A photograph taken by Daniel Meadows at Workington v Doncaster Rovers, 26th October 1974

On this very day, 26th October, exactly 50 years ago photographer Daniel Meadows was at Borough Park to see Workington AFC v Doncaster Rovers. He took a picture of a young lad standing on the terraces between two older supporters. Above them sat five women, some elderly gentlemen, and a very young baby. I expect that this was taken at half-time given that no-one seems to be watching any action on the pitch.

                       

At this point in the season Workington had lost their previous three matches, and a 0-3 defeat to Doncaster would continue their pointless run. Just two seasons later, at the end of 1976/77, Workington lost their League status - and have yet to return.

The man wearing a white overcoat standing on the right side of the photo is reading the matchday programme. As is the man sitting above him. It's a 16 page issue for 5p, with 10 pages of adverts, and no photographs within. The only photograph is wrapped over the front and back covers. It depicts the first team squad, and is printed in light red behind the team line-ups which feature on the front cover. This was the format that was used throughout the 1974/75 season. 

                           

Daniel Meadows had embarked on his photographic journey the previous year. He travelled across the nation from September 1973 in a second hand double decker bus, part of which he'd converted into a darkroom. He dubbed the vehicle the 'Free Photographic Omnibus', with the plan to give away free copies of his hand printed photographs to the subjects. These were people doing everyday things up and down the country - like attending a football match on a Saturday afternoon. 

The Workington section came towards the end of Daniel's odyssey which wound up in the North West about a week after this photograph taken at Boundary Park. This image featured in the subsequent book called 'Living Like This' which was published by Arrow in 1975. It's a book that is now considered a classic in the field of documentary photography. In the subsequent years Daniel has been able to track down some of his subjects, though this group of football supporters have never been identified.  

The match day programme had proved elusive for some time, but I managed to track down a copy. The adverts evocatively capture a time in a place. Daniel's photograph asks the viewer many questions. Did the younger male fan know the two men either side of him? What was the chap on his right saying? And how come such a young baby was taken along to a football match on a chilly Autumn day?

Questions we may never find out, unless someone stumbles upon the photo who was either in it, or knows any of the people who were snapped on film as they attended a football match in Workington on 26th October 1974.

                              

 

Cambridge United v Oldham Athletic FA Cup 3rd Round 1973/74

 

50p for a programme in 1974? The answer is Yes, and also it's No.

This issue of Cambridge United's 'Black & Amber' was 40p more than the regular 10p price tag. That's because the purchase of this special 'Official Match Magazine' doubled up as the cost of admission into the Abbey Stadium for the FA Cup 3rd Round tie versus Oldham Athletic on 6th January 1974. This match just happened to be the very first official fixture to be played on a Sunday as it kicked off at 11.30am, several hours before the other cup ties set to be played on this historic Sunday fifty years ago. 

The reason was because of the energy crisis, fuel shortages and the Three Day Week, it was decided that it would be too costly to plug a football ground into the grid on a busy Saturday. So some fixtures were rearranged for the Sunday when there was likely to be a more guaranteed supply of electricity. The morning kick off also meant that costly floodlights certainly needn't be turned on.

So the trusty matchday programme was a way of getting round the strict Sunday Observance laws dating back to the 18th century that prohibited an admission charge to paying events on the Sabbath. Entry into the ground was the purchase of a programme, rather than buying a ticket or handing over cash at the door.

Hence that 50p overprint in thick black ink...

Front cover of this historic programme

There were also other price variations on the day to get through the turnstiles. Another version of the above programme was printed without the orange ink on the cover, and priced 30p, and this yellow Official Team Sheet cost 45p

This hastily produced team sheet has the updated line-ups for both teams 

The fixtures list inside the programme confirms that this Cup Tie was originally to be played on Saturday 5th January 1974 

The match itself ended in a 2-2 draw played in front of  8,479 spectators. The replay took place two days later on 8th January at Oldham's Boundary Park ground. As there was no time to write and publish a programme, only a team sheet was produced by the club. The game itself sounded like a classic cup tie, ending in a 3-3 draw watched by 10,250 fans. So that meant another replay...

Oldham Athletic v Cambridge United, 8/1/74

The second replay was scheduled for the following Monday, on 14th January 1974. A neutral venue was secured, so the two teams lined-up again at the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest. There was only an Official Team Sheet that was produced for this F A Cup 3rd Round 2nd Replay. The 1.30pm kick off meant that only 3,563 people showed up. So many fans couldn't get time off work, and of course it was a school day meaning only a few and the brave of the United and Athletic young fan base were prepared to bunk off and find their way to Nottingham. 

Forest did get to show off their then new logo on this very scarce 'programme'

No further replays were needed as Oldham Athletic eventually won the tie 2-1. In the end, what will be forever historically significant about this 3rd Round FA Cup tie is that two teams from the then Third Division unknowingly triggered a change in the way fans attend football matches. That Sunday 6th January 1974 is half a century ago. Nowadays, watching football on a Sunday is merely just a typical day in our spectating schedule. But next time you go to a match on a Sunday, think of what it must have been like turning up to a professional football match on the one day you could never have attended one before...