Season 2011-12 Fan Articles
Saturday Night Pink Echo
By Neil Smith :: 11/11/2011
43 Comments (»Last)
There's a shop in my local village that has been empty for about four years now. Its shutters marking a place that has fallen into general disrepair as it stood overshadowed by its huge "For Sale" sign. However, there has been movement in the last couple of months with a number of workies showing up to first gut the place and now renovate it. The shop is going to be a ladies' hair salon and will soon be up and running. I'am sure it will look very nice. What about it? ? you may ask. Well, for me, this shop meant only one thing from 1977 (when I was 8) through until 2004. You see, this was a newsagent and until its 2004 demise, it was the place to be to buy The Football Echo.
Every Saturday night, I would be there. Arriving at 6pm to await delivery of the Saturday pink. I would arrive promptly. Usually the pink hadn't arrived so I paid the bloke behind the counter and waited outside; I didn't want to clog up his shop. I wasn't alone. There would be half a dozen of us stood waiting for the van with the Echo sign to be seen coming up the road.
Over the years, you would get to know the men you stood with. Not by name. Just purely as "that bloke gets the Footie Echo". The van would arrive and some fag in mouth bloke would jump out, pass one of us the bundle, and speed off. Once handed to the shopkeeper, he'd hand out the copies and you were off. Saturday night had begun.Â
My love of the Football Echo began in November 1977. I had listened to Everton beat Coventry 6-0 that afternoon and wanted more. My dad gave me 8p and sent me to buy the paper at 6 pm. A front page headline, a photo... reports on the Everton and Liverpool matches, full-time results, league tables... This was my Saturday night football fix between Grandstand and Jimmy Hill.Â
It wasn't perfect. Due to deadlines with printing the second-half match report was much shorter than the first. And some results were L-L (late kick-off). And the table wouldn't reflect these results. But usually there were only a couple of missing scores. The Stop Press might get you up-to-date with a bit of luck...Â
There was also the cartoon figure of the Everton Toffee Lady and the Kopite. They would either be dancing or crying, depending on the result.Â
Inside the paper was a feast of footie as well: letters, features, non-league, local amateur scene, Memory lane... and a quiz.Â
The paper had its peak in the mid-80s for me. Everton were in the middle of their glorious era; Liverpool weren't bad either. And its glories were reported on a Saturday night. Virtually all games kicked off at 3pm then, you know.Â
It did have its bad times. It was the first paper that reflected the Hillsborough disaster that Saturday. The headline "74 dead" was sadly not the final number...
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Other memorable headlines stick with me though. After the 1984 win. "Magic show wins the Cup" summed up all Evertonian feelings. As did "Safe!" after the famous Wimbledon win that avoided relegation ten years later.Â
Sadly, as the years went by, other media led to a fall in sales and ? in May 2004 ? the Saturday night pink went out for the last time. Everton lost 5-1 that day to Man City in an abject performance. Not a fitting end.
The following season ? and still to this day ? the pink is available as a freebie pull-out with the normal Saturday Echo... on a Saturday morning(!) It's basically a preview pull-out. It's not remotely the same.Â
No more Saturdays eagerly making my way to the paper shop. No more waiting for the van to arrive.Â
The demise of this institute on Merseyside wasn't acknowledged to much extent at the time. My mates will tell you I still go on about the Saturday night Football Echo. Another footie institution gone.
Within a couple of years, the newsagents was gone.
It was never the same in my eyes when the Saturday Pink went.Â
I hope the hair salon does well. But the smell of hair spray and shampoo will not be a match for the odour of the freshly printed Pink Echo.Â
Reader Comments (43)
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Tony J Williams
2 Posted 11/11/2011 at 16:55:37
2 Posted 11/11/2011 at 16:55:37
Loved the Pink Echo, especially after we had won.
You had just watched the game but somehow the writing made the game seem so much better than it was.
So many lads were seen early saturday nights with the Pink Echo ubder his arm.
You had just watched the game but somehow the writing made the game seem so much better than it was.
So many lads were seen early saturday nights with the Pink Echo ubder his arm.
Trevor Mackie
3 Posted 11/11/2011 at 18:14:01
3 Posted 11/11/2011 at 18:14:01
My abiding memory was the letters page, if you think the opinion is strong on here?????
A fave of mine was a red who used to predict Liverpool's losses (very few in the 70s) ? unerringly he'd point out the impending doom ? I come to notice Arsenal because he predicted against the odds victories by them, ditto Man Utd.
In hindsight he was identifying clubs who weren't scared of 'em (nb: Mr Moyes).
He got more stick than Tony Marsh on here, great institution that paper.
A fave of mine was a red who used to predict Liverpool's losses (very few in the 70s) ? unerringly he'd point out the impending doom ? I come to notice Arsenal because he predicted against the odds victories by them, ditto Man Utd.
In hindsight he was identifying clubs who weren't scared of 'em (nb: Mr Moyes).
He got more stick than Tony Marsh on here, great institution that paper.
Ray Robinson
4 Posted 11/11/2011 at 18:45:28
4 Posted 11/11/2011 at 18:45:28
Fantastic nostalgia! I was in Germany for two years in the late seventies and used to get my Dad to ship the pink out to Stuttgart. In an internet, Sky-free age, it was the first time I got to fill in the details on my beloved Blues match - usually about the following Wednesday or Thursday.
When back in this country, I was one of those saddo's queueing outside the local shop - even if I had been to the match.
Like browsing in record shops, the pink is a pleasure belonging to a bygone era. In many ways, I preferred the way of life (and certainly football) in those days!
When back in this country, I was one of those saddo's queueing outside the local shop - even if I had been to the match.
Like browsing in record shops, the pink is a pleasure belonging to a bygone era. In many ways, I preferred the way of life (and certainly football) in those days!
Andy Crooks
5 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:07:46
5 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:07:46
The Pink Echo sounds like the now defunct Ireland Saturday Night. A bloody good paper so quick on the draw with match reports it was unbelievable. Standing at seven o'clock in the cold and dark waiting on it arriving. I feel old.
Mark Jensen
6 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:06:58
6 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:06:58
Great Stuff!
I too was born in 1969 (great year!) and remember looking out the window to see the van go past as we lived near the top of the street. As soon as I saw it, I legged round the corner and brought the pink back for my dad.
God forbid if I read ANY of it first! Yet it was OK for him to read it and tell me what happend.
Ah, the memories.
I too was born in 1969 (great year!) and remember looking out the window to see the van go past as we lived near the top of the street. As soon as I saw it, I legged round the corner and brought the pink back for my dad.
God forbid if I read ANY of it first! Yet it was OK for him to read it and tell me what happend.
Ah, the memories.
Trevor Mackie
7 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:20:43
7 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:20:43
I might add if it wasn't on Rice lane, Walton by 6.30pm the assembled throng would start grumbling!
if you weren't in the queue the bloody thing could be sold out in half an hour.
if you weren't in the queue the bloody thing could be sold out in half an hour.
Gerry Morrison
8 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:34:34
8 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:34:34
Before the internet and satellite TV, the Pink Echo was my link to all things Everton. I left Liverpool in the eighties, but a good friend, and an even better Evertonian, Jimmy Burns, took the trouble to mail the Pink to me every week. Without fail.
At one time I was living in Guatemala. There was no delivery at my house so I had to call at the post office every day to see if there was any mail. I will never forget the pleasure of seeing the Echo sitting on the shelf as I turned off the street into the little oficina.
Times change however. I was down in Guatemala a few months ago, and in the same town that once had no mail and hardly any telephone connections now has free WiFi in the central park, provided by the local council. As much as I miss the Pink Echo, I do prefer following the games live on my laptop.
At one time I was living in Guatemala. There was no delivery at my house so I had to call at the post office every day to see if there was any mail. I will never forget the pleasure of seeing the Echo sitting on the shelf as I turned off the street into the little oficina.
Times change however. I was down in Guatemala a few months ago, and in the same town that once had no mail and hardly any telephone connections now has free WiFi in the central park, provided by the local council. As much as I miss the Pink Echo, I do prefer following the games live on my laptop.
Brian Denton
9 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:44:39
9 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:44:39
I can still remember the first headline that sticks in my mind. Nothing notable about it; "Young Ends Goal Famine but Hateley Strikes Back". We always seemed to draw 1-1 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in those days.
After we got knocked out of the Cup by Forest in 1967 I can remember the Toffee Lady crying on the masthead, all alone because Liverpool had no match that day. Preparation for the life to come......
After we got knocked out of the Cup by Forest in 1967 I can remember the Toffee Lady crying on the masthead, all alone because Liverpool had no match that day. Preparation for the life to come......
Richard Farrington
10 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:51:17
10 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:51:17
Fantastic memories of the pink. Used to get it every time I went to the match with my now sadly passed away Uncle whose passion got me into the blues as a young 'un.
Sad that its gone. Great article mate.
Sad that its gone. Great article mate.
Ste Warbrick
11 Posted 11/11/2011 at 20:00:32
11 Posted 11/11/2011 at 20:00:32
Good article, and will have registered with loads of us. I left Liverpool in 1976 and my Dad used to save up the Pinks for me to collect on home game weekends, right up until he passed away in 1997.
I've just moved house and had to throw away dozens of Front covers from the 80s, including great results against Arsenal, Man Utd and that lot across the park; articles on Ball, Harvey, Kendall, Joey Royle; Latchford photos, you name it, they all had a little re-read in summer 2011, much to my wife's disgust.
There is now so much stuff available through all the media, I can hardly keep up, but the Footy Echo was certainly an icon of its time.
I've just moved house and had to throw away dozens of Front covers from the 80s, including great results against Arsenal, Man Utd and that lot across the park; articles on Ball, Harvey, Kendall, Joey Royle; Latchford photos, you name it, they all had a little re-read in summer 2011, much to my wife's disgust.
There is now so much stuff available through all the media, I can hardly keep up, but the Footy Echo was certainly an icon of its time.
Ian Stewart
12 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:53:56
12 Posted 11/11/2011 at 19:53:56
I failed my final kit inspection as a new recruit in the RN in Dec '87 because I had 6 pink echos in my locker! I couldn't bring myself to throw them away. Fav headline: BLUES KAN KAN. I had that up on the wall in the radio workshop (fwd hangar) on HMS Illustrious for 2 years.
Chris Halliday
13 Posted 11/11/2011 at 20:57:37
13 Posted 11/11/2011 at 20:57:37
My best memory of the late pink was the SAFE headline after the Wimbledon game; superb article.
Derek Thomas
14 Posted 11/11/2011 at 21:11:23
14 Posted 11/11/2011 at 21:11:23
Each week Blues and Reds ( before they were the rs ) from St Ambrose in Speke used to get in the Fountains Abbey post game were the Landlady would provide a plate that held about a foot and a half of buttered bread for us to make chip butties with, proper catering that. and the Footie Echo used to arrive pretty handy around 5.40 just as we were getting our 2nd wind in both beer and post match discussion.
I was a player as well in those days and the highlight was to get your name in the Amateur section for on the field deeds of glory.
One Monday Morning I got called into the Bosses office, he had the Footie Echo on his desk...' Good result for your lot last week eh? got both goals eh? ' ...yes boss...then the light went on upstairs...shit... I was actually working all day Sat and bunked off to play and bunked back in again...he let me stew for a bit, shook his head and said, next time give in a false name and don't let me catch you again, now fuck off, shakes his head and goes back to reading the Echo.
I was a player as well in those days and the highlight was to get your name in the Amateur section for on the field deeds of glory.
One Monday Morning I got called into the Bosses office, he had the Footie Echo on his desk...' Good result for your lot last week eh? got both goals eh? ' ...yes boss...then the light went on upstairs...shit... I was actually working all day Sat and bunked off to play and bunked back in again...he let me stew for a bit, shook his head and said, next time give in a false name and don't let me catch you again, now fuck off, shakes his head and goes back to reading the Echo.
George McKane
15 Posted 11/11/2011 at 22:16:40
15 Posted 11/11/2011 at 22:16:40
The Pink Echo was great. It would get into The Dark House (The Barlow Arms) about 5:40ish ? The Echo lad, who was about 40, would come in and sell The Pink. But in The Dark House you were not allowed to open it straight away...
For years we had 2 teams, either side of the bar, and we did the Echo Quiz. It was crazy, we even bought a trophy for the end-of-season Quiz winners but they were deadly serious with accusations of "reading". It got to the point where you couldn't go to the toilet during the quiz in case you read the Echo for the answers.
The scorers, done on the Dart Board Slate, were normally the child of one of the men ? in my case my grandson Liam, who is now 20 and still goes to the Dark House and the match every week with me ? and he would stand on a chair to mark the scores on the slate.... and then we would have a little collection in a glass for them and they would get a few bob. Great days.
Too much TV and Mobile phones and such have taken something away from football. 3 o'clock kick-offs and The Footie Echo. Great days indeed.
For years we had 2 teams, either side of the bar, and we did the Echo Quiz. It was crazy, we even bought a trophy for the end-of-season Quiz winners but they were deadly serious with accusations of "reading". It got to the point where you couldn't go to the toilet during the quiz in case you read the Echo for the answers.
The scorers, done on the Dart Board Slate, were normally the child of one of the men ? in my case my grandson Liam, who is now 20 and still goes to the Dark House and the match every week with me ? and he would stand on a chair to mark the scores on the slate.... and then we would have a little collection in a glass for them and they would get a few bob. Great days.
Too much TV and Mobile phones and such have taken something away from football. 3 o'clock kick-offs and The Footie Echo. Great days indeed.
Lee Courtliff
16 Posted 11/11/2011 at 22:30:11
16 Posted 11/11/2011 at 22:30:11
Great article mate.
Being a Burnley lad, there was no way I could get it here but my Nan used to keep them for me and, when we went to visit, I would collect them all.
I had the '91 4-a-piece FA Cup tie copy for about 15 years.
Being a Burnley lad, there was no way I could get it here but my Nan used to keep them for me and, when we went to visit, I would collect them all.
I had the '91 4-a-piece FA Cup tie copy for about 15 years.
Ged Simpson
17 Posted 12/11/2011 at 08:27:47
17 Posted 12/11/2011 at 08:27:47
To me the Pink was where I could confirm we had actually won!
Ray Roche
18 Posted 12/11/2011 at 09:28:33
18 Posted 12/11/2011 at 09:28:33
When I was a lad and started going in 1959-60 season my arl fella and I would walk back from Goodison to the Pier Head, which was then also a bus terminus, and get the Crosville home. By the time we got there the Pink was already printed and he'd read it on the way home. Good memories.
Matt Woods
19 Posted 12/11/2011 at 10:40:09
19 Posted 12/11/2011 at 10:40:09
Great post mate, and a fantastic publication. What used to amaze me was being in the Harlech after a match just after 5.30 and a fella would come into the boozer and sell the first issue of The Pink! Pub full of lads having all been at the match and bingo everyone's reading the match report!!
If you played local football, the coverage in Corinthian was a must. It's true, it's just another sad reminder of better days.
If you played local football, the coverage in Corinthian was a must. It's true, it's just another sad reminder of better days.
Christine Foster
20 Posted 12/11/2011 at 10:59:45
20 Posted 12/11/2011 at 10:59:45
Thank you for such a great post. When I was 7 my uncle took me to Goodison for for the first time, I was hooked from the first moment and when I got home I picked up the Pink Echo and relived the game again.
You could get the pink Echo at 5:40pm from the top of Dryden Street on Scotland Road and there were always queues.
When I was at school my handwriting and grammer weren't the best, so Dad being Dad made me copy things from books and such until one day he said copy out the match report from the Echo. I did that for 2 years, every game meticulously written in a journal each week. Needless to say, both my handwriting, grammer and love of Everton grew. I lived each game.
In later years we lived in New Zealand and my Uncle Jimmy religiously sent me the Pink Echo every week, these in the days when you had to go to the post office to book a call back to the UK, it was a link with home that was a bond. It used to take at least 2 weeks for it to arrive, but it was read cover to cover.
It was a true fans; institution, when half the paper was blue and the other red without bias. We are lesser for its passing but better because of its existence. Fabulous writing, capturing every move, beautifully done.
You could get the pink Echo at 5:40pm from the top of Dryden Street on Scotland Road and there were always queues.
When I was at school my handwriting and grammer weren't the best, so Dad being Dad made me copy things from books and such until one day he said copy out the match report from the Echo. I did that for 2 years, every game meticulously written in a journal each week. Needless to say, both my handwriting, grammer and love of Everton grew. I lived each game.
In later years we lived in New Zealand and my Uncle Jimmy religiously sent me the Pink Echo every week, these in the days when you had to go to the post office to book a call back to the UK, it was a link with home that was a bond. It used to take at least 2 weeks for it to arrive, but it was read cover to cover.
It was a true fans; institution, when half the paper was blue and the other red without bias. We are lesser for its passing but better because of its existence. Fabulous writing, capturing every move, beautifully done.
John Barnes
21 Posted 12/11/2011 at 13:33:53
21 Posted 12/11/2011 at 13:33:53
Trevor #3; Reg Gadd, Sunlight St? Legend back in the day. Could he spout some shite!
Adam Wilkinson
22 Posted 12/11/2011 at 13:38:49
22 Posted 12/11/2011 at 13:38:49
Brilliant to read something different then the normal doom and gloom on here. Radio City then the Pink Echo are a cherished childhood memory.
John Keating
23 Posted 12/11/2011 at 14:22:02
23 Posted 12/11/2011 at 14:22:02
Went away to sea in 1971 and my dad used to post it every week. I used to get the pink sometimes months and months later battered to pieces but still read it like it was hot off the press!
Eugene Ruane
24 Posted 12/11/2011 at 13:30:09
24 Posted 12/11/2011 at 13:30:09
Christine (20). My late mother used to send it to London from EVERY weekend I was not home (then to New York when I was living there).
During the 70s and early 80s, when I was home, I used to read it on Sunday morning as, time-wise, the Saturday night ritual was very strict:
ie: 1740: Sausage dinner (while watching 'Ron Dicko' and Jimmy Corkhill bring new meaning to overacting during the end bit of the Brookie omnibus);
1800: Quick 'swill', followed by last bit of the A-Team or Jim'll Fix It.
1900: Throw on my 'pulling suit' and out (nb: none of this sitting in the house drinking shots till 10 o'clock ? that as my mate Pete would remind you is 'wasting good ale-ing time').
1910: Couple of pints 'local'.
1955: Often a couple with my mate's (late) uncle in The Bank House (he was a mad Blue - "THE FAMOUS KOP!!? BEFORE SHANKS, YOU 'AD TO WALK 25 YARDS TO GET A FUCKIN' LIGHT!")
2030: Trader Jacks.....followed by an evening of rejection and knock-backs in assorted shit-holes like the Gravvy and Flintlocks (nb: peer pressure - a BASTARD!)
One of my strongest memories of the paper was 'poems' by reds on the letters page.
For some odd reason, it seemed to be a particular thing with 'them'.
Often by fellers from Ormskirk or Crewe, they'd be full of shite, non-scanning, strained, William McGonagall-type couplets.
Eg: "And as King Kenny diddeth downeth the wing flow, a rather large blackbird, flying south, with both wings outstretched, o'er the Koppeth, did..er..go" Etc.
So at least one good reason why it WAS good to see the back of it.
By the way, I also lived in NZ (1999-2002) but I think by then I'd said to my mam 'No more Echo of any sort ? it's a red rag, save your money'.
During the 70s and early 80s, when I was home, I used to read it on Sunday morning as, time-wise, the Saturday night ritual was very strict:
ie: 1740: Sausage dinner (while watching 'Ron Dicko' and Jimmy Corkhill bring new meaning to overacting during the end bit of the Brookie omnibus);
1800: Quick 'swill', followed by last bit of the A-Team or Jim'll Fix It.
1900: Throw on my 'pulling suit' and out (nb: none of this sitting in the house drinking shots till 10 o'clock ? that as my mate Pete would remind you is 'wasting good ale-ing time').
1910: Couple of pints 'local'.
1955: Often a couple with my mate's (late) uncle in The Bank House (he was a mad Blue - "THE FAMOUS KOP!!? BEFORE SHANKS, YOU 'AD TO WALK 25 YARDS TO GET A FUCKIN' LIGHT!")
2030: Trader Jacks.....followed by an evening of rejection and knock-backs in assorted shit-holes like the Gravvy and Flintlocks (nb: peer pressure - a BASTARD!)
One of my strongest memories of the paper was 'poems' by reds on the letters page.
For some odd reason, it seemed to be a particular thing with 'them'.
Often by fellers from Ormskirk or Crewe, they'd be full of shite, non-scanning, strained, William McGonagall-type couplets.
Eg: "And as King Kenny diddeth downeth the wing flow, a rather large blackbird, flying south, with both wings outstretched, o'er the Koppeth, did..er..go" Etc.
So at least one good reason why it WAS good to see the back of it.
By the way, I also lived in NZ (1999-2002) but I think by then I'd said to my mam 'No more Echo of any sort ? it's a red rag, save your money'.
Andy Crooks
25 Posted 12/11/2011 at 15:25:21
25 Posted 12/11/2011 at 15:25:21
Brilliant,Eugene. The Saturday night we all shared.
Kevin Hudson
26 Posted 12/11/2011 at 15:42:13
26 Posted 12/11/2011 at 15:42:13
That's a great post, Eugene. Loving the "poem."!
Trevor Mackie
27 Posted 12/11/2011 at 15:50:45
27 Posted 12/11/2011 at 15:50:45
John Barnes
I reckon you're right mate, I couldn't remember his name - for some reason "roy green" was floating about the "r" and "g" perhaps????
It was the first time I realised supporters of the same team didn't always agree.....ha ha ... life never really changes.
I reckon you're right mate, I couldn't remember his name - for some reason "roy green" was floating about the "r" and "g" perhaps????
It was the first time I realised supporters of the same team didn't always agree.....ha ha ... life never really changes.
Eugene Ruane
28 Posted 12/11/2011 at 16:03:28
28 Posted 12/11/2011 at 16:03:28
Reg Gadd?
Just a thought - he might have been related to Gary Glitter.
(who as you know was really Reg Glitter)
Just a thought - he might have been related to Gary Glitter.
(who as you know was really Reg Glitter)
Brian Denton
29 Posted 12/11/2011 at 23:47:12
29 Posted 12/11/2011 at 23:47:12
Eugene, 'wot no She Club ...?'
Eugene Ruane
30 Posted 13/11/2011 at 01:20:10
30 Posted 13/11/2011 at 01:20:10
Brian - Absolutely!
As I say, peer pressure was a bastard, but by the time I got to 24/25 I'd had enough.
My (cotton and ployester 60/40 mix) suit was swapped for denim (jacket and kecks) and I started going to watch a band called UK Country who used to play in the Bramley Moore and The Goat on the dock road.
In the words of Jock Wallace - Freeeeeeedom!!!
And as it turned out, the 'fairer sex' I encountered in these pubs were a lot more 'engaging' than the golden-hearted wantons of the Grafton, so famed in legend.
Of couse it helped if you knew your Webb Pierce from your Lefty Frizzell, but fortunately for me, as Loretta Lynn sings "If you're looking at me, you're looking at country"
As I say, peer pressure was a bastard, but by the time I got to 24/25 I'd had enough.
My (cotton and ployester 60/40 mix) suit was swapped for denim (jacket and kecks) and I started going to watch a band called UK Country who used to play in the Bramley Moore and The Goat on the dock road.
In the words of Jock Wallace - Freeeeeeedom!!!
And as it turned out, the 'fairer sex' I encountered in these pubs were a lot more 'engaging' than the golden-hearted wantons of the Grafton, so famed in legend.
Of couse it helped if you knew your Webb Pierce from your Lefty Frizzell, but fortunately for me, as Loretta Lynn sings "If you're looking at me, you're looking at country"
Trevor Powell
31 Posted 13/11/2011 at 09:03:08
31 Posted 13/11/2011 at 09:03:08
I was a paperboy for Barlows of Huyton Village. We got paid a shilling a round and if you did all 13 rounds during the week yoou got a two shilling bonus! I used to deliver around 30 to 40 papers every morning and evening but the football pink was a different matter with 90 to 100 on the six o'clock round! I remember "Fred Pickering turned and had a shit from thirty yards ....." and taking it to school for a titter on Monday Morning! Come to think of it, what about the lamented Football League Review inserted into the match day programme?
Brian Denton
32 Posted 13/11/2011 at 10:29:27
32 Posted 13/11/2011 at 10:29:27
I've still got loads of programmes in the loft, including those with Football League Reviews in the middle. But I think it was only included for one or possibly two seasons at most in Everton's programmes, round about 1968.
Mick Gallagher
33 Posted 13/11/2011 at 13:29:14
33 Posted 13/11/2011 at 13:29:14
We used to time it to leave the Spellow and catch the fella selling it before we got in the Winslow. Check your fixed odds and the usual team from the Scottish 2 Division would let you down.
When I was working offshore, I used to get it with the Monday Echo on Wednesday, and read it more than the letters that came with it.
When I was working offshore, I used to get it with the Monday Echo on Wednesday, and read it more than the letters that came with it.
Robert Daniels
34 Posted 13/11/2011 at 20:33:02
34 Posted 13/11/2011 at 20:33:02
Summer times were the worst, only the aussie results to look at,
Cahill's Kangeroos 2 Waltzin Matildas 0
Sidney Hotspurs 9 Victoria Wanderers 8
Great post, I'd forgot, how much I enjoyed the Pink,
Thanks, Neil... I feel a bit sad now, or do I mean old?
Cahill's Kangeroos 2 Waltzin Matildas 0
Sidney Hotspurs 9 Victoria Wanderers 8
Great post, I'd forgot, how much I enjoyed the Pink,
Thanks, Neil... I feel a bit sad now, or do I mean old?
Thomas Williams
35 Posted 13/11/2011 at 23:11:47
35 Posted 13/11/2011 at 23:11:47
Ah the Pink Echo, which was fairly equal to the two clubs, alas that was cancelled and now replaced with a one-club paper.
Paul Johnson
37 Posted 14/11/2011 at 07:17:42
37 Posted 14/11/2011 at 07:17:42
Great memories.
From the age of seven after the game me and our kid who was a year younger would run round to my uncle Jimmy's on Bardsay Road to catch final score on world of sport with Dickie Davies just to see were we were in the league.
Later on when he moved we would have Radio 2 on for the football round up. does anyone remember the theme tune. We would always flick through the channels between Merseyside, City and radio 2 waiting for the match reports. It was a pain in the arse particularily before push button radios.
I would then get home and it was always a bowl of scouse or peewack. It was at this time I discovered the pink. I loved the letters page and I would really get pissed off if there were more Shite letters published.
It then followed me through my life reliving all the highs and lows of being a blue. There never seemed to an agenda or bias in reporting.
I have just had a beautiful flashback an article that had a picture of Jim Pearson in the Royal Blue with the umbro diamonds down the sleeve. this was my first full kit. Got it for xmas, I remember freezing my bollocks off on the arnie field with our kid and and a wembley trophy - magic.
Is it me or do you become more cynical with age. Things were simple in those days. Wouldn't swap them for anything.
From the age of seven after the game me and our kid who was a year younger would run round to my uncle Jimmy's on Bardsay Road to catch final score on world of sport with Dickie Davies just to see were we were in the league.
Later on when he moved we would have Radio 2 on for the football round up. does anyone remember the theme tune. We would always flick through the channels between Merseyside, City and radio 2 waiting for the match reports. It was a pain in the arse particularily before push button radios.
I would then get home and it was always a bowl of scouse or peewack. It was at this time I discovered the pink. I loved the letters page and I would really get pissed off if there were more Shite letters published.
It then followed me through my life reliving all the highs and lows of being a blue. There never seemed to an agenda or bias in reporting.
I have just had a beautiful flashback an article that had a picture of Jim Pearson in the Royal Blue with the umbro diamonds down the sleeve. this was my first full kit. Got it for xmas, I remember freezing my bollocks off on the arnie field with our kid and and a wembley trophy - magic.
Is it me or do you become more cynical with age. Things were simple in those days. Wouldn't swap them for anything.
Michael Brien
38 Posted 14/11/2011 at 14:28:50
38 Posted 14/11/2011 at 14:28:50
Neil - thank you for reminding us of how good the " Footy Echo " - a brilliant article. My Dad used to have the Footy Echo sent to me over here in Lincoln. I used to read it all the way through - including the Local Leagues !! I remember reading about David Jones playing for Southport. In this media saturated era for the game - what we have today is in no way equal to The Footy Echo.
Mark Jensen
39 Posted 15/11/2011 at 18:16:25
39 Posted 15/11/2011 at 18:16:25
Paul #36
Peewack or a bowl of scouse, Priceless!
When we weren't having the two things above we would go all sofisticated in our house as post match ritual included corned beef with marrowfat (what?) peas and 'chippy chips' with curry sauce over the top.
Sometimes it took ages to read the Pink as I had to wait until dad and older brothers put it down for a minute. Then I was in like flint!
Peewack or a bowl of scouse, Priceless!
When we weren't having the two things above we would go all sofisticated in our house as post match ritual included corned beef with marrowfat (what?) peas and 'chippy chips' with curry sauce over the top.
Sometimes it took ages to read the Pink as I had to wait until dad and older brothers put it down for a minute. Then I was in like flint!
Trevor Mackie
40 Posted 15/11/2011 at 19:03:15
40 Posted 15/11/2011 at 19:03:15
Little Gem of a post this.
Usually hate looking back but football really was something special, even when we were shit in the 70s.
It wasn't imagination after all.
Usually hate looking back but football really was something special, even when we were shit in the 70s.
It wasn't imagination after all.
Eugene Ruane
41 Posted 15/11/2011 at 23:36:22
41 Posted 15/11/2011 at 23:36:22
You try and explain to explain peas out of a box, or pearl barley, to the kids now and they laugh in your face.
They should bring back national service AND the birch!!
They should bring back national service AND the birch!!
Steve Mink
42 Posted 16/11/2011 at 18:39:40
42 Posted 16/11/2011 at 18:39:40
Great post. Set the memories flooding back
Would love to have a digital version of the Toffee Lady/Joliet graphic from the masthead (with her smiling and him glum of course)
Any Google maestros out there care to locate a copy?
Would love to have a digital version of the Toffee Lady/Joliet graphic from the masthead (with her smiling and him glum of course)
Any Google maestros out there care to locate a copy?
Steve Mink
43 Posted 16/11/2011 at 18:47:17
43 Posted 16/11/2011 at 18:47:17
Joliet = Kopite . Stupid iPad spellchecker.
Ian Bennett
44 Posted 16/11/2011 at 21:28:00
44 Posted 16/11/2011 at 21:28:00
It was fantastic. I must have spent a small fortune on papers down the years ? and all I wanted to read was Everton. The pink was perfect.
Remember that Kanchelskis derby well ? front page sitting proudly on my Uni wall taunting the kopites in the student house who I had persuaded me to bet them £100 Liverpool wouldn't win the league that season. A satisfying win and satisfying spending that £100 on my student Everton season ticket. Happy days.
Remember that Kanchelskis derby well ? front page sitting proudly on my Uni wall taunting the kopites in the student house who I had persuaded me to bet them £100 Liverpool wouldn't win the league that season. A satisfying win and satisfying spending that £100 on my student Everton season ticket. Happy days.
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1 Posted 11/11/2011 at 16:47:47
Not to bring us down by my mother (the most rabidly passionate Blue bar none!) was in hospital a few days before she passed away.
Wanting to stay with her I told her I'd miss the game. Leaving out the swear words she said "no you won't!".
So off to the game and back to hospital with the programme and the Pink.
Read both to her cover to cover. One of my last memories of her was that evening. Every week for 11 years after that seeing the Pink made me smile - and then cry like a baby when it was discontinued.
Thanks for the memories!
Oh and we lost that game - but sure when has losing a game meant you didn't enjoy being an Evertonian ?!
IMWT COYB