Hebden Bridge and Calder Valley football
Thursday, 30 July 2020
A new book on the early history of soccer in Yorkshire's West Riding features many long-gone teams, leagues, and cup competitions from the Hebden Bridge and Upper Calder Valley areas. 'A Noble Winter's Game' covers the period in the late 1800s up to the outbreak of World War One when the game initially played second fiddle to rugby in the district.
The book features all of the old local leagues and cup competitions in the region, such as the Cader Valley, Todmorden and Hebden Bridge Leagues, as well as the famous old Portsmouth Rovers, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Todmorden AFC clubs.
Besides the many stories of winners and losers, there are the less well-known, humorous stories told in the book; the player sent off for smoking-on the field, the goal awarded when the goalkeeper's cap flew into the net, and the player injured after falling over his laces.
The book is now on sale on Amazon or from the author, Rob Grillo