bantamspast Books: What's Coming Up

Myths and reality: A new series of books offering fresh perspectives on the history of Bradford football challenging the traditional version of events.

A History of Bradford City AFC in Objects

John Dewhirst (pub 2014, on sale in Waterstones)

Acclaimed by Hunter Davies as “the best illustrated history of any club I have ever read”, it provides an alternative history of the Bantams through surviving artefacts and memorabilia. Also includes comparative Park Avenue programmes and relics.

Re-Inventing Bradford City AFC 

Jason McKeown (pub March, 2016)

The last 30 years of Bradford City have featured a rollercoaster highs and lows. From promotions, relegations, the Premier League, almost going bankrupt, reaching a major cup final, and becoming the pioneers of affordable football.

Featuring interviews with players, managers, directors, journalists and fans, RE-INVENTING BRADFORD CITY tells the inside story of how City emerged from tragedy in 1985 and evolved through modern times. How they have continued to reinvent themselves, in both good ways and bad.

Room At The Top: The origins of Bradford football & the rivalry of Bradford FC and Manningham FC 

John Dewhirst (pub June, 2016)

The story of all the pioneering clubs, the military heritage and the origins of claret and amber as well as the red, amber and black. The author’s research and analysis provides a new interpretation of the rugby schism of 1895 as well as the conversion to soccer at Valley Parade in 1903 and at Park Avenue in 1907. Above all it explains the antagonism between the two Bradford clubs which set the tone for the twentieth century relationship.

The final volume in the series, WOOL CITY RIVALS, an illustrated history of the twentieth century Park Avenue / City rivalry will be published in 2017/18

Further details from Amazon ;  widthofapost.com ; johndewhirst.wordpress.com

Join the mailing list and get subscriber details from glorious1911@paraders.co.uk

history revisited | bantamspast publications

11 May 1985

Never Forgotten

The Lost Sports Grounds of Bradford

A vintage bus tour
Saturday 30 May 2015
Noon-5pm
£10 per person

A tour of what is effectively the history of spectator sport in Bradford, in a vintage Bradford City Transport double decker bus and the chance to drink a real ale specially brewed for the occasion. As combinations go it’s not a bad one. To cap it all, the trip is also likely to raise several hundred pounds for the Burns Unit. The cost is £10 per person which includes the bus tour and a ‘cricket tea’ at Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club. Tickets are on sale at The Sparrow Bier Cafe on North Parade.

Without the support of our good friends at the North Parade duo of The Record Cafe and The Sparrow as well as the Dudley Hill based Salamander Brewery, the tour simply would not have gone ahead. Their support also means that a large proportion of the income from ticket sales will be donated to the burns unit. Their generosity also ensures that we will probably be able to produce a comprehensive guide to Bradford’s lost sports grounds. It will be free to ticket holders, but will also be available, in exchange for a donation to the Burns Unit, after the tour from both The Record Cafe and The Sparrow.

We are requesting that those on the trip gather at The Record Cafe, North Parade, at 11.30am for a noon departure. It is worth noting that The Record Cafe is open from 11am and boasts an excellent charcuterie and cheese menu for those who may require lunch. We are hiring a former Bradford City Transport double decker bus: a 1947 AEC Regent to be precise. We depart North Parade at noon to visit eight locations that have a particular resonance in Bradford’s sporting history. At each ground there will be a short description of the venue and its history. The stopping places are:

Quarry Gap: Pedestrians, knur and spell and an American Indian. Exploring the pre-history of Bradford sport.

Carlisle Road: Claret and amber and the road to Valley Parade.

Horton Road: W.G. Grace, Aboriginals and the early history of Bradford cricket.

Park Avenue: Barbarians in the Dolls House. Rugby’s great split, Yorkshire’s favourite cricket ground and strange tales of Bradford Park Avenue AFC.

Scholemoor: The case of the stolen stand. Rugby Union’s Bradford bolthole, Bobby Robson and a plastic pitch.

City Stadium: Room at the Top? Film cameras, a pack of greyhounds and a baseball match.

Greenfield: Gone to the dogs. A dog races a motorbike as John Poulson looks on.

Birch Lane: Northern Soul. Rugby League clings on against the odds while a referee flees down Manchester Road.

Highlights include a half hour stop to explore the overgrown terraces of Park Avenue and Bradford Northern’s former ground of Birch Lane that was adjacent to Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club. In the club house a ‘cricket tea’ will be laid on free for all ticket holders on the trip. You will also be able to take in part of the match between Bowling Old Lane and Windhill in the Bradford Cricket League. After tea the bus will return to the Sparrow on North Parade for around 5pm where the FA Cup Final (5.15pm kick off) will be screened.

Places are restricted to fifty in line with the capacity of the bus. There has already been a good deal of interest in the trip, so we are hopeful that it will quickly sell out. If that does happen, then not only will everyone have a good day out, a significant amount of money will also be donated to the pioneering Bradford Burns Unit.

The Annual bantamspast Museum 1911 Dinner

26 April 2015
The Bradford Club
6.30pm for 7.00pm

£20 two-course meal, a football ground archaeologist as guest speaker and exhibition billiards match featuring the 2011 English national champion.
All profits from the evening will be donated to the Bradford Burns Unit.

On Sunday 26 April, the 104th anniversary of the day that Bradford City became the first winners of the current FA Cup, the annual bantamspast dinner will take place at the historic Bradford Club at Piece Hall Yard in the city centre. Diners are requested to meet in the club’s bar at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm sitting. A guest speaker will follow the two-course dinner. This year’s speaker is football ground archaeologist Jason Wood. He led an exploratory dig at Bradford Park Avenue in the autumn of 2013 and previously worked on the memorialisation of Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park ground. Jason will attempt to explain what inspired him to swap Roman archaeology for defunct football grounds. He will also show a short film shot at Bradford Park Avenue by Neville Gabie, the lead artist for the London 2012 Olympics.

The dinner also falls close to the 100th anniversary of the death of the first Bradford City player to lose his life in the First World War. Gerald Kirk died on 24 April 1915 at Poperinghe in Belgium. He was a centre half at Valley Parade, but was also a keen billiards player. Reports in the Bradford newspapers suggest that Gerald Kirk played at a high level against some of the best players of the era. To honour his memory an exhibition billiards match will take place in the Bradford Club’s stunning billiards room. It will feature Richard Lodge, the 2011 English national champion and Mark Hirst. The historic Hey’s billiard trophy will also be on display. The trophy is a solid silver depiction of a billiards match and was played for annually in aid of the Bradford Hospital and Convalescence Fund. The trophy is still in use to this day and is competed for by snooker teams from across Bradford.

Tickets for the dinner are available from The Record Café, North Parade and the Bradford Club at Piece Hall Yard. The evening is strictly non-profit making and, once the modest expenses have been met, all proceeds will be donated to the Bradford Burns Unit.

A History of Bradford City AFC in Objects

by John Dewhirst
Published by bantamspast, October 2014

A unique 344, all colour publication which features more than 1,000 items of City memorabilia and historic club artefacts. It includes a 67,000 word definitive history of the club including the story of organised supporter groups at Valley Parade to the present day. The book provides an alternative history of the club as recorded by surviving artefacts and memorabilia and has been well received by football supporters not only in Bradford but across the UK.

Feedback reviews can be read on Amazon but also include the following comments:

Hunter Davies: 'Lucky old Bradford City - this is the best illustrated history of any club I have ever read. I am so envious of all John's football treasures and memorabilia, which will  appeal to and interest and amuse and fascinate all real football fans, not just those of Bradford City'

Simon Parker, Telegraph & Argus: 'a unique way of following the clubís path to the present day. I can't recommend it highly enough'

David Conn, Guardian: 'A History of Bradford City AFC in Objects, a new book by lifelong supporter John Dewhirst, appears not much more promising than a compulsive collection of memorabilia but it is much more than the sum of its badges, pennants and other ephemera which the author admits his wife and three daughters would eagerly de-clutter tomorrow. Any risk of appearing parochial is avoided by the care with which the objects are set out, the clean design and Dewhirst's detailed explanations. It adds up to a labour of love, testament to a cherished institution and the 111 years in which it has played.'

Tom & Dom of BANTAMS BANTER: 'the greatest toilet reading book of all time'

City supporters have also acclaimed it as possibly the best book published ever about the Bantams and it will appeal to fans of all ages.

Available from Waterstones, Wool Exchange and the club shop as well as Amazon, price £30.

Further information email here.

bantamspast Annual 1911 Dinner

26 April 2015
The Bradford Club
6.30pm for 7.00pm
£20 two-course meal, a football ground archaeologist as guest speaker and exhibition billiards match featuring the 2011 English national champion.

All profits from the evening will be donated to the Bradford Burns Unit.
On Sunday 26 April, the 104th anniversary of the day that Bradford City became the first winners of the current FA Cup, the annual bantamspast dinner will take place at the historic Bradford Club at Piece Hall Yard in the city centre. Diners are requested to meet in the club’s bar at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm sitting. A guest speaker will follow the two-course dinner. This year’s speaker is football ground archaeologist Jason Wood. He led an exploratory dig at Bradford Park Avenue in the autumn of 2013 and previously worked on the memorialisation of Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park ground. Jason will attempt to explain what inspired him to swap Roman archaeology for defunct football grounds. He will also show a short film shot at Bradford Park Avenue by Neville Gabie, the lead artist for the London 2012 Olympics.

The dinner also falls close to the 100th anniversary of the death of the first Bradford City player to lose his life in the First World War. Gerald Kirk died on 24 April 1915 at Poperinghe in Belgium. He was a centre half at Valley Parade, but was also a keen billiards player. Reports in the Bradford newspapers suggest that Gerald Kirk played at a high level against some of the best players of the era. To honour his memory an exhibition billiards match will take place in the Bradford Club’s stunning billiards room. It will feature Richard Lodge, the 2011 English national champion and Dave Saxton, the organiser of the Bradford Billiards League. The historic Hey’s billiard trophy will also be on display. The trophy is a solid silver depiction of a billiards match and was played for annually in aid of the Bradford Hospital and Convalescence Fund. The trophy is still in use to this day and is competed for by snooker teams from across Bradford.

Tickets for the dinner are available from The Record Café, North Parade and the Bradford Club at Piece Hall Yard. The evening is strictly non-profit making and, once the modest expenses have been met, all proceeds will be donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. If the event is a success we would expect that amount to be several hundred pounds.