Talking Tottenham - Ninety Nine

This Talking Tottenham turns its attention to an area of the Spurs memorabilia industry that I know little about, but was pleasantly surprised to it find alive and flourishing.
In addition to what I hope you will find an interesting detour on the way to the next match I have dipped into the trivia well  to fill in the gaps where my amazingly limited knowledge has left gaps in the text. 

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On my last trip to England I stopped in at a memorabilia fayre. Before you think I'm really in need of a life it was a short stop and the day involved castles and Shakespeare. I declare that until then I thought the enamel badge industry was somewhat dated. Possibly being at its height in the 60's and 70's. Before the badge collectors rise up in anger at me I fully acknowledge that is due to my own shortcomings and  conversations that afternoon left me well aware that the collectors are dedicated and very knowledgeable about all aspects of the game.

That trip led me to look at the badges available and I was surprised at the depth of the subject.

Who would be a goalie?- Glenn Hoddle went in goal as emergency cover in Oct 79, v Leeds, in Jan 1980 V Manchester United and in December that same year V Norwich.
Ted Ditchburn was one of the first goalies to throw the ball out instead of the then traditional long punt down field when asked why he said I’m an awful kicker…

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A number of badges appear before (and after) events. Finals of course seem to inspire a number of items. Just how many of these are officially approved by the club is a question. Looking at the cockerels across this collection I would suspect a number of them do not carry official sanction.

when Pat Jennings record of 1099 games in senior football was broken it was by Ray Clemence playing for Spurs v Charlton.

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Terry Medwin from the Double squad, was born in Swansea and joined his local club and scored 60 times in 148 games before joining Tottenham in 1956. Describing his move to Tottenham  he said “ It was like going from the Swansea Grand Theatre to the London Palladium.”

The half time break in games was not introduced until 1870, at that time the teams would only change ends if the score was still 0-0. The half time rule as we know it arrived in 1876. 

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They say footballers talk with their feet, here is why when pundits are caught off guard -  Glenn Hoddle, has made a few slips in his time, ‘ I think in international football you have to be able to handle the ball’ and  “there is a lot of work that has been put in that hasn’t been put in”  while on another occasion, ‘Getting picked gives you half that confidence or 50% of it.”

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This one certainly seems one of the older of the examples I discovered.

The dealers at the fayre displayed their wares on display boards but some of the collectors have display cabinets for their collections. Or so some of the badge widows informed me in the tea room on the day. Some of the badges exchange hands at surprising prices, before you gallop off to online market places to start your own collection. 

Below, right - This on tour version, appears to also carry the logo of British Rail and I would assume was aimed at the away day fan.

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Talking of own goals. The first own goal in the Premiership was scored by Terry Phelan of Manchester City in the game with Tottenham. This gave Spurs a 1-0 win in 1992.…Alan Mullery (in his Fulham days) once conceded an own goal in a game after just 14 seconds.

Hoddle again, As a manager he came out with “we changed it to a back four and went 4-3-3’ and “ I have a number of alternatives and each one gives me something different’ not to mention this insightful ‘With hindsight its easy to look at it with hindsight.’
 
Then there was the brilliant ‘I have never heard a minutes silence like it’ and ‘ When a player gets to thirty so does his body.’

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To show the industry is alive and well badges seem to cover a wide range of games. Up to and including the current day, as we will see as we carry on.
This one lower left -  I did see recently when it was produced and sold to support the clubs Poppy appeal fund.'

When we looked at unusual football games I mentioned that  I was doing the shopping and that involved dropping in at the Franciscan priory. There was two washing lines, one has a line of cassocks and the other a line of football shirts

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Gary Mabbutt describing when he had a bad hair day, Gary has light coloured hair and whilst on holiday one summer he used a spray to ' enhance the lightness '.  In his own words “I went extremely blond.” To the extent that manager Keith Burkenshaw wasn’t impressed and he became known to his team mates as ‘The Blond Bombshell.’

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Badges appear at a number of grounds and there are new ones for each season. Apart from Wigan, West Brom, Liverpool and Manchester United all seem to be annual issues.   

Danny Blanchflower talking about his boss - “ Bill Nicholson is a wise man. He does not ask us to do the impossible. Only the possible. And so that makes anything possible, even the impossible.”

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As well as individual games in Europe I came across these 'campaign' versions.

Talking of Europe I suspect that this is a very English past time and found few examples from other countries. Where there were they appeared to come from English speaking countries such as the USA and Canada.

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I included this one even if the picture quality wasn't as good as I'd like but it talks about being vintage.

This one also comes from the aforementioned Gary Mabbutt “ I loved playing for Spurs and every part of the club. When you are at a club for 16 years, your name becomes synonymous with them. When that  club is Spurs that’s something special.”

Did you know, David Ginola took acting lessons at RADA in London before working in TV and film…Also, he owns an award winning vineyard….

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This badge I found intriguing as this game was never played (as readers of the recent 'Hotspur Towers - UEFA Cup 2007' will be aware). 

“Its said” -  That during his time with Spurs Jimmy Greaves only wore nine different pairs of boots.

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This badge would appeal to the Star Wars Spurs fan.

I've put together a whole lot more badges and if the feedback is strong enough we can have a second look at this hobby in the future.

As someone who collected thousands of programmes and various other items over the years the people who indulge themselves in these badges have my full support.

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If previous Talking's are anything to judge by my inbox will rapidly be bursting with other examples and comments.

Anyone who may have any more info on the subject feel free to enlighten my darkness and share your knowledge.

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Other Talking Tottenham's covering a wide range of subjects can be found at
http://www.indiaspurs.com/blog/talking-tottenham-past-conversations

COYS
Keith Harrison.
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