The greatest sport on Earth?
This is a great place to give more details about me, as the Webmaster I could give personal information about my family, my job, my education, and my hobbies and other interests, but I won't do that. I will just say how much I love the game, football is probably the most talked about subject on Earth i.e. apart from how to be a Millionaire and Sex
1966 - Being There
That fateful Day in 1966 I stood with thousands of cheering fans outside the Kensinton Royal Garden Hotel to welcome England's World Cup winners, and all the other participating teams, as they arrived for a super banquet.
The crowd suddenly surged forward and about ten of us at the front found ourselves inside the Banqueting Hall among the World Cup soccer teams, each sitting at their individual tables, attractive waitresses ushered us to two tables obviously taking us for more footballers, any intention to leave soon vanished when they started serving up scrumptious food and drink, nobody asked who we were, and nobody seemed to care, so us fans became part of the great occasion.
After a very fine meal I hurried over to the England table to get my banquet menu autographed, teams had been drinking quite a bit to celebrate the glorious day in English football, yet Captain Bobby Moore looked as cool as a cucumber, his clear blue eyes met my admiring gaze as he calmly took my banquet menu saying "I'll get all the boys to autograph this while you take England's winning Ball round all the tables and get as many signatures on it as you can from all the teams, especially that player over there" he pointed out his favourite star, "see that he signs it first", to date, I have not divulged this name to anyone, I doubt if Bobby Moore's own wife even knows it.
England's Winning ball was soon smothered with autographs of the World's greatest footballers, had I have walked out the door with it then, i'd be a very rich guy with a huge driveway by now, but in those days we didn't even contemplate doing such an act. I returned the autographed ball to Bobby Moore, he smiled broadly and, like the Gentleman he always was, returned my signed banquet menu with England's signatures including two of the World's greatest managers; Alf Ramsay and Matt Busby, both to be knighted later for their contribution to English soccer.
The cameras were flashing away, so maybe my photo was taken, but none ever appeared in the media, if anyone had published it I may have well become a Celebrity with free entry to every Club, wishful thinking maybe, but it didn't happen, and, as the years rolled by I almost forgot what I had done in 1966, but the arrival of the 2006 World Cup jolted my memory, it suddenly dawned on me tht I may see England win a World Cup twice in my lifetime, but, alas, it was not to be.
I had realised that England winning the World Cup was a once in a lifetime event, unless you were Brazilian; Every youngster dreams of being there when your Country wins, when it actually happens it's indescribable, you're actually holding the winning ball in your hands, exchanging conversations with the World's greatest players, and then you're getting their autographs on the ball, Wow!, unbelievable!. I just didn't realise what an achievment this was, there is a need to tell the World this story before it is lost in the passage of time, I want others to realise that anyone can become a celebrity, even if nobody knows your name.
I was a Celebrity for a few hours on that remarkable Day in 1966, I was the person who shaped a moment of football history, yet nobody knew me, nor do they know me now, but getting the ball autographed in 1966 I became a star too, unaware that this very same ball might be worth a fortune in time, today it must be almost priceless as England have not won a football World Cup since 1966.
Wow! Imagine when I heard later on that the autographed ball had changed hands at huge prices several times, the original ball is now claimed to be on display at Preston's National Football Museum in their FIFA Collection, but the red leather ball shows hardly any signatures left on it, so if this is the original ball can anyone please tell me what has happened to the original autographs.? email me
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