Official Year-Book 1949-50.

This is brilliant, Timbo. I've only glanced at the first few pages and have already come across the Cardiff City link; a plea to support the team rather than barrack and boo; a suggestion that the club be re-named Torbay United (I didn't realise that the term "Torbay" had so much currency back then) and - wait for this - the chairman of QPR suggesting we consider moving to Newton Abbot....

And, yes, the introductory statement about 1948/49 being our best season yet. To think we waited 22 years - including a world war - to finish 9th!

Reading the contributions from chairmen of other clubs - together with those of leading Fleet Steet journalists of the day such as Frank Butler - reminds us how, in those pre-foreign holiday times, people of some standing holidayed in Torbay. Indeed, even later, does anybody else remember the appearances at Plainmoor - nearly every August it seemed - of Denis Howell, the one-time sports minister? Those little contacts must have helped the club over the years and it's difficult to imagine too many people of influence having their two weeks in Torbay these days.

Perhaps also - at a time when a far higher proportion of the population had at one time visited Torbay (or were aware of its appeal as a resort) - it was easier to encourage players to sign for the club? You only have to read those "Summer Saturday" rail tales in the Herald Express to appreciate the volume of visitors in those days.

Incidently, I believe the Mrs Bond in the supporters club photo was related to Steve Bond, most recently seen taking pictures on behalf of the Herald Express at Burton last week.

I expect everyone one of us has at some time wished we could go back in time,back to a time that seemed magical or somehow so different. The problem is once you scratch the surface that time in history probably would not seem the nice place you thought it was.

I think I was born and lived in a good time in history, I grew up in a world where people respected each other and moved on into the technological age and you try taking my PC away from me.

So I have seen many changes and most I would like to think have been for the better, but reading this great year book that Timbo has shared with us, I wonder if football and also being a football fan, was better way back then. Has the game and everything to do with it improved with age, I think that is my real question here.

Every since Barton put up some old pictures on the forum that showed the fans standing on the Popular Bank, I have just had the feeling that there really was something really magical being a fan of TUFC at that time.

When you look at the year book and see there was a supporters club, a laddies supporter club, a Paignton one as well, you get the feeling that fans were so much more involved with the club than they are these days. The ladies club held dances, wist drives, bingo and you can bet these events were probably held in some village hall and all done to help raise money for the club.

As merse said, there was once football special buses that ran from Newton Abbot, Brixham and maybe from other places, I know they were still running in the mid sixties as I used them as an 11 year old to get to Plainmoor,my mother unaware as she would not have allowed me to do this, but she always bought the story I was playing football at Penn Inn Park.

I would imagine that many friendships were made on those buses, as the same fans would get on at the same stops, unlike today when most of us just make our own way to the games.

It really does seem to me that everyone pulled together so much more and did so much more than just turn up to watch games, lets be fair that is all most fans do these days.

It does seem however that the type of fans have not changed at all,then as now there were the optimist, the pessimist and Mr Good sport, only now we might use different names for them, I think Jon's post about an away trip to 1912 proves that fans will never change that much.

Barton pointed out one piece that was about the Idea the team should be called Torbay United, this was nearly sixty years ago and here we were only discussing this a few months ago.

It was also very interesting reading the views that the club could do better by moving from Plainmoor and that Newton Abbot seemed a good place to move too. The reason given was that any club would struggle on gates below 10.000 as the club was getting at that time, It does make you wonder how we have been able to do so well this season on gates not much over 2000.

Even more so when you think what players earn these days compared to what they mush have got paid in 1949. Talking about money I wonder how much it cost to watch United in 1949 and what percentage that would have been from the average working mans wage in Torbay. Maybe our history men can come up with some figures.

My thoughts on has the game improved with age? well while I can never be sure as I was not around in 1949, I just feel it does seem to have been better then as a fan, less rules, a greater involvement with the club and a much better community feel about it all.

fabulous to see that 1949 year book, anyone else out there who have similar archives?

Jon gave us this league table on another thread and it shows that 1949/50 proved to be our most exciting - and successful - yet. Sadly we faded over the last nine games of the season and finished 5th.

Notts went up as champions - their average crowd was over 35,000 - and I believe they clinched promotion by beating Forest in front of 46,000 (remember they'd had 43,000 for our visit). Indeed, as there's a school of thought that says County were the bigger of the Nottingham clubs up until the early 1950s, it would be interesting to see how the two clubs' crowds compared over a sustained period.

As Jon indicates, the signing of Tommy Lawton from 1st Division Chelsea was massive news and - even as a third division player - he continued to play for England for a while.

And a foot note from reading the adverts as well from that great little year book ! you could buy a brand spanking new Austin Devon for 365 pounds, just a pound a week, if only we could do that now with a new car.
A great find timbo, more please gentlemen.