Jaartallen
RWDM: Ketjes know why
The following is my translation of an article that earlier appeared in Dutch football culture magazine Staantribune. It is reproduced here with permission. The original Dutch article was written by Raoul de Groote. Photography: Marco Magielse. RWDM: Ketjes know why “I’ve got a Johan Boskamp poster hanging in my loo” RWDM ceased to exist in 2002, […]
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40 Years in Football – Ivan Sharpe
Outline Keeping his chapters brief, Ivan Sharpe relates his memoirs of “40 Years in Football”, first as a player and later as a journalist. His anecdotes and stories harken back to the early days of football. Logic dictates that his reminiscences relate mostly to British football, but he also takes his 1954 readers across many […]
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The Football Association 1863-1883: A Source Book – Tony Brown
Outline As the title suggests, the author of this book has consulted a variety of old sources to commit to paper the earliest history of the Football Association. That history does not, incidentally, start in 1863, the year the FA was established, but way earlier. Long before 1863 there were many sets of rules and […]
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Who’s the B*****d in the Black? – Jeff Winter
Outline The English referee Jeff Winter (1955) could hardly have imagined the turn his career would take when he was a “boot boy” in the ranks of the Middlesbrough hooligans in the 1970s. A far from happy childhood and this “hobby” were threatening to push his life in the wrong direction. However, seeing the hard, […]
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Fluitend door de wereld – Whistling through the World – John Langenus
Outline To my knowledge, this fragile, weather-stained book (printed in WWII, so the paper is of sub-par quality) is the first set of memoirs ever written by a football referee. Belgian John Langenus’ principal claim to fame rests on his being the referee of the final of the first World Cup in 1930. In this […]
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Leo Horn and the 1974 World Cup – Leo Horn
Outline Just over 40 years ago the Orange Machine lit up the world, astounding it with “total football”. If people are wondering at the bickering, whining and extreme attention paid to football these days, especially in the run-up to a World Cup, they’d be surprised to learn it was not much different 40 years ago. […]
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The Man in the Middle – Mervyn Griffiths
Outline Benjamin Mervyn Griffiths was a contemporary of Arthur Ellis, whose Refereeing round the World I reviewed here some time ago. While Ellis became something of a celebrity due to his mannerisms and thirst for recognition, the modest Welshman Griffiths depended solely on his fairness and exceptional fitness, and it took him right to the […]
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Africa in the Dutch Polders
This article was first published, in Dutch, in the Dutch football culture magazine Staantribune. It is reproduced here with the publisher’s permission. Eritrean National Football Team Playing in Dutch Town By Herman Joustra Photography: Thijs Brouwers A chilly autumn evening in Gorinchem, a picturesque Dutch city about 30 km east of Rotterdam. The last rays […]
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Soccer Refereeing. A Personal View – Jack Taylor
Outline John Keith Taylor, better known as Jack Taylor, is best known for officiating the 1974 World Cup final during which he awarded a penalty in the very first minute of play, creating World Cup history, as it was the first penalty kick ever awarded in a World Cup final. He also, famously, yellow-carded Johan […]
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Soccer Referee: A guide to fitness & technique – Clive Thomas
Outline Known as “The Book” for his strict interpretation of the laws of the game, Clive Thomas is one of the better known British referees from the 1970s and 1980s. My Dutch readers may remember him as the somewhat high-handed referee who sent off Willem van Hanegem at the 1976 European Championships or the referee […]
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