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My original Ref 1 & 2 teams. Repainted now, of course! My three year old now plays with these, to my amazement he hasn't broken them yet. I can't say the same for the World Cup goals however.
Teams Teams Teams
Most of the Subbuteo I own is teams. Teams have always been the focus of my collecting. Although I do have accessories, the majority are functional and aid in the playing of the game itself.
Apart from the obvious need for goals, pitch and a ball, I've usually kept them to a minimum. I confess to having lots of goals, pitches and balls but I kid myself that doesn't really count. I do have Corner Kickers, Throw in Figures, referee and linesmen, fence surrounds, scoreboards, an Astropitch (recently purchased from ebay - hooray!, catalogues, price lists. But hey doesn't everyone?
I've also had TV towers, terracing, A cup or two, managers dugout, floodlights, ambulance crew - the list goes on. As far as accessories go I am little league, unlike many collectors who are mad for them and even go as far as building their own stadia. I always admire a well thought out stadium and have seen a fair few on the internet, though it is not something I aspire to. I did buy some tan terracing back in the late 70s mainly because the shop I bought my Subbuteo from didn't have any teams I wanted. Even at that early age I quickly realised how much it would cost to fill this with a hoarde of supporters. I gave up any ideas of a stadium there and then. Had it been within my budget you never know things may have been different.
I started like most I suppose - with a box set. The two teams that came with my Club Edition were zombies in the standard red and blue. I still have these but they have been repainted. Around the same time, possibly the same day, I bought a Ref 41 Liverpool and a Ref 28 Norwich. The first was an obvious choice as a Liverpool fan and the Canaries were the natural way to avoid colour clashes. The next few teams were Everton, West Germany and Burnley. All carefully chosen to ensure no team would have to resort to an away kit.
Burnley require a special mention as they were and still are my favourite team. I loved the claret and blue bases and the large 'V' on the front of the shirt - beautiful. They won pretty much everything there was to win, and were my team of choice for a long time. Eventually they became so special that I always felt it was risky to play with them in case one got knelt on (no table top for me, I was hardcore!).
In turn Middlesbrough and Wales became special. I had a log book of each team I owned, and each team had their squad of players named, about 32 players in each team (the number of lines in an exercise book). I didn't use real players names, although Dalglish, Thompson, Heighway et al were all present, but prefered amalgams of first and surnames of all the people at school. I played for Middlesbrough (captain of course), along with my two best friends Neil and Graham - we were the only ones to keep our real names. Strangely (though I suppose it all sounds strange to the casual reader) Hurst played for us too, as well as the mysterious Coca Kit, a very able right winger, the master of assists and a goal machine to boot.
I should mention Wales - they were rarely beaten, and dominated the international scene winning two World Cups and two European Championships in succession. My International competitions were massive I used to trawl through an atlas picking out countries, dozens of which I'd never heard of. Often I had no idea what colours they played in, so would base this on the nations flag. It is quite possible that some of them didn't even have real live teams at the time. I didn't adhere to an historical form book, minnows would often do well, as by chance they'd be represented by Burnley or some such favoured team.
I remember discovering a few of these fixture & results books in a box retrieved from my Mother's loft in the very early 90s. My then girlfriend, was present at the unveiling. I binned them all - laughing them off in fear that she dub me a freak. I needed have bothered as she is now my wife and knows just have far I can take my 'little hobbies'. I secretly pine for them now, sshh! don't tell anyone.
