HCFC & trawlermen: playing on Christmas Day?

Just reading my City of Culture HDM freebie mag tonight an on p.23 it says 'Up to the early 60s when league games were often played on Christmas Day,. Hull City and Grimsby Town were the only two teams exempt from playing because fans in the fisihing industry needed to be at work.'

This is utter HDM ****e.

City played most Christmas Days right up 1957.

FACT

 

Hull City playing on Christmas Day was extensively discussed on here a few months back. All clubs played on Christmas Day unless it fell on a Sunday when no games were played. Hull City played their first Christmas Day league match in 1905 and their last in 1957,when playing on Christmas Day ceased for all clubs.A feature of the Christmas matches was that often the same team was played home and away on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. My husband saw all the home Christmas matches between 1946 and 1957 and only a couple or so were played on Christmas Day. Most were away games on this day.

 

Weren't they always scheduled to be against local opposition too?

 

Matches played on Christmas Day by Hull City from 1946-1957. Hartlepool,Rotherham and Gateshead at home. Southport,Sheffield United,Blackburn, Luton and Darlington away.

Reverse games were played in all the above on Christmas Day/ Boxing Day except the Rotherham and Luton matches when Boxing Day fell on a Sunday so the reverse match was played the following day.

 

Conclusion: no special dispensation whatsoever


1919 Sperz away
1920 Clapton away
1921 Notts Co away
1922 Soton home
1923 Fulham away
1924 Clapton away
1925 Darlo away
1926 Chelsea away
1927 no game
1928 PNE home
1929 Stoke Home
1930 Halifax away

 

what on earth is clapton?
a place?

 

Clapton Orient.

Do keep up.

 

I started in an office on the fish dock in the early 60's, and the only 2 days the market didn't work was Xmas day and Good Friday. Just saying like.

 

From my husband " The reverse Christmas matches in 1930 were Halifax 1- City 1 and on Boxing Day City 10- Halifax 0.
My dad was with his father for that one.

My favourite Christmas Day match was in 1948 when we beat Rotherham 3-2. All three of us were at this match, packed in like sardines! We were in a ding dong battle with Rotherham for the whole of the 48/49 season before beating them to the top and gaining promotion to the old Div 2."

 

I've never quite grasped the argument of the original myth. Surely there's plenty of days when trawlermen (and other industries) would be at work when the rest are at home?

 

There weren't fish landings on a Sunday, so no Monday fish-market. The wet-fish shops used to be closed on a Monday, and I remember folks saying never to get fish-and-chips on a Monday, because "the fish wasn't fresh".

 

I believe Millwall had also played on Christmas Day. Possibly others also? My Dad was a bus driver in Hull and always had to work on Christmas Day

 

Seem to recall seeing a sketch from the ‘50s of a tiger getting married next to a bridesmaid representing RUFC with the slogan: ‘always the bridesmaid never the bride’

 

Yes. It appeared in the Tiger Mag and was drawn by the great Ern Shaw.

 

Cheers. Just had a scan on Google images but to no avail.

Think I saw it reprinted in a fanzine in the early '90s.

 

From my husband. " You are correct with our highest ever league attendance which was given as about 3-400 below the 50k mark but my recollection was that it was a bus strike which affected the final attendance."Carter-mania" was in vogue at this time and the first v second in the league clash on Christmas Day produced a truly remarkable experience. The Boothferry Roar song was never sung so fervently and the Tiger Rag team entry music was at its maximum volume. And we won!"

 

The bridesmaid run of 46/47,47/48 and 48/49 finally came to an end in 50/51 when they became the bride and joined Hull City in Division 2. Then followed the best period in RUFC history with a run of 17 seasons in this division before being relegated again.