardest men to have worn our shirt John White one of the most skillful Not forgetting the wonderful Cliff Jones.
Happy days
I went to my first game in 68, dad brought me. What was it like? Was the question from the OP? Bloody great as far as my old man was concerned, despite what anyone says the double team of 61 were the greatest team these isles have ever seen.
Some of the greatest students of the game have mirrored these sentiments.
I've seen Jimmy Greaves, Alan Gilzean, Dave Mackay and PAt Jennings play, what the hell would I know!
Some of the greatest students of the game have mirrored these sentiments.
I've seen Jimmy Greaves, Alan Gilzean, Dave Mackay and PAt Jennings play, what the hell would I know!
Also at away games in those days you would get the pink (a newspaper you dirty sods) and we would sit on a freezing ancient train rattling back to London reading the write up on our game. They almost always mentioned the 'invasion force from Tottenham' or 'hordes of Londoners' etc. It made you feel part of something and when you got off at Euston or Kings Cross at 10pm the roar to announce your arrival was fantastic. Happy days of following our glorious club.
One of my earliest memories was our double year and balancing on my Granny's knee in Stoke Newington. She smelt of Vick and was Spurs, so I guess that's where it came from.
I remember crying when John White died.
I still have my 1967 Cup Final rosette proudly displayed above my desk.
My son's Spurs so I guess I've done something right.
The greatest of all? Jimmy.
I remember crying when John White died.
I still have my 1967 Cup Final rosette proudly displayed above my desk.
My son's Spurs so I guess I've done something right.
The greatest of all? Jimmy.
I much preferred the lack of 24/7/52 coverage back in the seventies. It is total overkill these days.
Now that's a claim to fame not many, if any, of us can boast.
Proper Spurs legend in every sense of the word.
What Dagenham?
I am not quite 60s vintage but saw my first few games in the early 70s. Also went to a few Wet Spam games as a kid as my Mum was Spurs (used to go with her dad in the 50s) and my Dad was Wet Spam (grew up in East Ham) and the odd Orient game too. It was a case of looking in the paper to see who was at home and then going as a treat for me and my brother. All were roughly eqi-distant from Epping where we lived. I would have been 8 or 9 at the time. Only did 4 or 5 games a year. As my mum was more interested in football than my dad we ended up going to Spurs more often as we got a bit older (Thanks mum !) Went to more and more games during the early 70s before going regularly in th 76/77 season when we got relegated. Remember the last game v Leicester and the pitch invasion feeling more like we had won the league. The following year I went to every home game except 2 (the 9 nil v Bristol Rovers and the 5-1 v Oldham !! as we went on our first foriegn holiday to Corfu in the October half term holiday). After that was a regular and had a standing season ticket on the shelf in the early 80s. Best season at the time was 81/82 when i was 19 managed to do 55 out of 60 ish games that year home and away inc the european games v Ajax and Eintract Franfurt. Enjoyed the 'glory years' of the early 80s but then stopped going for a bit after the 89 season and Hillsborough, mainly due to having kids of my own and my mates all drifting away from it too. Got back to going in recent years and am now a season ticket holder again and got to say the current team is the best I have ever seen and were it not for the 'money teams' currently we would have been enjoying an era of trophy winning like the early 80s and early 60s. Spurs have been my life. COYS !!
Right you whippersnappers. I went to my first game on Boxing Day '62 as I posted before. I was 7 but had my ideas about how the game should be played.
I remember the excitement of 60/61 as we came flying out of the blocks and won the first 10 games I think. I'm doing all this from memory so indulge me. When the Cup came around in January, and it was THE cup, the anticipation was palpable.
With each round the media asked 'can they do it?' But there was nowhere near the coverage of today. Make no mistake, the Double was the most fantastic achievement as we had a very small squad and no subs back then. There was just the radio and the papers, no television coverage except for the Cup Final. and no highlights. Probably why attendances were so high.
With Greaves joining, Sir Bill firmly believed that we would win the European Cup and break Madrid's monopoly, and we would have if it wasn't for a bent fucking referee.
I remember the atmospheric photos of the glory glory nights at the Lane in the morning papers. The fore ground was all you could see with everything else pitch black. State of the art photography.
The march to Rotterdam was electric and humbling the holders in the final was rightly acclaimed as we became the first British club etc. Imagine if that had been achieved by Liverpool today. The beatification of Klopp would be nauseating.
However, this was an ageing team and it started to break up as other teams came to prominence, an 8-2 defeat at Blackpool was an ominous warning.
By 67 the game had changed radically and whilst we gave Chelsea a lesson in the final, our days as a serious league challenger were on the wane. A couple of League Cups and top 4 finishes in the early 70s was our level.
But as a youngster, for me that period is indelibly etched on my soul. It was Spurs at their stylish best, in a 1st Division where every club had stars.
Accessable, affordable and free of terrace violence, every home game was a fantastic experience and getting to an away game, a complete adventure, and yes the grounds were basic, the facilities primitive and the toilets ? Let's not go there (unless you are desperate.)
But as nostalgia is the last refuge of old gits, I wouldn't have missed it.
I remember the excitement of 60/61 as we came flying out of the blocks and won the first 10 games I think. I'm doing all this from memory so indulge me. When the Cup came around in January, and it was THE cup, the anticipation was palpable.
With each round the media asked 'can they do it?' But there was nowhere near the coverage of today. Make no mistake, the Double was the most fantastic achievement as we had a very small squad and no subs back then. There was just the radio and the papers, no television coverage except for the Cup Final. and no highlights. Probably why attendances were so high.
With Greaves joining, Sir Bill firmly believed that we would win the European Cup and break Madrid's monopoly, and we would have if it wasn't for a bent fucking referee.
I remember the atmospheric photos of the glory glory nights at the Lane in the morning papers. The fore ground was all you could see with everything else pitch black. State of the art photography.
The march to Rotterdam was electric and humbling the holders in the final was rightly acclaimed as we became the first British club etc. Imagine if that had been achieved by Liverpool today. The beatification of Klopp would be nauseating.
However, this was an ageing team and it started to break up as other teams came to prominence, an 8-2 defeat at Blackpool was an ominous warning.
By 67 the game had changed radically and whilst we gave Chelsea a lesson in the final, our days as a serious league challenger were on the wane. A couple of League Cups and top 4 finishes in the early 70s was our level.
But as a youngster, for me that period is indelibly etched on my soul. It was Spurs at their stylish best, in a 1st Division where every club had stars.
Accessable, affordable and free of terrace violence, every home game was a fantastic experience and getting to an away game, a complete adventure, and yes the grounds were basic, the facilities primitive and the toilets ? Let's not go there (unless you are desperate.)
But as nostalgia is the last refuge of old gits, I wouldn't have missed it.
First game for me was Oct 1968 v Leicester City. Jimmy Greaves got a hat trick in a 3.2 win. My mates dad took us and we sat in the Paxton. I was 11.
Feel privileged to have seen some of the real heroes of the club
We then started going on our own and went in the Park Lane doing a few aways as well. Our home routine was to meet at my house in Edmonton, walk to Tottenham, have a fry up in a café near WHL station and then go into the Supporters Club (god bless you Mary). Have a pint and book train tickets for the next away game.
Did pretty much all of the 70's but dropped off mid 80's as got married etc etc
Without doubt the best season was in division 2, discovering new grounds (Mansfield stands out). It was different days then, 3.00pm kick offs every Saturday, terraces everywhere, football specials. But then SKY and the PL came along and royally fucked it all up
Great memories of a special time.
Feel privileged to have seen some of the real heroes of the club
We then started going on our own and went in the Park Lane doing a few aways as well. Our home routine was to meet at my house in Edmonton, walk to Tottenham, have a fry up in a café near WHL station and then go into the Supporters Club (god bless you Mary). Have a pint and book train tickets for the next away game.
Did pretty much all of the 70's but dropped off mid 80's as got married etc etc
Without doubt the best season was in division 2, discovering new grounds (Mansfield stands out). It was different days then, 3.00pm kick offs every Saturday, terraces everywhere, football specials. But then SKY and the PL came along and royally fucked it all up
Great memories of a special time.
My first ever game was pikeys v Spurs at Upton Park in 1964' my grandad took me. We used to live in one the roads off Green St, so we walled to the ground. Lost 3-2 but still didn't put me off. My first home game was against Sheffield Utd a week before the 1967 cup final which we won 2-0.
Started going regularly on my own in 1969, up to then my uncle used to take me. Vaguely remember Spurs doing the double as my uncle came home celebrating, but do remember the 1962 cup final. Remember getting the special edition of the Evening News coloured front cover of Spurs team and on the back cover the Burnley team. Back then they always done the special editions for cup finals.
Also remember when we won the European Cup winners Cup, really a great time to be a Spurs supporter,
Also remember you could wait for the late paper for the football results, I remember waiting in our local news agents with my grandad for the van to deliver.
Started going regularly on my own in 1969, up to then my uncle used to take me. Vaguely remember Spurs doing the double as my uncle came home celebrating, but do remember the 1962 cup final. Remember getting the special edition of the Evening News coloured front cover of Spurs team and on the back cover the Burnley team. Back then they always done the special editions for cup finals.
Also remember when we won the European Cup winners Cup, really a great time to be a Spurs supporter,
Also remember you could wait for the late paper for the football results, I remember waiting in our local news agents with my grandad for the van to deliver.
Pretty sure I have, but not sure when and I've been posting on here since Sept 2011!
Jackie was a very, very funny man. Was a professional after dinner speaker.
My Dad still gets to a lot of home games, so if you see him feel free to ask him to recount some stories - you will struggle to shut him up.
My dad has a very minor claim to fame in that he used to be Bill Nicholson’s paperboy, when he in lived in Tottenham. Goalkeeper Ted Ditchburn lived next door I’m told.
Some time before my gran was one day scrubbing her front doorstep in Hampden Road when Bill stopped and asked her if she knew anyone who had a room for rent, as he was looking for digs. No mansions in the suburbs for footballers in those days.
Some time before my gran was one day scrubbing her front doorstep in Hampden Road when Bill stopped and asked her if she knew anyone who had a room for rent, as he was looking for digs. No mansions in the suburbs for footballers in those days.
I’m afraid even our oldest members were probably just kids, though maybeArthur Wensleydale or maybe I’m confusing him with someone else, started attending in the late 50’s and he can give a good account
Not that old! Followed the double side but wasn't allowed to go until Boxing day '62. The best account I ever read about the 60s was Jimmy's autobiography, 'Greavsie.'
Real in depth, analysis of the game as a whole. I thoroughly recommend it.
Love this thread - As a child of the 90s this is great. All I've known is the Sky Sports Premier League era and I've become disillusioned with that already. Can't believe how some of the older generations can put up with it.
Found a load of my dad's old match programmes from the 70s and 80s a few years back and really enjoyed reading them. A completely different game back then.
Found a load of my dad's old match programmes from the 70s and 80s a few years back and really enjoyed reading them. A completely different game back then.
Couple of stories about Sir Bill;
In the early 70's, a mate and I decided to knock on Sir Bill's door, not knowing what we were going to say to the great man! Anyway he answers the door and asks us what he want. We said we don't really know and that we just wanted to say hello. With that, he pops back inside and give us each a complementary team sheet/photo of the 1972 UEFA cup winning team, and sends us on our way.
I used to go to Tottenham County (Selby Road site). We had a practice game after school one day on the playing fields next to Weir Hall Road, but I had to watch from the side as I was injured. After a while I noticed a chap coming towards me, and was amazed to see that it was Sir Bill. He asked me if I could give him a run down on the players taking part. Absolute gentleman he was.
I started in 1967 and didn't go to my first game until 1969, so don't think I can add too much to this, unfortunately. Although I went to games in the 70s, I didn't become a regular/season ticket holder until the 80s, which was when I started to go to away matches. The first half of that decade was fun.