Search Your Attics and Box Rooms: City’s Oldest Programmes Sought by CCFPA

Have you kept any pre 1945 Coventry City programmes? If you have and it fills a gap in our growing collection we would like to take an image via scan or photocopy.  Do you have any that look like the images below?

Association Chairman Jim Brown and Secretary Mike Young are building up a digital archive of Coventry City’s oldest programmes. The aim is to make for the first time as complete as possible permanent record of the Club’s pre 1945 programmes in digital images to eventually provide a publicly available resource about the players events and stats of the early years of the club for the education and entertainment of players, fans and researchers alike. We are collecting both home and away programmes (including reserve issues).

We are approaching 650 different image sets from the early years of the 20th century to the end of the Second World War. We have already been greatly assisted in our project by quite a number of Sky Blues fans and collectors. The latest is Coventrian Cliff Jones who has been clearing out boxes in his attic prior to a house move and rediscovered a treasure trove of veteran issues – the front of four of them are reproduced above – all away games, all very different!  Three are from Season 1937-38 Division Two games at Chesterfield, Southampton and Sheffield United. The fourth is a Wartime game in the Football League North at Filbert Street. Leicester in 1942-43. Thanks to Cliff!

To jog your memories we reproduce immediately below covers from the first six seasons of the ‘Bantams’ entry into the Football League (1919-25) and above another set for 1929-1933

There are still lots of gaps which you may be able to help fill so if you have any prewar programme – home or away – of City games, the earlier the better, we would be grateful if you could let Mike Young (for his contact numbers/ email see contacts page) know by phone or email, what you have got so he can check whether it fills a hole in our database. If it is then he will make arrangements with you to get it scanned or photocopied as appropriate.

Though we have asked before we still hope that some of our FPA members and associate members will be able to protect a bit more of the club’s important heritage for posterity and in doing so help make the Club’s (and your) history come alive again!

More Thanks to CCFPA for Legends Charity Game Donations

The teams line up before the game
Sky Blue Legends (left) & Midland All Stars (right)

CCFPA continues to receive thanks from the many charitable organisations to which money was donated following the grand Charity game between the CCFPA Sky Blues Legends and a Midland All Stars XI in the summer, and a cheque presentation ceremony last month (both events held at the Ricoh Arena).  The generosity of the former players and celebrities who took part and the 6000 who attended the game and our sponsors saw over £21000 collected and distributed to sixteen (mainly local) charities.

The Association, SBT and Coventry City Diamond Club (who helped organised the game) were bowled over by this fantastic contribution on what was an emotional gathering of the Sky Blue family for charity.  

The latest ‘thankyous’ come from Mark Bates of the ‘Balls to Cancer’ campaign (to CCFPA’s Mike Young) and from Jenny Battersby, Secretary of Sherbourne Fields School Association in Coundon, Coventry (to CCFPA’s Billy Bell). Their messages are reproduced below.

“Dear CCFPA. We have been handed a cheque for £1000 from our ambassador Mel Eves who took part in a fundraising game with the Midland Allstars team.   I would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much for this donation on behalf of all at Balls to Cancer. The money will be used to further our nationwide push to raise awareness of male cancers. We believe that the best way forward in the battle against cancer is prevention and early detection. With the help of brilliant organisations like you we can cut dramatically the incidence of cancer. Thank you again”

Sherbourne Fields School Association “On behalf of the School Association, students, parents and staff, I would like to thank you for donating £1,000.  The money will be used to provide equipment and experiences for the students of the school such as leisure activities and sports equipment.   We also have an on-going project to make an area formerly unused into a leisure and learning space. Thank you very much”.

‘Elvis’ Blunts Blades in Battle of CCFPA members!

In the Sky Blues’ Sunday battle of the CCFPA members it was the Manager member that came out on top. The Sky Blues team were taking on managerless Sheffield United in their latest ‘home’ match in Northampton in the League One fixture on October 13th 2013. The Blades had sacked their management team (including former Sky Blue Lee Carsley) just days before the game.  Sky Blues gaffer (and Association member) Steven Pressley (left) was looking to his young team to continue their impressive early season form by registering a fourth win at Sixfields out of six.

Up against the Sky Blues in the Blades starting XI were two former Sky Blues of substance, their captain Micky Doyle (right) and prolific ex striker Marlon King (below), both CCFPA members.  In the event, the two playing members of the Association had to concede the points and the game to the manager member of CCFPA and his team – but not without some second half nail biting!

The City, wearing their new Sky Blue strip, looked to have the game sown up early in the second half steaming into an apparently comfortable 3-0 lead with excellent goals from the Sky Blues in- form striking duo Leon Clarke netting a brace with a goal each side of a decisive finish from Callum Wilson. Callum now becomes the League’s top scorer by being first to double figures.

The Blades mounted a stirring fight back to 3-2 with ‘Doyler’ in the thick of the action (though Marlon was substituted during the second half) and, in the end, the Sky Blues were happy to see the final whistle blow after six minutes of overtime owing to a delay due to a nasty injury to goalkeeper Joe Murphy (who made a number of fine second half saves to preserve the Sky Blues’ lead).

CCFPA wishes Steven and his team all the best in continuing their push up the table especially given the upcoming tough away games with Midland rivals Wolves and Walsall. We also wish Michael and Marlon all the best in pulling away from the foot of the League 1 table under whoever becomes their new manager.

The John Hartson Foundation Sends Thanks to CCFPA

CCFPA Vice chairman Billy Bell  has received a thankyou letter from the Foundation of former Sky Blues’ player John Hartson for the £1000 donation made to it following the Sky Blue Legends charity game against the Midland All Star XI at the Ricoh Arena back in August.  In all, over £21k was donated to as many as 16 charitable causes as a result of the generosity of  supporters, players and sponsors of that memorable day. Most of the recipients received their cheques at a special presentation ceremony in the Legends Lounge at the Ricoh last month.  On the day John could unfortunately not be present to receive the cheque so Jacki Isaac of ACL  presented the donation to former Sky Blue of the eighties and CCFPA member Peter Hormantschuk on behalf of the Foundation (pictured below). 

John undertook a short but significant stint with the Sky Blues in 2001 and was a talismanic player with numerous clubs (including  Arsenal, West Ham, Wimbledon, Celtic and West Brom).  CCFPA member John founded his Charity after he fought off a virulent cancer discovered after he left the Sky Blues.

Lorna King, Communications manager at the Charity, now strikingly named ‘Grab Life by the Balls’ wrote as follows:-

“I’m writing on behalf of John and the Foundation to thank you and your organisation for your fantastic donation of £1000 which you recently sent to us following the charity game. We were honoured to be one of the charities chosen to benefit and appreciate your generosity and that of all the people who supported you.

Your donation is much appreciated as all money raised goes towards helping the Foundation further its aims of raising awareness of the signs of testicular cancer and providing support to people with cancer and their families. As you know, the charity was set up following John’s life-threatening battle with testicular cancer which spread to his lungs and brain.

By choosing the Foundation as one of your nominated charities you have also helped us raise awareness of our work which is vitally important. One of the first organisations to benefit from the Foundation was the Maggie’s Centre at Singleton Hospital in Swansea. We continue to work with Maggie’s to help people with cancer and their families. The Foundation has also donated £25,000 to Yorkhill Children’s Charity in Glasgow to help children affected by cancer.

You can keep up with all our news and events at www.johnhartsonfoundation.co.uk  on Facebook, www.facebook.com/johnhartsonfoundation  and on Twitter, www.twitter.com/HartsFND

Thank you again for your support. It is very much appreciated as donations such as yours are vital to allow the Foundation to continue its hard work”.

Jacki Isaac (ACL) presents Peter Hormantschuk (representing the John Hartson Foundation) with their cheque last month