I've never been sporty. When I was a kid I was the last one to get picked for football at School. Strange really as my Dad was a sport nut. He loved Preston North End Football club and never missed Grandstand or World of Sport on Saturdays. If the wrestling didn't leave me cold then the pools made me run for the nearest Creepy comic!
Oddly enough I did enjoy beach football when I was holidaying at the Warren in Abersoch, Wales, with my Sister's family in the sixties. Apparently I had a mean shot and gained the nickname Pele Legs, which has stuck to this day! I even got a shot past Gordon Banks, the England goalkeeper, who had a caravan at the Warren too and kept his hand in playing on the beach! I remember the ball we had, a plastic football patterned with black and white pentagons. The neatest thing about it were the England players' signatures printed on the white bits! I think it was a Mexico World Cup souvenir ball from 1970.
Now I'm in my early Fifties I realise that certain things that are common currency for other folks are not for me. I've never owned a pair of trainers in my life for one. I imagine they came out in the Seventies and collectors collect early Nikes and Adidas but its all past me by. As a kid I had some Stylo Matchmakers, which were football boots endorsed by soccer God George Best. I also had a pair of greenflash plimsolls but that was it for sportiness. Today I have a pair of white pumps which I wear for the gym I joined this month!
Despite my non-sports way I can imagine sports memorabila being a passionate area of collecting. Trainers, bikes, cups, weights, footballs, autographs. Is it something that you collect readers?
Friend of mine has some old tennis rackets and stuff framed in his hallway. And he made a pretty serious offer on some very nice 1960s water skis I once found on a flea market, which I intend to hang on the bathroom wall once that's redone. I'm not much into sports either, but I do believe sports paraphernalia -far- outdo old toys in collecting popularity.
ReplyDeleteBest -- Paul