MEMORIES 652 told of the days of the Saturday sporting pinks which were newspapers hurriedly produced on the final whistle to tell football fans the scores.

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“I very much enjoyed the article,” says John Winn, winning brownie points with the editor. “As a boy in the 1950s and 1960s, I was a keen Quakers’ supporter and we had the Evening Despatch’s sporting pink delivered to our home in Haughton, usually between 6.15 and 6.30. I awaited its arrival with great anticipation, especially when we had won.”

The Northern Echo: Sporting pink
Even before the pink arrived, John usually knew the score because from January 3, 1948, at 5pm on a Saturday, the BBC Light Programme broadcast Sports Report, with its stirring theme tune which can still be heard on Radio 5: Out of the Blue, written by Hubert Bath and performed by the Central Band of the RAF.

However, we think that the Quakers often missed the first classified reading of the results because their matches at Feethams kicked off at 3.15pm.

Why? 

The Northern Echo: Darlington beat Mansfield 1-0 on December 21, 1973. "The Despatch picture shows Stags' defender Dennis Longhorn facing back to clear Colin Sinclair's goalbound shot which stuck in the mud. Longhorn beat Don Burlurax for possession and asDarlington playing at Feethams 50 years ago in late 1973

In 1850, The Factory Act said that factories had to shut by 2pm on a Saturday to give workers some time off. Many immediately legged it to the pub to get drunk, so churches started forming the first football teams to keep the workers off the beer, and 3pm was the logical time for kick-off. This quirk of history still shapes many football fans’ weekends to this day.

But why did the Quakers go against tradition and kick off at 3.15pm?

The Northern Echo: Quakers No 9 Colin Atkins challenges the Northampton defence at Feethams on November 10, 1973. Quakers lost 3-2, with Bill Atkins and Don Burluraux on the scoresheetDarlington playing at Feethams 50 years ago in late 1973

“My understanding was that it was linked to closure of town centre pubs at 3pm,” says John.
It would be very ironic if a team nicknamed the Quakers after the temperance faith should have delayed its kick-off by 15 minutes so its fans could maximise their alcohol intake. However, given the Quakers habitually lowly league finishes, perhaps the fans needed as much fortification as possible before kick-off.

Have you got a better explanation?

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