Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 8:28:02 GMT
Back in the early 1970s "part works" were all the rage. This was the idea of a weekly - or fortnightly - magazine which grew into a sort of encyclopedia or reference resource. Commonly they ran for a year or two and - craftily - you weren't always told how many editions would comprise the whole. And - if you wanted to make them look smart - you were offered the chance to buy binders as you went along. Years later I suspect these works are now gathering dust all over the country, often only seeing daylight at car boot sales!
I collected several including the Book of Football which ran for seventy-five editions between, if I remember correctly, 1971 and 1973. At the time I thought this was a well-written, intelligent publication which did much to deepen and broaden my interest in the game. There was no order or logic in the sequence of each fortnightly edition, all of which included a marvellously random selection of articles on topics such as players; skills and tactics; the world of football; clubs; matches; the fabric of football, etc. I thought it was brilliant and read every word of all 1500 pages.
The very first article speculated whether Trevor Francis would become the "New King of Goals" in the footsteps of Jimmy Greaves. As for Torquay United, we had to eagerly wait until week 65 for a modest little article that now makes for a fascinating period piece:
As an aside, the article previous to ours looked at non-league football and included this map which was designed to illustrate the main clubs outside the Football League at the time:
I collected several including the Book of Football which ran for seventy-five editions between, if I remember correctly, 1971 and 1973. At the time I thought this was a well-written, intelligent publication which did much to deepen and broaden my interest in the game. There was no order or logic in the sequence of each fortnightly edition, all of which included a marvellously random selection of articles on topics such as players; skills and tactics; the world of football; clubs; matches; the fabric of football, etc. I thought it was brilliant and read every word of all 1500 pages.
The very first article speculated whether Trevor Francis would become the "New King of Goals" in the footsteps of Jimmy Greaves. As for Torquay United, we had to eagerly wait until week 65 for a modest little article that now makes for a fascinating period piece:
As an aside, the article previous to ours looked at non-league football and included this map which was designed to illustrate the main clubs outside the Football League at the time:
The only Cockney of those times would have been Shoreditch born John Smith.