Autographs

• Post By: Simon Sanders
• Date: June 1, 2015
• Category: Uncategorized
• Tags: Uncategorized

I had completely forgotten I had these autographs – but found them inside the back cover of one of the two copies of the match programme that I have. These were in the ‘other one’ – good job I checked.

I’ve had a go at identifying them all – but don’t think I have it 100% right yet.

Here are some close-ups – if I’ve made any mistakes, please do let me know.

“Alan Ball” – I am sure he must have played, though don’t have any pictures of him. He would only have been 40 years old at this point, given that he was the baby of the England team in 1966 at just 21. According to this report on the later England v West Germany rematch at Elland Rd in July 1985 he was one of four players that played the whole 90 minutes, as tireless it seems in 1985 as he had been in 1966.

“Best wishes – Bobby Moore”.  Pretty sure.

“Best wishes to Simon – George Best”.  See what a nice fella he was – was happy to personalise it to me.

“Martin Peters”

 “Bobby Charlton” – tbc – looks plausible, though kinda looks like it could be “Barry Venables”, perhaps a lesser known sibling of Terry’s that somehow ended up signing my programme.

 

“Alan Mullery” – has to be, right?

“Pat Jennings”

 

“Ray Harford”

“John Hollins” – am certain about the lower part of the signature, but I keep coming back to the words above which could either be a personalised message (reading something like ‘Best Wishes for Simon’) or else could be someone else’s signature completely. But whose? Don’t remember a Buster Footline playing! What on earth does that scrawl actually say?

“Geoff Hurst” – though am not 100% convinced about this. Would he really have signed his name Grand Cheese, a kinda of superlative variant on Big Cheese? I wouldn’t have thought so, but having scored a hatrick in a World Cup Final, it’s a fair title to assume.

“To Simon, best wishes – Graham Rix”

“Theo Foley – be lucky”

“Rick Wakeman” -Yes, I am sure.

Mystery signature – have no idea who this is. Have compared it to that of Emlyn Hughes and it’s not his. Let me know if you can identify it.

“Pat Jennings” again – on the back of my access pass. Not sure why I asked him twice. Thinking about it now, makes me wonder if I didn’t just get my programme passed around amongst a batch of players, and thus I wouldn’t have easily known who had and hadn’t signed it.

“Best wishes – Elton John”. This is signed on the back of the cardboard folder which had the match-day programme in and letter from the sponsor and our access pass. Must have been the only thing I had to hand on arrival at the stadium.