Reading FC History
1934 Framed Photo
I was lucky enough to pick up some fantastic framed photos last year, but this one tops the lot. In February 1934, Reading took a break from their league campaign to take on a Dutch Trial XI at Sparta Rotterdam's ground. They were pictured on the pitch before the game, with team manager Joe Smith fourth from the left. A thrilling match resulted in a 6-4 win, with goals from Barley (2), Liddle, Oxberry, Fielding and Wright.
1974 Press Photo
Big Percy Freeman was never the most prolific of strikers whilst at Reading, but his all-action style made him a fan favourite. However, after joining from Lincoln City in 1972, the player was never really happy at his new club and even quit briefly to become a scaffolder. The reason was the cost of living plus the fact, he claimed later, that he didn't get on with manager Charlie Hurley. Freeman did return to Elm Park briefly though before Graham Taylor re-signed him for Lincoln, where he became an integral part of their Division Four title winning team in 1975-76. Percy sadly died in 2016, but retains legendary status at Lincoln, where he was runner-up in a 'League Legends' poll.
1986 Calendar
A really superb item that I recently picked up is this calendar that has been fully signed by all in the photo. By the turn of the year, Reading were well clear at the top of the Third Division table after claiming an impressive 62 points from a possible 72. In fact, the start was even better than the acclaimed 106 team, and – despite the form tailing off in the new year – we won the title with ease.
1978 Press Photo
Centre-forward Ollie Kearns is pictured scoring Reading's only goal in a defeat against Swansea at Elm Park in March 1978. Ollie joined the Royals from his home-town team Banbury United in 1976, and scored 43 goals in 99 league and cup games before joining local rivals Oxford in 1979.
1894-95 Album Page
One of the oldest items in my collection is this fantastic large album page showing the team from 1894-95. This was Reading's last season as an amateur outfit, with the club adopting professionalism the following year. The team were taking part in the newly formed Southern League and were about to move into their brand-new ground at Elm Park, so paying players was the obvious step. Also, rhe fact they had recently suffered the club's all-time record defeat of 18-0(!) to Preston may have concentrated a few minds! Several players, including captain Frank Deane, resigned in disgust over the decision to turn pro.
Alan Sedunary
Anyone with an interest in Reading FC history will know the name Alan Sedunary. He wrote several books on the club, including the official history 'Heaven on Earth', and contributed historical articles for the programme over many years. Alan sadly passed away last year, and Roger Titford has been curating his notes and albums. Roger kindly asked if I wanted a box of team and player cuttings as he felt I'd be best placed to share them. I was going through an album which had been neatly assembled along with hand-written notes, which I found very poignant and moving. I've not been able to update the site for a while but can now, and will share some stuff in due course. This is my tattered copy of the book, and I refer to it on an almost daily basis. RIP Alan, and thank you for your dedication.
1926 Postcard
Reading's popular captain from the the late 1920s Bert Eggo, who skippered the team to the Division Three (South) championship in 1925-26 and the FA Cup semi-final the following season.
Stuart Gray 1973-2024
Former Reading full-back Stuart Gray has sadly died at the age of just 50 after a battle against cancer. In 1998, Reading's new manager Tommy Burns brought in a record number of transfer deadline day signings in a bid to stave off relegation, which was ultimately unsuccessful. One of these was Stuart Gray, who arrived from Celtic, and he became part of the so-called 'Magnificent Seven'. Gray featured in the final league game at Elm Park and the first at the brand new Madejski Stadium, and played over 50 games scoring twice for the Royals. In 2009 Stuart appeared in the film 'The Damned United', where he portrayed his father, the great Leeds winger Eddie.
My Albums
I thought I'd give an idea of how I store my collection. I use archival A3 and A4 box-binders depending on the size of the items, which range from postcards, cigarette and trade cards, fixture lists, photos, newspaper and magazine supplements etc, which are kept in acid-free pages. For my collection of large team photos taken from the local papers, I have an A2 size art folio, which in my opinion looks great. A few examples of these albums can be seen by clicking the photo.
1983-84 Club Photo
I was kindly given the fantastic framed photo showing the Reading team of 40 years ago, who brushed off the disappointment of relegation from the Third Division and merger threat with Oxford to bounce back a the first attempt. The kit design harks back to the pre-war striped shirt days, though this lasted for just that season, as did the sponsorship deal with 'Radio 210'. This went against League regulations which barred numbers from appearing on shirt fronts.
1906-07 Postcard
A pretty non-descript season saw Reading dumped out of the FA Cup in the first round and finish just below halfway in the Southern League table. According to Alan Sedunary's excellent club history 'Heaven on Earth', several players appeared before the board for a variety of misdemeanours, with many of the 'offences' relating to the standard of play. One player, W. Hart (bottom left), was suspended for 'continued bad football', while concerns were expressed over goalkeeper Walter Whittaker's eyesight!
