1950 – 1960
40 Years in Football – Ivan Sharpe
Outline Keeping his chapters brief, Ivan Sharpe relates his memoirs of “40 Years in Football”, first as a player and later as a journalist. His anecdotes and stories harken back to the early days of football. Logic dictates that his reminiscences relate mostly to British football, but he also takes his 1954 readers across many […]
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The Man in the Middle – Mervyn Griffiths
Outline Benjamin Mervyn Griffiths was a contemporary of Arthur Ellis, whose Refereeing round the World I reviewed here some time ago. While Ellis became something of a celebrity due to his mannerisms and thirst for recognition, the modest Welshman Griffiths depended solely on his fairness and exceptional fitness, and it took him right to the […]
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Refereeing round the World – Arthur Ellis
Outline A typical example of a 1950s biography: short chapters in which the writer (assisted by Kenneth Wolstenholme, a well-known sports reporter from the time) looks back on the highs and lows of his career. Although it serves the readability of this consequently short book (195 pages only), it does mean Ellis’s account does not […]
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In the nick of time
I got a whole shelf full of books for young boys (and girls), recounting stories of friends overcoming adversity to set up a football club or, once in a football club, become heroes where they were once zeroes. Though the stories often feature referees, these books are not of much interest to my collection but […]
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More new books
I’ve received a few more books over the past few days. Here they are: You Are The Ref: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide to the Laws of Football by Paul Trevillion and Keith Hackett (2010) Diary of a New Referee by Fez Barnard (2012) and the 1942 Dutch version of the Laws of the Game: De […]
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