Post by Macmoish on Sept 13, 2010 16:29:11 GMT
Bump....60 Years ... But the original - and then the follow-up piece, obviously always-relevant
september 2010
This article was published in the QPR Magazine. It was written by John Disson. (Note the role of his brother in the hoops decision.)
Also see second post: A second article by John Disson
TALKING POINT: 50 YEARS IN HOOPS
This season the Club has celebrated fifty successive years of wearing the famous Blue and White Hoops.Behind the celebration, there is a story to be told…
so just how did it come about that we went back to our roots and assumed our true persona for being the Super Hoops?
QPR: The Official Magazine caught up with R’s fan
John Disson to get to the crux of the matter.
It was the close season prior to the start of the 1960/61 campaign, the annual general meeting of the Supporters Club had been called to
take place at the Hammersmith Town Hall.
I confess not an occasion I had ever regularly attended, but this year Alec Stock had been invited to attend and was to address the supporters, so an occasion not to miss.
Much was expected of Alec Stocks’ appointment as Manager - he had
been given the job the previous season, having taken over from Jack Taylor who had moved on to Leeds United. He had been in the job for about six years, during which time we had been served up with some pretty mediocre football, as well as seeing the Blue and White Hoops dispensed with in favour of a plain white shirt.
With Stock due to give a talk on how he wanted the Club to progress the meeting was well attended; I think the meeting was chaired by the President of the Supporters Club, but what I definitely do remember about him was that he was wearing a black bow tie!
As is the case with most meetings, the usual complaints and grievances were being aired, mostly all about performances on the pitch, so there was very little the Supporters Club could ever do about it.
Therefore, the areas of complaint were targeted at the Board and the Club itself; remember this was in the days prior to the purchase of the Club by Jim Gregory. Stock had sat quietly throughout the proceedings, but now it was his turn to speak.
Almost everybody knew about his recent football background, as well as him holding the rank of Major in the Tank Corps, during which time he took part in active service in the Second World War. He spoke with an air of authority and the longer he went on the more the supporters were drawn in and charged with enthusiasm. In fact, I can only relate the substance of his speech to that given by Henry the Fifth before the Battle of Agincourt - it’s something that vividly
stands out in my memory.
He was a true man Manager, someone that many people should use as an example to follow. I’m sure that many of the sides he put out to play were suitably
“THE MEETING THEN MOVED ONTO ANY OTHER BUSINESS, WHICH IS WHERE IT GOT REALLY INTERESTING”
inspired by him; not by coincidence was his autobiography entitled ‘A Little Thing Called Pride.’
The meeting then moved onto any other business, which is where it gotreally interesting.
My brother Derek seemingly inspired, as was the whole meeting, immediately put up his hand and proposed that we revert back to wearing our Blue and White Hoops, I can’t remember just whether I seconded the proposal, but it was immediately adopted amid cheers from all present.
The Club dispensed with the Hoops in 1954 and having worn a nondescript white shirt for the past six years, we
wanted our identity back, the meeting urged that the Supporters Club should inform the Club without delay of our request for the coming season. Stock then stated that he would endorse our proposal and to all present, this was rubber stamping the fact we would once more be wearing our Hoops.
The meeting broke up with everyone on a high, not only from the speech given by Stock, but also the highs of knowing the Hoops were here to stay. If we had never been there to witness that uplifting speech, would my brother Derek, or any other person at that meeting for that matter, have ever been encouraged to put forward the proposal ‘let’s get back to the Hoops.’
In the coming years, all that Stockie achieved is now history. Without doubt he can be credited as being the catalyst, not just for inspiring us back into the Hoops, but also for all of our subsequent achievements.
As a family we are in our fifth generation of support for the R’s, from my Grandfather in the 1890s to my now six year-old grandson, we therefore feel justifiably proud to be responsible for
playing our part in a significant era of theClubs history.’
Post by Macmoish on Sep 13, 2010 at 12:30pm
And then a piece by John Disson which he sent me, which John requested I also post
John Disson
Blue and White, Green and White, a New Perspective
We all cherish our "almost unique" identity for the wearing of our Blue and White hoops, and so we should; so while many other Clubs almost annually try their hardest to reinvent their either red, white or blue shirts with an oddly placed stripe here and there, we can still boast a shirt which by and large remains faithful to the Hoops and long may that remain; lets hope the management are forever mindful of our heritage and will protect our identity with each newly formatted design throughout the coming years.
Heritage is the word used by the management to bring back the Green and White Hoops; this harks back to our origins and I have no problem with that, tradition within football is an important factor, each club at whatever level safeguards their history with a feeling of pride, it was when wearing these colours we achieved one of our most prestigious titles, Champions, Southern League, which resulted in our competing for the first ever Charity Shield against Manchester Utd.
It wasn't until the season of 1923 that we changed to Blue and White, I don't want to see us do away with our now Blue and White modern day identity, Blue and the "Hoops" are our forever sacred cow, so with Hoops being the operative word, I want to preserve both the Blue and Green, but how can we go about it, how can we incorporate the Green?
What I propose the Club to do for next season is for the Blue and White Hoops to be worn only by the first team, all other sides within the Club to wear the Green as their first choice colours.
This, by virtue of only the first team wearing the Blue and White exults the colours, giving them a status within the Club whereby you've won the right to wear them, achieving first team status is what all players within Club should be striving for, to be awarded the first team colours would be seen as an honour and not one you would wish to lose.
I see this as giving added importance to our Blue and White colours, but at the same time recognising our past and giving the Green and White it's own importance within the Club, over time the significance of this act of being awarded first team colours will become more apparent and important to any players coming into the club; train hard work on your skills and you'll be awarded the first team shirt.
Clubs must declare their chosen colours at the start of each season, next season could be the time to go ahead with this imitative, could this message be the catalyst for it to come about, if so let's lobby the Club, what do you think?
september 2010
This article was published in the QPR Magazine. It was written by John Disson. (Note the role of his brother in the hoops decision.)
Also see second post: A second article by John Disson
TALKING POINT: 50 YEARS IN HOOPS
This season the Club has celebrated fifty successive years of wearing the famous Blue and White Hoops.Behind the celebration, there is a story to be told…
so just how did it come about that we went back to our roots and assumed our true persona for being the Super Hoops?
QPR: The Official Magazine caught up with R’s fan
John Disson to get to the crux of the matter.
It was the close season prior to the start of the 1960/61 campaign, the annual general meeting of the Supporters Club had been called to
take place at the Hammersmith Town Hall.
I confess not an occasion I had ever regularly attended, but this year Alec Stock had been invited to attend and was to address the supporters, so an occasion not to miss.
Much was expected of Alec Stocks’ appointment as Manager - he had
been given the job the previous season, having taken over from Jack Taylor who had moved on to Leeds United. He had been in the job for about six years, during which time we had been served up with some pretty mediocre football, as well as seeing the Blue and White Hoops dispensed with in favour of a plain white shirt.
With Stock due to give a talk on how he wanted the Club to progress the meeting was well attended; I think the meeting was chaired by the President of the Supporters Club, but what I definitely do remember about him was that he was wearing a black bow tie!
As is the case with most meetings, the usual complaints and grievances were being aired, mostly all about performances on the pitch, so there was very little the Supporters Club could ever do about it.
Therefore, the areas of complaint were targeted at the Board and the Club itself; remember this was in the days prior to the purchase of the Club by Jim Gregory. Stock had sat quietly throughout the proceedings, but now it was his turn to speak.
Almost everybody knew about his recent football background, as well as him holding the rank of Major in the Tank Corps, during which time he took part in active service in the Second World War. He spoke with an air of authority and the longer he went on the more the supporters were drawn in and charged with enthusiasm. In fact, I can only relate the substance of his speech to that given by Henry the Fifth before the Battle of Agincourt - it’s something that vividly
stands out in my memory.
He was a true man Manager, someone that many people should use as an example to follow. I’m sure that many of the sides he put out to play were suitably
“THE MEETING THEN MOVED ONTO ANY OTHER BUSINESS, WHICH IS WHERE IT GOT REALLY INTERESTING”
inspired by him; not by coincidence was his autobiography entitled ‘A Little Thing Called Pride.’
The meeting then moved onto any other business, which is where it gotreally interesting.
My brother Derek seemingly inspired, as was the whole meeting, immediately put up his hand and proposed that we revert back to wearing our Blue and White Hoops, I can’t remember just whether I seconded the proposal, but it was immediately adopted amid cheers from all present.
The Club dispensed with the Hoops in 1954 and having worn a nondescript white shirt for the past six years, we
wanted our identity back, the meeting urged that the Supporters Club should inform the Club without delay of our request for the coming season. Stock then stated that he would endorse our proposal and to all present, this was rubber stamping the fact we would once more be wearing our Hoops.
The meeting broke up with everyone on a high, not only from the speech given by Stock, but also the highs of knowing the Hoops were here to stay. If we had never been there to witness that uplifting speech, would my brother Derek, or any other person at that meeting for that matter, have ever been encouraged to put forward the proposal ‘let’s get back to the Hoops.’
In the coming years, all that Stockie achieved is now history. Without doubt he can be credited as being the catalyst, not just for inspiring us back into the Hoops, but also for all of our subsequent achievements.
As a family we are in our fifth generation of support for the R’s, from my Grandfather in the 1890s to my now six year-old grandson, we therefore feel justifiably proud to be responsible for
playing our part in a significant era of theClubs history.’
Post by Macmoish on Sep 13, 2010 at 12:30pm
And then a piece by John Disson which he sent me, which John requested I also post
John Disson
Blue and White, Green and White, a New Perspective
We all cherish our "almost unique" identity for the wearing of our Blue and White hoops, and so we should; so while many other Clubs almost annually try their hardest to reinvent their either red, white or blue shirts with an oddly placed stripe here and there, we can still boast a shirt which by and large remains faithful to the Hoops and long may that remain; lets hope the management are forever mindful of our heritage and will protect our identity with each newly formatted design throughout the coming years.
Heritage is the word used by the management to bring back the Green and White Hoops; this harks back to our origins and I have no problem with that, tradition within football is an important factor, each club at whatever level safeguards their history with a feeling of pride, it was when wearing these colours we achieved one of our most prestigious titles, Champions, Southern League, which resulted in our competing for the first ever Charity Shield against Manchester Utd.
It wasn't until the season of 1923 that we changed to Blue and White, I don't want to see us do away with our now Blue and White modern day identity, Blue and the "Hoops" are our forever sacred cow, so with Hoops being the operative word, I want to preserve both the Blue and Green, but how can we go about it, how can we incorporate the Green?
What I propose the Club to do for next season is for the Blue and White Hoops to be worn only by the first team, all other sides within the Club to wear the Green as their first choice colours.
This, by virtue of only the first team wearing the Blue and White exults the colours, giving them a status within the Club whereby you've won the right to wear them, achieving first team status is what all players within Club should be striving for, to be awarded the first team colours would be seen as an honour and not one you would wish to lose.
I see this as giving added importance to our Blue and White colours, but at the same time recognising our past and giving the Green and White it's own importance within the Club, over time the significance of this act of being awarded first team colours will become more apparent and important to any players coming into the club; train hard work on your skills and you'll be awarded the first team shirt.
Clubs must declare their chosen colours at the start of each season, next season could be the time to go ahead with this imitative, could this message be the catalyst for it to come about, if so let's lobby the Club, what do you think?
