I’ve never admitted this publicly but the emotion I most closely associate with running this blog is guilt.
So many people take the time to contact me with thoughts, ideas, stories, initiatives, activities, suggestions and various other tidbits that continually go to waste.
It’s not intentional I assure you – far from it. I’d love to be swapping messages and churning out articles daily but as this isn’t my full time occupation, life dictates otherwise.
However, cleaning out my desk drawers over the weekend, I rediscovered a letter sent to me by Terry (aka Lynx) nearly two years ago and had to give myself a big old slap on the head.
Terry sent me this programme from the Wolves Vs Arsenal match during the 1935/36 season after we got chatting about it at the inaugural ‘Bloggers Get Together’ in the summer of 2014.
It’s a fascinating document and certainly the earliest programme I’ve ever seen first hand. I had to handle with extreme care as it’s not in a particularly good state of repair.
As Terry says in the original message he sent to me (see below) there’s not actually a lot of football-related content, but it’s a lovely time stamp of the era.
I particularly enjoyed this advertisement for ‘Carters Little Liver Pills’ which will get you as fit as the chaps out on the pitch apparently (click to expand):
If you’re wondering what the Division One table was looking like in March 1936, wonder no more with Wolves marooned in midtable as they would be almost exactly 80 years later (albeit in the top tier):
There’s also a rather amusing article referring to Molineux hosting the FA Cup semi final the previous weekend, blaming the local paper for restricting access to the ground and preventing a record attendance (click to expand):
This was Terry’s original message that arrived in the post with the programme:
Thomas,
Thanks for your reply. I enclose the Programme as promised. My father came across it in the fifties and passed it on to his ‘Wolves’ obssessed son who kept in a safe place as a treaured item for over sixty years, surviving years in the Middle East and Span before being discovered once agains this week under the wife’s sewing machine !! A charmed life indeed!
Re-reading it again there not much ‘footie’ information but as a reflection of life in the Thirties I find it fascinating.
I’ve done a little research on some of the items mentioned in the Programme and found the following:
The semi final (referred to on page one) was between Sheffield United and Fulham. Sheffield won 2-1 but lost the final to Arsenal 1-0.
Wolves beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield the previous week, only the second away victory of that season.
This match (Wolves Vs Arsenal) finished 2-2 but I cannot find the Wolves scorers.
Researching for info I came across this site http://spartacus-educational.com/Fwolves.htm. Some of the accounts of the era of Major Buckley on this site make interesitng reading and possibly could be a mirror image of Wolves in recent times. Have we seen a ‘Moxey’ before?*
I hope you enjoy the programme and that is is of some use.
Regards, Terry.
—
A massive thank you to Terry for sending this to me and a sincere, groveling apology for the delay in transferring it into digital format.
Sadly as many of the long term bloggerati will know, Terry suddenly dropped off the radar sometime last year, which is a great shame as I always enjoyed his posts and very much relished that short time in his company.
If you do read this Terry, please do get in touch so I can arrange to return this superb historical document.
Nice to see Sandwell wallowing in the bottom 3 ! But excellent blog all the same.
Excellent! Thank you for posting this.
Thomas,
Obviously you have access to Lynx’s e-mail as the custodian of this group of antique bloggers that is us, if that is so,would it be worth a poke e-mail to him as we all miss his outstanding contribution and his excellent banter..
The piece above is wonderful, absolutely right up my street, I love that sort of thing looking at the good old days and realising perhaps these may turn out to be the good old days as dark as they may seem right now. We are in the age of throw away partners, when the car ashtray is full we change our car, it cost more to have a pint and a pie with entrance to a game, than it used to cost for a Months groceries. As Wolves fans we allude to Instant greatness as with our coffeee and tea bags, but does it taste as good, we shall see hmmmmm I wonder sweet or bitter taste.
How I yearn for that night at Molineux as a young impressional kid on the South bank, Wolves vs Leeds last game of the season amongst 54000 +. I enjoyed the game on Saturday not because we kept a clean sheet at home and started to develop character (Danny Batth) E&lie, but because Molineux was rocking again there were 20000+ again and they didn’t fiddle the figure to include the STH’s. It was fun the banter was there Wolves played football for spells Blouses got back into it, legs were being hacked and players felled in a good old heart thumping Derby.
That’s the Wolves allure to me, that’s why I go to watch whoever pulls the shirt on, ( well perhaps not Sagbo) but you know what I mean, Iv’e always stayed positive because I started supporting after the last REAL cup win in the1961/62 season, so I have nothing to base success on, no former glory to say in the good old days, my lot is two league cups a Sherpa van trophy and the Los Angeles (World series Cup) well those bloody yanks do it so why can’t I.
I have a terrible memory, can’t recall events with mirror image quality as BOG or Clive, Doog, Mark or many of the guys and girls on here, (I told you crap long term memory retention.
But for my 60 th Birthday my son bought me one of the Wolves books with E&S newspaper clippings as above from way back to Pre 1877
it’s leather bound and embossed with gold lettering and is one of my treasured possessions, having never owned a Wolves shirt until last years bloggers ball, (I’m a true Scot indeed)
I love nothing better than looking through all the old games when you could buy a suit for £19-17s 6d. A levi jackett for £7- 17s later on in Wolves history.Inread and suddenly my brain says, i was at this game I remember at last and it’s full of my lifes “Golden Moments”.
One trend that does appear as Doogooder say’s, is since the 50s we have never been a great team, we are not steeped in buckets of glory and we we’ve been a mediocre team at best for some time. But we are home fans, fans of our local club not to be swayed from our loyalties by the current owner or CEO, WTF that means beats me. So we shall bask in memories all on this site at different levels depending on your longevity as a fan.
I had the pleasure to watch the wonderful Gearge Best play, he will live in my mind as my greatest footballer ever. But how I wondered at my own, my very own Dave Wagstaffe, how blessed with talent was that lad, so my time as a Wolves fan was not to shabby after all. Now in my twighlight years I can get my book out and reminiss on “Golden Moments” whilst dribbling of a different kind, I shall look back and say that was the period when things changed for the Wolves and we got new owners and went on to be the 51st state and we entertained again, but more important the fans came back and the atmosphere was there again.
Thanks Thomas for Lynx’s piece, I do miss his contributions as I had a great rapport with him and would genuinely love to know what has become of him.
StuWolf
‘since the 50s we have never been a great team, we are not steeped in buckets of glory and we’ve been a mediocre team at best for some time’
Very true, But looking at that 1936 table only 2 of the top half (13) clubs can claim to have been powers in the English game over the last couple of decades, and even Man. City have had some bad times not dissimilar to our own. Just shows how the Premiership has distorted the game in England.
Ah now this is a post right up my street. I am an avid Wolves programme collector and my oldest Wolves programme is Arsenal v Wolves from the 1933/34 season. My oldest home programme is from the 1945/46 season. They are fabulous to read and as the article here says encapsulate the time brilliantly with their adverts for products long gone, prices long gone and a lack of political correctness that is quite refreshing as they openly promote alcohol, cigarettes and a time when a woman’s place was in the kitchen! I still have a few to go for my collection but I am proud to say that so far I have every Wolves home programme in all competitions (and friendlies) since the 1954/55 season. I only need a couple more from 1953/54 and 1952/53 seasons and they will be complete too. Some seasons – usually ‘big’ seasons when we won the league or got promotion etc – I have every away programme too. In addition I have every Wolves FA Cup programme home, away and neutral since 1951, every League Cup programme home, away or neutral ever and the vast majority of programmes from our various European adventures from the 1950’s onwards – still a couple of away ones that elude me. One of my recent purchases – good old eBay! – was the programme from the 1955 Moscow Dynamo v Wolves game in Moscow. Bought it off a Russian chap for a bargain price. Obviously its all in Russian so not an easy read but it is a great piece of our history.
Greasel, if you read this instead of stuffing a pie in your fat gob, it might sink into your peabrain that THIS is the essence of being a Wolves fan.
This is what it means to us, the history, the memories, the passion, the pride.
We are like sticks of Blackpool rock, cut us in half and you find Wolverhampton Wanderers coursing through our veins.
One of my most treasured Wolves mementos is an original “pink” from 1949, with the headline “It’s Ours”
3-1 win over Leicester in the cup final at Wembley……………………2 years before I was born.
Sadly, for you, you will never get it.
For us, thank dog, coz you will not be around WWFC for ever, but we will.
FOwb
ps
Forgot to mention we beat Liverpool, Man Utd and the shit in our cup winning run that year.
Thanks for the latest correspondence from Houston.
The PMDG’er and I particularly enjoyed the pictures of your good self, and your even gooder other half posing so seductively in the Bluebonnets.
We had a vote as to who looked most attractive.
You might be interested to know that you came second.
That’s always good!!!!!
Dave,
The bloke that sits opposite me on the away travel coach is a programme nut also, I should link you two up, I do believe he is missing only I programme since 18 Oatcake, who knows you may have that and he me be able to help you.
Are you at Burnley?
Hi Stu – by all means link us up (oo-er!). Give him my email and/or mobile number. Not at Burnley as ‘celebrating’ my Mother-in-law’s 80th birthday. I say ‘celebrating’ as we took an instant dislike to each other in 1979 and 37 years on the feeling is still mutual!
With no disrespect intended in any way, my impression of this chap he is not of the e-mail or text persuassion
I shall speak to him on the coach on Saturday and offer him your phone number and your Mother in law.
I developed the pillow trick after 46 years of misery.
I push it firmly over her face while she’s asleep, but I’m sure the witch breaths through her ears.
Wolves scorers D. Martin and H. Thompson according to my (much loved) Wolves Encyclopaedia.
I have a newspaper cutting of our 1974 cup win, with a headline along the lines of “Gary Glitter wins the cup for Wolves”. How fortunes change.
Again, lots of interesting adverts from that period.
Jed Wallace recalled from Millwall, Jackett says he wants him to prove himself at Wolves, sounds like Kevin McDonald is going to be edged out the door to me.
Also ALF was to go off to Fulham and us take Matt Smith, Fulham just announced they’ve rejected a bid for Matt Smith from Wolves, so looks like we are defo chasing him.
FOjk
I have an idea!!!!!
How about we loan Kenny Jackett to Millwall Saville and Wallace tore up the pitch there apparently, it might get KJ in the groove.
This was posted this am in response to a question, “who are ROK Associates” the company said to be impressing Morgan about a wolves buy out.
16 Mar 2016 10:40:05
It’s the company with Jonathan Kendrick from Wolverhampton involved with. Google Jonathan Kendrick and you’ll find it. He’s got a net worth of 300 mil a couple of years back but he’s in with a billionaire ?. A certain chap from Microsoft.
This is now out there and common knowledge so it may be worth you guys just googling them all.
We can but hope, the yanks have been batting in there since day one and are gathering momentum with two visits in the last 3 weeks.
Thomas, you naughty boy!
What’s more important to you, making a living or the Wolves Blog?
Great to see this programme though and I, like loads of other bloggers, miss Lynx and his wit.
If you’re reading this Terry, you owe me a beer!
There’s no need to apologise to the rest of us. Reading this and occasionally commening offers far more entertainment that we usually get at molineux. I look forward to it more than match days now.
Im sure we are all great full for your efforts.
Great report Thomas … and oh how we long for Terry to get in touch…… An absolute gentleman in every sense.
As Clive alluded I too have the pink featuring the 1949 cup final … given to me by my elder sister who introduced me to the Wolves.
I’ve got a few recollections of yesteryear and agreeing with Clive again …Moxey would have no idea as to how far down this world famous club he has dragged us.
I’ve two recollections from the good times …. When I was about 8yrs old I went to see Wolves v Bolton at home ….. we scored and I wanged my ‘rattle’ around only to clump the guy in front of me on the southbank around to head ……. He turned around to give me some grief ….BUT before he got the chance my sis … who was like a rotty. dished it to him and put him in his place. There were about 50,000 in the ground.
The second was sadly when the Munich air crash occurred Wolves were due to play Man Utd away …. A belter of a game that would have been. Alas not to be played until the end of the season. …. Again I went with my sister to see the mighty Wolves beat Man Utd at Old Trafford 4 -0. Those were the days we were a force to be respected and reckoned with. I’m not sure whether we will ever reach those giddy heights again but one thing I do know ….. and that is they’re in my memory and Moxey would do well to understand how much many current Wolves fans crave for some restoration of glories past.
Make no mistake Wolves were in the top 2 or 3 teams in the World.!!!!
It was an evening game(might have been Easter Monday)went on Don Everall coach from Darlaston,with another12 year old.On our own,no hassle,no worries.How times change,both generally andWolves particularly.
Strange things, programmes. I have a fair few (ok – far too many) but nothing like the comprehensive collections that some of our more avid fans can claim. As an aside, I was working elsewhere a few years ago and a young German guy came to work with us. The chat got round to football, as it usually does, and he said that he supported a small German club that “you would not have heard of'”. Turns out that it was Carl Zeiss Jena and the look of amazement in his eyes when I said I had not only heard of them but seen them play in England was only surpassed by his look of delight when I handed him the home programme the next day – complete with pictures of his childhood heroes .
Free to a good home if it helps anyone complete their collection, a 2 page programme (basically a sheet of A4 folded over) from the Southend V Wolves end of season friendly in May 1981. Not many Wolves fans there that night…