Quick one for the historians/researchers

[ferrarilover]

Stefano, no no no, you misunderstand, I meant to say, effectively, where have you been all my life? My point was that you seem to know a whole lot about the club, first hand, from many years ago, indicating that you have been a supporter all that time. It would seem odd to me that, even allowing for your advancing years, you had only just stumbled across this site. It would seem even more strange to me that you would go to all the trouble of signing up and posting on my little ol' thread when there are so many more worthy threads out there which could, and perhaps should, have sparked your interest sooner. So, if you didn't sign up specifically to post in this here thread, and you haven't only just become aware of this site, my question remains, why now, why this thread? I'm very glad you are here, it saves me having to give my 'prize' to Troj, who, just recently, was scathingly unfair about my beard!

Welcome Stefano, please stick around.

[HRG]

This is all very interesting. I don't remember Lee Sharpe or Bucks playing for us, but I do remember Rodney Jack and David Graham, being sat in the car absolutely gutted after our Play off final defeat to Colchester in 1998, seeing Neville Southall play and getting to meet him afterwards in the Gull's Nest. I was in the pub anxiously keeping an eye on the scores and pretending that whatever my friends were rabbiting on about was remotely interesting on the day we got promoted to League One and phoned my Gran in tears when we did it. The following relegations I prefer not to think about.

As for your beard Matt, I'm sure it's hilarious.

[stefano]

Stefano, no no no, you misunderstand, I meant to say, effectively, where have you been all my life? My point was that you seem to know a whole lot about the club, first hand, from many years ago, indicating that you have been a supporter all that time. It would seem odd to me that, even allowing for your advancing years, you had only just stumbled across this site. It would seem even more strange to me that you would go to all the trouble of signing up and posting on my little ol' thread when there are so many more worthy threads out there which could, and perhaps should, have sparked your interest sooner. So, if you didn't sign up specifically to post in this here thread, and you haven't only just become aware of this site, my question remains, why now, why this thread? I'm very glad you are here, it saves me having to give my 'prize' to Troj, who, just recently, was scathingly unfair about my beard!

Welcome Stefano, please stick around.

[Southampton Gull]

That has to be one of the most entertaining introductions ever seen on here. Welcome to the site, stefano, I hope you become a regular contributor rather than go back to being a lurker.

[Sesimbra]

It is good to know there are still a few old 'uns about although you are really quite a youngster Stefano. I regularly supported Torquay in the 50s when such greats as Sammy Collins, Don Mills, Ronnie Shaw, Phil Joslin (g.k) Dennis Lewis, Bert Head and the Callands were regulars. The cowshed was my favourite spot. Great memories of those days. After the match we walked into town and went dancing at the Spa Ballroom (sadly no longer in existence) where I eventually met my future wife.

[Plymouth Gull]

Hell Ferrari you were up late! Night work or insomnia?

Just a weirdo. :~D

[ferrarilover]

Oh, deary me, what have I started, now we have Sesimbra on here too and he appears to be the oldest man in the world. To save Stefano style confusion, I will say hello and welcome but no more.

Sadly, Nick, you are right.

I concur with Dave, fascinating introduction from my new globetrotting friend, PM heading his way to delve a little deeper.

Matt.

[cambgull]

Camb, you have peaked my interest, was Bucks all that special while he was here?

I was only about 8/9 at the time but Bucks was good when he was here, fairly sturdly midfielder. I suppose he was similar to Mansell in the way he was never the first name to get noticed on the team sheet and never getting the top marks but did his job well.

Very interesting looking back at the old team sheets around that time, some names I had forgotten. Ashley Bayes in goal, Darren Moore, Chris Curran, Scotty Stamps, Kevin Hodges, Ian Hathaway, Richard Hancox. A beast of a team!

It must have been about 1993 when Hancox started playing for us that I said to my dad and my brother, "Why do they call him Richard?"

[Trojan 67]

That has to be one of the most entertaining introductions ever seen on here. Welcome to the site, stefano, I hope you become a regular contributor rather than go back to being a lurker.

Aye, welcome aboard stefano and although I don't post on TFF, I often browse the site. I detest the words "lurk" and "lurker", it insinuates that those that "browse" are some sort of perverted voyeur.

I don't know about perverted, :no: but I do know BT (bitter and twisted ) not the telephone company.

[Trojan 67]

It looks as though I am a few years ahead of you Trojan but not by much. I started at Homelands in 1963 and being a bit thick left in 1968 to start work. In my fifth year it was the first time we had combined Homelands & Westhill sporting teams. For football I was the captain of course!

That ferrarihoover is a bit of a character isn't he asking how come a guy who knows so much about the club suddenly comes on here posting? I don't profess to know any more about the club than anyone else but I think it was Ferrari on this thread who said he wasn't around in the League 1 days. Only 7 years ago whereas I am 110! Ok I exaggerate! Trouble is with this posting thing it's these modern computers that us old 'uns have got to get our heads around.

Only bothered to post really as I have read this site for ages even before the crash and on this occasion I thought I could add some information to a thread in support of what Trojan had posted as I was actually there when it happened.

Just to put Ferrarilover's mind at rest my first game to watch at the age of 11 years was 7 September 1963 against Rochdale with Dave Hancock securing a 1-0 win, I managed to survive not being crushed in a crowd of 20,000 on 9 January 1965 in a 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur, I made my Western League debut for the reserves on 11 October 1969 in a 2-0 Western League win against the champions that season Glastonbury, I played in a classic FA Youth Cup tie against Argyle in 1969 where we had 1-1 at Plainmoor, 1-1 at Home Park after extra time, then lost 3-1 at Home Park in the 3rd game (the whole Argyle team being full time or apprentice professionals), and I cried when we got relegated to the Conference.

It is nice that I still get a buzz when I enter Plainmoor the same as I did when I was 11 years of age. I still always believe that it is going to happen for us, and I hope ferrarilover that when you are 110 you will have the same brilliant memories of a proper football club that I have got!

Ferrarihoover ? I've checked the keyboard and the H key is too far away from the L key for it to be a typo.

Outstanding stefano !

[Trojan 67]

It is good to know there are still a few old 'uns about although you are really quite a youngster Stefano. I regularly supported Torquay in the 50s when such greats as Sammy Collins, Don Mills, Ronnie Shaw, Phil Joslin (g.k) Dennis Lewis, Bert Head and the Callands were regulars. The cowshed was my favourite spot. Great memories of those days. After the match we walked into town and went dancing at the Spa Ballroom (sadly no longer in existence) where I eventually met my future wife.

It really is pleasing to know that a simple question or reminiscence can spur on a reader of the site to post their memories.

It goes without saying : the older you get the more memories you have.

[Trojan 67]

Stefano :

Remember the District Schools' Trophies ?

Under 12 : Style's Cup
Under 13 : Ingham Trophy
Under 14 : Webber Shield
Under 15 : Blessington Cup

Under 16 Hudson Bowl only came into existence after the compulsory leaving age was raised to sixteen.

Edit : and of course, the Webber Shield final was always played at Plainmoor.

[stefano]

Stefano :

Remember the District Schools' Trophies ?

Under 12 : Style's Cup
Under 13 : Ingham Trophy
Under 14 : Webber Shield
Under 15 : Blessington Cup

Under 16 Hudson Bowl only came into existence after the compulsory leaving age was raised to sixteen.

Edit : and of course, the Webber Shield final was always played at Plainmoor.

Yes I remember them although when I was at Homelands we only entered the competitions in the 3rd and 4th years (U14 and U15). We never did anything in them and for the first four years we lost most of the games we played. We only had 60 pupils in a year at that time and it wasn't until the 5th year that we started winning games and in fact won all the games we played. However it wasn't that our rugby oriented games master had suddenly seen the light and obtained his FA coaching badges or that as a group of players we had suddenly overnight become brilliant! In the 5th year for the first time 3 Westhill pupils joined us in a combined team and also most of the good players at places like Audley Park and Tweenaway had already left school at the end of the 4th year. With our games master Alan Harris, a decent bloke, being a Torquay Athletic player football most certainly was not a priority. I see you played for Torre Trojans. Do you remember Kevin and Gary Birch, distant cousins of mine, who both played for Trojans at different times in the late 60's / early 70's? I can remember watching Kevin in a final at Plainmoor in which Colin Lee was also playing.

[Trojan 67]

As an add on to some schools' finals being played at Plainmoor, the one South Devon League cup final to be played at Plainmoor was the Dartmouth Cup final (for Division 1 teams).

Am I right in saying that local finals at Plainmoor ceased to happen in the later years of Mr Bateson's tenure ?

Back in the day, it was every local football playing schoolboy's dream to play at Plainmoor in a cup final.

For me, it happened many times, but that's another story.

[Trojan 67]

Just seen your post stefano, stay on line and give my 2 fingers time to reply.