Retro Blog!

The Wembley Trophy - King of Balls

The Wembley Trophy - King of Balls

It was a piece of rock hard, orange moulded rubber…well, vinyl actually…and if I gave my lad one and told him to go and play footy with his mates, he would cringe with embarrassment. But when I was a kid, if you had one of these, you were never short of mates and if I still had one today it would sell for stupid money on ebay. It was the Wembley Trophy – King of Balls.

Back in the late seventies the streets of council estates and school playgrounds were full of wandering mongrel dogs,...


"League Ladders...the best free gift that was ever given..."

"League Ladders...the best free gift that was ever given..."

When I was a kid of about nine or ten in the late seventies, there were no computers or Sky television to occupy us. We used to play out a lot – Playing kerby and football with our regulation size 5 Wembley Trophy Footballs and riding our Raleigh Choppers. That was great if it was fine, but this is Great Britain and rainy days frequently stopped the outdoor fun.

Indoors was a different matter. Sure there was childrens TV with Blue Peter, Cheggers Plays Pop and Runaround but only after school and only until the news came on at half past...