Reading FC History
1967 Newspaper Cartoon
Having had a storming end to the previous season by winning their last eight games to finish fourth in the Third Division, there were high hopes that Reading could finally end their promotion curse in 1967-68. And those hopes seemed justified as Roy Bentley's men won their opening four league and cup games, making it an impressive 12 straight victories. Sadly, they were much less consistent after that, and ended up finishing fifth in the table. I've got hold of a Reading Chronicle newspaper from August 1967, which details the first two games of the season, one in the League, the other in the League Cup. New signing John Sainty made an impression, scoring twice on his debut in the 3-0 win against Stockport at Elm Park, and the Chronicle's brilliant cartoonist Ron Fennell (AKA 'Areff') paid tribute to the centre-forward.
1913 Press Photos
I've been fortunate to add some nice items to my Reading FC collection this year, with the latest being two original press photographs. They were taken during Reading's famous 5-0 win against Milan on the club's Italian Tour in May 1913, and come complete with 'Gazzetta Dello Sport' stamps on the back. They feature two legendary Reading players from the era: centre-forward Allen Foster, who scored a hat-trick against Milan, is in the top photo, whilst Great War hero Joe Bailey can be seen in the other. The Foster picture was published in 'Lo Sport Illustrato' magazine at the time (which I have) but I'd never seen the Bailey one, so a bit of a find.
1963 Press Photo
At the end of 1962 the club decided they weren't going to renew manager Harry Johnston's contract. This was done in an amicable manner, with Johnston agreeing to stay on until a new boss was appointed. Because of the 'Big Freeze' that winter, Reading hadn't played since before Christmas, and it would be fully two months before they did so again. In the meantime, former Chelsea and England centre-forward Roy Bentley took the reigns in January 1963, and this original press photo shows Roy meeting his players for the first time in the Elm Park dressing rooms. He was a popular figure but couldn't break the club's promotion drought, and was replaced after six years in charge.
1909 Photo
I'm in possession of this intriguing photo which appeared in a local paper in 1991, as part of the late Harold Hill's 'Reading in Yesteryear' feature. Harold speculated that it was taken at Elm Park but, as I – and other researchers – didn't know of the existence of the clock and mini enclosure, I was unsure. So I showed it to Reading FC historian and author Roger Titford, and he immediately thought the fence on the left matched how the South Bank (as it was later termed) looked before the Great War. I then did some research on the British Newspaper Archive site, and sure enough it is indeed our old ground; the Reading Traders' Walk took place on the 31st March, 1909, starting and finishing at Elm Park, with the photo appearing in the 'Reading Standard' shortly after. The view is of the south-west corner, and Roger has since christened it, appropriately, 'Clock Corner'.
1972 Press Photo
Here is an original press photograph that appeared in the 'Reading Evening Post' on January 15th, 1972, showing new manager Charlie Hurley, physio Jimmy Wallbanks (who had been acting as caretaker-manager following the departure of Jack Mansell), plus most of the players. It was taken at the team's hotel in Whitley Bay the night before a famous FA Cup tie at Blyth Spartans. Hurley had only been introduced to his players two days before the game, so left Wallbanks to take charge of the team. The amateurs of Blyth – who had already beaten two League clubs – were confident of making it a hat-trick against Reading, and, despite going 0-2 down, forced a replay in fading light. Back at Elm Park, the home side made no mistake however, cruising to a 6-1 win. Unusually this had a 2.15 Wednesday afternoon kick-off, not, as some believe, due to power cuts, but because the Blyth team couldn't afford to lose two days' pay from their regular jobs!
1985 First Day Cover
40 years ago today on 12th October 1985, Reading broke the record for consecutive League wins at the start of a season after beating Newport 2-0 to make it 12. That was extended to 13 the following week, and I don't think anyone expected it to last four decades.
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1965 Press Photo
A brand new addition to the collection, this stunning photo was produced by the 'Reading Chronicle' newspaper, and has been (almost) fully signed. There was a version printed by the 'Evening Post', which I also have, but those contain facsimile autographs. I'm slowly adding to my collection here, but need many more! Please contact me if you can help.
