Newsletter #13

Welcome to the latest edition of my irregular updates newsletter and thank you for your continued interest and support. More features this time about my latest additions, items I'd like, auctions and other interesting sites. As ever, clicking on the picture or highlighted text in each item below will take you to a more detailed site, either mine or the relevant one. Also, if you know of anyone else who might be interested in receiving this newsletter please ask them to get in touch with me via the site or perhaps YOU could provide me with their email address.

Another highlight from my website Perhaps it's an oddity, but I don't care and I'm going to include this here. It's the earliest item that I have of anything resembling HTAFC memorabilia - a sadly incomplete newspaper report of Town's 6-1 West Riding Cup 2nd Round tie against Clayton West on 20th March, 1909 at a time when Town was only a Midland League team. Of interest here is the mention in the third paragraph of 'The Redskins' which MUST be Town because Howard - who kicks clear - is a Town player; so does this prove that Town played in red at this time? All Town fans know that we were at one time known as 'The Scarlet Runners' due to playing in red shirts - later to become pink as the colour ran after all too-frequent washes! - and this would appear to be the evidence that was required. This brilliant piece of history is glued to the back of the telegram that I have announcing Town's acceptance into the Football League soon after in 1910. Not bad for an outlay of about £7.50 on eBay !

Another site that you might like ... In the previous newsletter I mentioned that I had bought three cards from Italy; well, now is the time to reveal the source of those cards. John Allen was a collector of all sorts of football and sports cards in general, but after his death in 2013 his collection passed to Carl Wilkes, the former founder of Football Card Collector Magazine, who now runs the business and supplements the stock on a regular basis, working out of Italy. Clicking on the image here will take you to the RareCards.com 'Home' page with a 'menu' of card images (reading top left to bottom right): - Postage details - Select footballers on rare cards - Teams on rare cards - Articles - Other sports on rare cards - Film stars on rare cards - Other rare cards - Brands of rare cards - What's New - Wrappers and packets

Each section is fairly similar in presentation; a black background with an image of the card/packet or whatever on the left with commentary or description to the right together with a price and clickable button for you to buy. There is also usually the option to see an enlarged image of the cards by clicking on them, but this does not always work as it is supposed to. In truth, many of the cards are already sold and by his own admission Carl needs to update the site, a task that he sees himself doing "in the near future".

For football card collectors the most interesting sections are the 'Select footballers' and especially 'Teams' on rare cards. Clicking on the 'Teams' option you are then presented with a list of clickable team names covering almost all British teams as well as other 'World' teams which have a separate link at the bottom of this section. The vast majority of the cards that you will find on this site are/were unavailable in the UK and Carl has given details as to country, year and set of each issue which is always helpful when trying to identify cards that you have never seen before.

The 'Articles' subsection features a very interesting article regarding the manufacture and issuing of the Crescent football cards of 1923-24 together with biographical content about the family who ran the business. There are also other articles about the V.C.C. cards; JF Sporting Collectibles; football card values; Football Card Collector Magazine; and a brief biography of John Allen himself. I will confess to not having paid any attention to the non-football cards myself, but I would guess that they follow pretty much the same format as the football card sections.

Ultimately, it's a sales site and a source of rare cards. The prices that Carl asks/charges reflect the rarity value of such items and this is where the collector needs to decide just how much he/she wants the cards on show. Just occasionally some of these dribble onto eBay at much cheaper prices - I know, because I've had a couple - but you could be waiting forever! I would also suggest that it's definitely worth contacting Carl if you see something that you really like ...

Auction Watch

If I notice any really interesting auction items related to Town I'll try to bring them to your attention here and, if you're lucky, there will still be time to bid on some of the lots. Beware, though, as there are Buyer's Premiums and bidding-through-internet fees to be applied to all of the lots featured here, not to mention 20% VAT and postage if required!

One of the rarer HTAFC photographic fixture list cards is currently available on eBay for £45 (Buy-It- Now with £2.20 p&p). This particular example covers season 1937-38 and it looks very good indeed being exceedingly clean with nice sharp corners, but whether you'll want to pay that price for it is another matter. You have until 17th May to make up your mind.

And from the same eBay seller comes this 1939- 1940 season fixtures card, notable in so much as this was the season which was stopped after only three fixtures. Condition on this one does not appear to be as good as the previous one as this seems to have some significant 'foxing'. Nevertheless, you will have to shell out £70 for this Buy-It-Now item (with another £2.20 p&p) and, again, you have until 17th May to bag it.

And now a quick round-up of items that I featured recently which have now gone under the hammer ... This original press photo of the iconic moment at the 1930 FAC Final between Town and Arsenal, appeared on eBay in early April 2017. Featuring the German airship Graf Zeppelin as it dipped its nose-cone in respect of the King who was present at the game, this item sold for £99.67, quite a price for a mere press photograph.

I wish that I owned this ...

I've only ever seen one of these and this is it. I was outbid on eBay many years ago now on this c1960 WEBCOSA 'Football Bingo' wax wrapper. As you can see it's not even perfect - the top of Ray Wilson's head is missing and there is the head of another player at the bottom of the wrapper. I can't remember how the bidding went for this item, but I do know that Football Card Collector Magazine catalogues this series at £25 each except for the 'bigger' teams - I'll leave you to work out which these are - which will set you back £30 each.

Latest acquisitions

Here we go with the latest items that I've been able to add to my collection. Not always cards, I also pick up a few odds and ends, here and there!

As Town prepared to make the move to the new then-named in the summer of 1994, the HTAFC merchandising machine clanked into action, producing a of items of memorabilia to mark 'The End of an Era'. You could buy turf, special programmes and books, prints, plates and all sorts of ephemera, including this battery operated wristwatch, complete with a real leather strap. I picked this up recently on eBay for £2.30 which is a very good price for something which, I would guess, is fairly rare nowadays. Despite the obvious tears and creases, I am convinced that this Photopress picture of Town's '£30,000 Forward Line' of 1928 was well the £20 that it cost me. It's an iconic photograph and features, left to right, Alex Jackson, Bob Kelly, George Brown, Clem Stephenson and Billy Smith. Just look at those shorts; Kelly obviously dropped unlucky with the longest pair whilst Smith clearly snagged the pair with no elastic!

And the clappers just keep on coming. I believe that these are paid for by Longley Park KIA whose name is emblazoned upon them; as official 'partners' of the club I'm guessing that this is part of the deal. Anyway, Nahki Wells featured on the clapper for the Norwich game on 5th April and then Chris Löwe featured on the Preston North End one ten days later. TOMORROWS STADIUM TODAY (c1992) This is the official A4 prospectus for the building of the new Kirklees (McAlpine) Stadium. It contains a fold- out full-colour A3 artist's impression of the stadium and surrounding area together with details as to who will be involved and will represent each of the various factions, HTFC, HRLC and KSDL (Kirklees Council). All of the information is printed on thirteen sheets of lovely quality paper, each concerned with a separate aspect of the build and team.

Looking back, it's turned out pretty much as expected although I don't think that the canoe and kayak landing stage - considered a "vital leisure need in the area" back then - has yet been built. Another 'steal' from eBay at £3.50

Whilst the image is quite obviously from the 1920s this anonymously produced photograph most certainly isn't an original from that era; in fact, it would appear to be much more recent and I'd hazard a guess at the 1960s. It bears a large rubber-stamped mark on the back which has been clearly produced for a collector of tram and bus photographs as it has 'tick-boxes' for 'System', Car No.', 'Class', Gauge', etc. etc. If I was pushed, I'd say that this is the reverse side of the tram picture that I already have; the positioning of the illuminated star and crown at the top and bottom of the front match, as do the smaller stars and shield on the top deck. There also seem to be frills above the bogeys which match and finally the style of writing looks exactly the same. If all of this is correct, then I believe that this would again be the tram celebrating Town's only FAC Final success of 1922. Thanks again to eBay where this was one of three photographs of trams, another of which was celebrating 1920s success for the Rugby Football Club. The three photographs cost me a total of just £2.50! BLUE & WHITE FOUNDATION MEMBERSHIP BROCHURE (2003) Late in 2003 Town launched their new fundraising campaign, designed to support the flourishing Academy which had produced players of the calibre of Jon Stead and several more who were to go on to represent the club in the Play-Off Final of May 2004. Membership was set at £104 per annum and there were significant benefits which included a 5% discount on a new season ticket, priority ticketing for big games and access to a number of social events as well as free weekend use of the Stadium Health & Fitness Club and entry into a monthly draw, the first of which was to be December 2003. The brochure folded out rather like a road-map rather than having stapled pages and was A5 in size. I would suspect that not many of these have survived, so my 50p punt on eBay was probably a good one.

*It's also worth noting here that I have moved several 'non-card items' - beer mats, viewer, chocolate bar wrapper, etc. - from their respective sections to the 'VIRTUAL MUSEUM' sections of my site. It seemed to be the sensible thing to do.

Other football cards

I have decided to include other football cards or items that I have which will throw the spotlight on that set in general and more specifically other teams as I know that there are several subscribers to this newsletter who are not HTAFC fans or collectors. This is the 'sister' set to the one that I featured in the last newsletter and bears some striking similarities. Amalgamated Press issued this 24-card set of 'Famous Footer Internationals' at the rate of two cards per week, one each in 'Champion' and 'Triumph' comics over a twelve week period between 25th September and 11th December of 1926. Clearly, in order to collect the set a boy had to buy BOTH comics or else nag his mates who perhaps were not collecting them! In choosing a picture I have opted for the dreadful condition front of the autographed Sid Puddefoot card which at one time I was looking to sell, but as I now have a full set and this as a unique 'extra', I have decided to hang onto it.

These cards catalogue in Football Card Collector Magazine at £3.50 per card and a full set can be had for £75.00, although I picked mine up individually at significantly better prices than that; many were as cheap as a pound from dealers and eBay.

And if you're looking for Welsh or Irish players then I'd suggest that you try elsewhere because, despite the title of the series, it's very 'England-heavy' in its content. The complete list of players featured is as follows: 1. Richard Pym (Bolton Wanderers & England) 2. John Townrow (Clapton Orient & England) 3. Sam Wadsworth (Huddersfield Town & England) 4. Sid Puddefoot ( Rovers & England) 5. Richard York (Aston Villa & England) 6. George Henry Green (Sheffield United & England) 7. Frank Osborne (Tottenham Hotspur & England) 8. Harry Chambers ( & England) 9. Jack Fowler ( Town & Wales) 10. Frederick Titmuss (Plymouth Argyle & England) 11. Tom Farquharson ( City & Ireland) 12. Fred Tunstall (Sheffield United & England) 13. William Robb ( Rangers & Scotland) 14. Jimmy McMullan (Manchester City & Scotland) 15. Warneford Cresswell (Sunderland & England) 16. Hugh Gallacher (Newcastle United & Scotland) 17. Fred Keenor (Cardiff City & Wales) 18. John Hutton ( & Scotland) 19. William McStay (Glasgow Celtic & Scotland) 20. William Harper (Aberdeen & Scotland) 21. Moses Russell (Plymouth Argyle & Wales) 22. John Alexander Mackie (Arsenal & Ireland) 23. (Glasgow Rangers & Scotland) 24. Harry Bedford (Derby County & England)

Here's a book that might interest you ...

Herbert Chapman is synonymous with the game of football and is the man who fundamentally changed the face of the sport. He was the greatest pioneer in the history of British football management and made Arsenal the best side in the country in the early 1930's, winning both the F.A. Cup and Division One Title and defined the role of the modern team Manager. Quite easy to read, although in truth there is not a great deal of Town 'content' as Chapman expounds his theory and philosophy of the game mainly through his time at "the Arsenal". There are brief references to either his time at Town or simply to certain players - Clem Stephenson, Tom Wilson, Alec Jackson and George Brown, for example - and the effect that they had upon the rest of the team and games themselves. In addition - and as a surprise bonus - there are three photographs in the centre of the book purporting to be Chapman on tour in Italy in 1933, but they aren't - they are group shots of him with the Town squad on tour and most certainly must be before the start of the 1923 season (Ernie Islip features and Chapman kicked him out of the club by November 1923).

"Herbert Chapman stands out as the pioneer who shook British football out of an age-old slough and was a tireless innovator decades ahead of his time - a champion of such ground-breaking concepts as , numbered shirts, clocks inside grounds, white footballs, team meetings, physiotherapy and synthetic pitches, to name just a few. Most progressive of all, at a time when sides were selected by self-appointed boardroom cabals, Chapman insisted on total control of team affairs." Alex Murphy - The Times 10th January 2004

This is a book that no fan of the game of football can afford to be without, explaining as it does his theories and how he went about putting them into place, thereby changing the face of British football forever. Originally published in 1934, this facsimile with a new introduction (and an alarming number of typographical errors) was published on 1st May 2007 and is very easy - and cheap - to track down, whilst other printed versions are also readily available.

For sale It's been quite a while since I have offered up items for sale, but seeing as I have a few interesting ones I thought it worth mentioning them here. First up is this 1923 Vanguard 'Photo Gallery' 1/2 card with Town custodian Edward 'Ted' Taylor on one side and Stoke player W. Tempest on the reverse; I say 'half' because that's what it is - someone has torn the little folder in half. It's a clean tear and condition is otherwise good with slight corner knocks. These 'singles' catalogue at £9 each but I'll do it for £7 with free postage if anybody wants it. Oh, and by the way - the 20p is there just to give an idea of scale; you won't get that too!

As ever, it would be remiss of me not to mention this section of the website, just in case I happen to have the one thing that you've been looking for. Currently I have one or two cards, a calendar and a raft of 1973- 74 programmes for sale. There are also a few fixture cards from recent years which I know that many of you out there collect; they're not really all that rare, but you just try finding one nowadays! I'll add to this section as and when more items drop into my lap.

Nine cards are available from this set: 1. (Chelsea) 3. Steve Kember (Crystal Palace) 4. Cyril Knowles (Tottenham) 5. (Newcastle) 6. Bobby Kennedy (Manchester City) 8. Willie Anderson (Aston Villa) 9. Martin Buchan (Manchester Utd) 10. Eddie Clamp (Stoke City)

I am selling these at £1 each plus 55p postage so if you would like one or more, simply get in touch and I'll give you PayPal details. Here are the details on the other twenty- four cards in this set which are available. 2. Gordon Banks (Stoke) 3. (Arsenal) 4. Brian Miller (Burnley) 5. Johnny Haynes (Fulham) 6. Derek Dougan (Wolves) 7. Kevin Hector (Derby) 8. Ronnie Clayton (Blackburn) 9. (Manchester Utd) 10. Albert Bennett (Newcastle) 11. (Chelsea) 12. Shay Brennan (Manchester Utd) 13. Wyn Davies (Bolton) 14. Charlie Hurley (Sunderland) 15. Alex Dawson (Preston) 16. Brian Tiler (Aston Villa) 17. (Tottenham) 18. Ronnie Rees (WBA) 20. Paul Reaney (Leeds) 21. (Everton) 22. Tony Wagstaffe (Sheffield Utd) 23. Roy Vernon (Stoke) 24. Bobby Tambling (Chelsea)

As with the previously mentioned set, these cards are £1 each with 55p post and packing.

And, with Father's Day next in line, I suppose now would be a good time to plug my book. I now knock them out at £4.75 (p&p included) it still represents good value. Having said that, I strongly suspect that all recipients of this newsletter already own a copy so I'm almost certainly preaching to the converted. However, you might just be looking for something for that other Town fan that you know who may not own a copy. Anyway, you can pick up one up - or several if you like as the postage is still only £1.75 no matter how many you buy! - by simply clicking on the book cover at right which will take you to my site. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope that it has encouraged you to have a look at my site and find something of interest. I should also point out that there is a GUESTBOOK on there and if you haven't yet signed it, please do; you'll join various luminaries such as Reece Dinsdale and the descendants of Town players of old. And remember - if you have anything that you think I might be interested in, please get in touch; we might be able to strike a deal!

©2017 huddersfieldtowncards.co.uk | No address

Web Version Forward Unsubscribe