West Ham Till I Die
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Tony Hanna's Musings

Fashion, Football and Freedom in the 60's and 70's

BSB’s excellent recent article inspired me to lift my head above the pulpit again and put pen to paper, or more realistically finger to laptop. The generations that grew up in the few decades following WW2 would know only too well just how different and how much things have changed compared to today. Back in the 60’s like many of you we had no home phone let alone a mobile one. To make a call it was a half mile jog down to the local public phone booth all the while hoping it had not been vandalised or someone was already using it and in for a long chat. There were no automatic washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, microwaves, computers and the TV was black and white and only had two channels. But this was a time when we did have one thing, perhaps the most important thing that no other future generation may have – almost total freedom. Mums and dads didn’t want six or seven kids in their tiny homes when it was light. “Go out and play and make sure you are home by dark” was the golden rule. Kids would play football in the street, down the fields or just about any space where you could put two jumpers down for goal posts. These were the Baby Boom times and large families were the norm. Money was tight and not many kids got pocket money. Many of the clothes we wore were hand me downs from older brothers and sisters. To get any money most kids would do odd jobs. In the 60’s I was a bucket boy for a local window cleaner and in the 70’s I had a Thursday night Littlewoods Pools collection round. It had to be done every week whether it be summer, snowing or raining – if not I would be out of the job.

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That Pools round earned me ten bob a week. Coincidently, that was the same amount of money my West Ham match day experience would cost me. Tube from Loughton to Upton Park, entrance into the North Bank, a program and a bag of monkey nuts. At first I went on my own on the premise I was going with a friend and his dad, this was even for night games. You would be amazed at the amount of kids that were doing the same thing though! After a while I started going with different mates, home and away, but game days were always intoxicating. The walk down Green Street was awash with vendors selling scarves, hats, badges, rosettes and programs whilst the smell of the hot dog and hamburger stalls enhanced the senses even further. When you got into the ground the singing would normally start about an hour and a half before the game and it was tribal. You were part of the tribe and this was like a weekly fix for your habit.

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As we moved into the seventies the skin head gangs evolved on the streets and in football grounds. The modern day all-seater stadiums have certainly created a safer and more comfortable football experience but to be honest I think today’s fans are missing out on what a truly incredible fever pitch a football game can deliver consistently. The upside is that attending a football game nowadays is relatively safe and the facilities are a World apart, unlike in the days of skin heads, firms and soccer hooliganism. The truth is that following West Ham home and away in the seventies, you would be watching football shrouded in a threatening atmosphere that tended to hang over games like a dark cloud, ready to burst.

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Back in the seventies we did have fashion and not all was too expensive. I didn’t have much money so was decked out mainly in Dockers trousers, a Donkey jacket and monkey boots. If you were comparing my fashion look to a hotel rating I guess I was about a one or two star! A Ben Sherman or Brutus shirt was always a must. For those with a bit more dosh they may have had a sheepskin or Crombie coat, Doc Marten Boots and Levi jeans. Other items of popular clothing were Brogues, Loafers, Harrington jackets, Prince of Wales trousers and tonics. Perhaps some of you with a better fashion sense or memory than me can recall other popular fashion items from that era?

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My dad only took me the once and I watched from his shoulders in the West Stand for my first ever game. He passed away in 1996. My first WHTID get together in 2015 included staying overnight at the West Ham hotel – the revamped corporate boxes in the West Stand. When my wife and I went back to our room that night I opened the curtains to look over the pitch which still had floodlights shining on it. I was disappointed that our room was not more central until I realised it was virtually in the exact same spot my dad and I had stood for that match against Burnley in 1967. Emotions were hard to hold back – especially as the game we had seen earlier that day was against –you guessed it – Burnley. That was the last match I was to attend at the old ground. On the 18th of this month we should have been playing Burnley at home again but of course it has had to be postponed for obvious reasons. Stay safe everyone.

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