Author: Paul W

London Between the Wars: The Football League on Film

The Early Years

London was an obvious location for the UK’s fledgling film industry, with many early-twentieth century pictures shot in and around the capital. As cinema’s popularity grew in tandem with professional football between the Wars, a number of films naturally made use of London’s football grounds. One of the first of these was The Winning Goal…

By Paul W December 28, 2019 0
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Arsenal v Newcastle United, 1976

Match of the Month

Arsenal and England striker Malcolm ‘Supermac’ Macdonald was the centre of attention at Highbury on the 4th December 1976. Macdonald came up against his former club Newcastle United, who he had left for a record fee of £333,333 that summer, for the first time in this game. Centre-half Pat Howard made the same move from…

By Paul W December 7, 2019 0
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Burnden Park, Bolton: The Football League on Film

Changing Times

Delving into the Football League’s past through film and television, this occasional series features football grounds caught on camera. Following last week’s look at a match from Bolton Wanderers’ history, I start at their former home of Burnden Park. Mitchell and Kenyon, Blackburn-based early film pioneers of the late Victorian era, had begun shooting scenes…

By Paul W November 9, 2019 0
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Bolton Wanderers v Bristol City, 1969

Match of the Month

This Second Division fixture at Burnden Park on 1st November 1969, captured on film by an unknown cameraman, saw a 3-1 win for the home side. Bolton Wanderers, founder members of the Football League and FA Cup winners in 1958, had been a First Division side from 1935 until relegation in 1964. Under club legend…

By Paul W November 2, 2019 0
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Tottenham Hotspur v Nottingham Forest, 1979

Match of the Month

The visit of European Cup holders Nottingham Forest to Tottenham Hotspur for a First Division fixture in October 1979 saw one of the goals of the season at White Hart Lane. Glenn Hoddle, the young Spurs midfielder earning a reputation for spectacular strikes, scored a masterpiece on his 22nd birthday to beat England goalkeeper Peter…

By Paul W October 27, 2019 0
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Atlantic Crossings (Football in North America, Part Two)

International

When today’s top football clubs routinely jet around the world for pre-season tours and lucrative friendlies in North America and beyond, it’s hard to imagine what an undertaking trans-continental travel was in the days before passenger flights. In the nineteenth century an Atlantic crossing in bad weather could stretch into weeks, though by the early…

By Paul W October 5, 2019 2
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Watford v Kaiserslautern, 1983 UEFA Cup

Match of the Month

Watford completed a meteoric rise from the Fourth Division to the First between 1978 and 1982, under future England manager Graham Taylor. The Hertfordshire club then finished second behind Liverpool in 1982/83, and embarked on their first-ever European campaign the following season. They drew tough opponents in the First Round, Kaiserslautern, founder members of the…

By Paul W September 28, 2019 2
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Shahan Petrossian: An Interview

Interview

This interview is a new development for the 1888 Letter, and I hope the first of many. In the course of my research for this blog over the last 18 months, I kept finding useful links to the site Soccer Nostalgia, and videos posted on YouTube by ‘sp1873’. The site contained a wealth of detail…

By Paul W September 7, 2019 0
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Football Magazines: A Collaborative Project

Uncategorized

Introducing a collaborative series between the 1888 Letter and Soccer Nostalgia, exploring the experiences of football magazine readers. We will be posting contributions from fans worldwide on both blogs, over the coming months. Soccer Nostalgia (@sp1873): When one becomes a serious Soccer (Football) fan, the next step in the evolution is to read about it…

By Paul W August 31, 2019 2
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