Exhibition celebrating history of local football kicks off in Emsworth
A Brief History Of Local Football – a collection organised by local football fan Steve Miller, with the help of his wife Christine – went on display at Emsworth Museum on Saturday.
Comprising memorabilia and pictures belonging to Mr Miller and the Emsworth Museum archive, the exhibition provides a visual and historical background to local football teams.
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Hide AdItems on display include newspaper clippings and reports following Emsworth Youth Football Club – tracking their performance from 1958-1962, as they progressed from the Lads’ League to playing men’s football in the Portsmouth League.
Speaking to The News following the exhibition’s opening, Mr Miller, 74, said: ‘The whole thing has been nice for me because it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a couple of years now.
‘It all came out of a little book I wrote for friends and family about football.
‘I then went through the archives at the museum and tried to pick a few people’s brains about various things that had gone on in Emsworth and gradually pulled it all together.
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Hide Ad‘People have come into the museum and have named some of the lads in our photographs – it’s been a catalyst.
‘Hopefully it’ll lead on to something bigger to really do the subject justice.’
Ex-Pompey and England forward Ray Crawford, 80, opened the exhibition at the weekend.
He said: ‘It’s a fantastic exhibition. There are a lot of people I played against in my amateur days included in the collection – it was nice to reminisce over what Steve has put out.’
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Hide AdMargaret Rogers, vice-chair of Emsworth Museum, said: ‘It was a marvellous opening – the collection is so well-presented.’
Admission to the exhibition – which will run until Sunday, July 9 – is free.
Emsworth Museum is open from 10.30am to 4.30pm on Saturdays and 2.30pm to 4.30pm on Sundays.