Independent Leyton Orient Forum

Forty-Niner wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 12:16 am Reading of some players being paid hundreds of thousands of pounds per week seems a far cry from the maximum £12 per week which existed when I first went to Orient.
According to the Office of National Statistics £12 then equates to £420 at today’s values. Quite a contrast to what the lowest paid players now earn.
What else then has changed? Leather lace up balls, shirts with collars and boots, which to paraphrase Henry Ford, you could have in any colour so long as it was brown.
The physio in those days was known as “The sponge and bucket man”. He had a bucket of cold water and run onto the pitch with a dripping sponge which he was applied to the affected area. Injured players would hobble up and down the wing for the rest of the game, or in more serious cases, the team would have to continue one short.
No substitutes were allowed until 1965 and then only one and that for an injured player.
From memory our first ever sub was Irishman Joe Ellwood.
Before motorways road travel could be tortuous, resulting in players mainly travelling to away games by train. Supporters usually did the same.
Railway coaches had a corridor with individual compartments opened by a sliding door.
Several of our team could be seen in a compartment playing cards with Chairman, Harry Zussman. The players would be smoking cigarettes and Harry puffing on a giant cigar. The atmosphere was so thick with smoke you could cut it with a knife.
At that period we only had one seating stand at our ground which was on the east side and held 475. The west side was covered standing only and the rest of the ground was open cinder banking.
The current east stand was bought in 1956 from the derelict Mitcham stadium and was in three sections seating 2600, a fourth section being added in 1962 bringing the total capacity to 3500.
In those days very few people had cars and I would go to home games by pedal cycle. For a small fee this could be left in the garden of an enterprising resident of Oliver Road.
People seemed more trustworthy as we always left with the same bike we had arrived with.
As far as other match results, we had to wait at a newsagent shop for the classified edition of the evening paper, Star, News or Standard, whichever arrived first.
Yes, there have been many changes – almost all for the better.

Real Al wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:34 am No mention of peanuts or half-time scores on the pitchside wall

point nine one eight wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 12:56 pm

Real Al wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:34 am No mention of peanuts or half-time scores on the pitchside wall

Don't forget that old cry of"Peanuts tanner a bag, Peanuts" sung by the sellers, way before burgers were even thought of.

Disoriented wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 12:57 pm

point nine one eight wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 12:56 pm

Real Al wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:34 am No mention of peanuts or half-time scores on the pitchside wall

Don't forget that old cry of"Peanuts tanner a bag, Peanuts" sung by the sellers, way before burgers were even thought of.

Loved that.

Forty-Niner wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 2:16 pm Floodlights introduced in 1960.
Good call with the half time scores.
There used to be a peanut seller, who stood where Big Ron sells Pandamonium. He had a slight speech impediment and used to cry "Peanuts their roasted".

Chief crazy horse wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 3:55 pm

Forty-Niner wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 2:16 pm Floodlights introduced in 1960.
Good call with the half time scores.
There used to be a peanut seller, who stood where Big Ron sells Pandamonium. He had a slight speech impediment and used to cry "Peanuts their roasted".

.. Anyone know what he's up to these days?

FargO wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 4:34 pm No Saturday was complete without a copy of the Evening Standard with the classified football results.

tuffers#1 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 5:54 pm

FargO wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 4:34 pm No Saturday was complete without a copy of the Evening Standard with the classified football results.

Wasnt it the Evening news did that on the front page.
Then the standard bought the failing news out whenever it was & carried it on ?

point nine one eight wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:10 pm

tuffers#1 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 5:54 pm

FargO wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 4:34 pm No Saturday was complete without a copy of the Evening Standard with the classified football results.

Wasnt it the Evening news did that on the front page.
Then the standard bought the failing news out whenever it was & carried it on ?

Sports reports on back and inside back pages, all London team games reported on, Fudge column on back page gave final score

Lucky7 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:37 pm My old dad reckons the evening sports papers over the years where pink and sometimes green