A gallery of Notts County memorabilia.

A match ticket for a friendly game played to raise money
for the "Hospital Saturday fund" at Everton on
Thursday 1st May 1890, Notts won 1-0.

A season ticket for season 1909/10.
Notts final year at Trent Bridge before
moving to Meadow Lane.

  
2 Cigarette cards from the early 1900's,
Albert Iremonger* (1910) and Jimmy Cantrell** (1912).

*6ft 5in Goalkeeper Albert Iremonger still holds the appearances record for Notts
(564 league/37 FA Cup) and has a road named after him that runs behind the away stand.

**Jimmy Cantrell was a popular goal scorer signed from Aston Villa in 1908, he
was transferred to Spurs in 1913 and was part of their FA Cup winning team of 1921.
 

  
This pair of cards hail from the 1920's.
Bill Ashurst* (1923) & Paddy Mills** (1928)

*Bill Ashurst was an outstanding full back who gained 5 England
caps whilst playing for top flight Notts in the mid 20's.

**Bertie "Paddy" Mills scored 34 goals in 76 League appearances,
this card is from the John Player & Sons collection.
 

2 more cards from the golden age,
Tommy Lawton of "Notts County & England"* (1948)
& Leon Leuty** (1951)

*England centre forward Tommy Lawton, famous for his heading ability, signed for a British record
fee of £20,000 from Chelsea in November 1947. Notts were still in the old Third Division South
at the time but average gates surged to 30,000.

** Promotion didn't come until 1950, and it was during the early stages of Notts first season back in the
2nd tier', that Leon Leuty arrived from Bradford City for £25,000 - Leuty had come to Meadow Lane
for a trial in 1941, but injured himself in one of the bomb craters! He won an FA Cup medal with
Derby in 1946, but tragically died in December 1955 of Leukaemia, having played his final match in August.

A match ticket for the 1952/53 home League match with
Nottingham Forest which Notts won 3-2.
All the above items are courtesy of Richard Hucknall.

This item was found in the Tiger album of Football
club badges. The album and stamps were given away
with the boys comic Tiger in 1960.
The badge had been emblazoned on the shirts for the start of 1950/51,
but the players blamed it for the poor start to the season,
so it was unstitched in the October and form dramatically improved!

    
Two examples of the Post Football Guide pocket books.
Looking at the 1968 cover, there is no evidence of the gulf
that existed between the two Nottingham clubs during the
swinging sixties when the Maggies were fighting against the
indignity of having to apply for re-election to the football league.
Happily, all was about to change as Notts dominate the 1973 version
having just secured promotion to join Forest in the 2nd tier.

Three stamps from The Sun newspapers'
Football encyclopaedia & soccerstamp album 1971-72
including club captain Don Masson.

    
Two items from 1972.
34,208 saw Notts entertain promotion rivals Aston Villa (note the price!),
Notts narrowly missed out promotion that year but were successful the following
season, a season ticket from which is presented here - £9.50 to watch 23 matches!
 

These are F.K.S 'lick-the-back to stick' cards from "Soccer stars"
published at the start of the 1977/78 season and featuring all 22 top
flight clubs plus the top six 2nd tier sides which included Notts....

McVay, McManus, Carter, Bradd*
Richards, O'Brien, Needham**, Mann
Vinter, Stubbs, Smith, Scanlon.

*Les Bradd is Notts all-time record goalscorer with 124 league goals.
**Defender David Needham is 2nd only to Albert Iremonger in the record number of appearances.

  
Figurine Panini launched their popular annual domestic UK sticker collection
in January 1978. As a 2nd tier club Notts were limited to just one and a half stickers,
Notts emblem being half of a double-badge sticker with Oldham Athletic (some crafty devils
used to tear them in two and tried to swap you them for a full sized top flight badge!).
 

The expanded 1980 edition afforded 2nd tier clubs more space with
a small number of players included (2 faces on one sticker).
Promotion ensured Notts a double page spread with
full sized head and shoulders pics for the 1982 edition.

These four stickers come from the 1983 collection in which Panini took
the unusual decision to drop the traditional head and shoulders mug shots for
these novelty head to toe images.

Jimmy Willan wrote and produced this Notts County single
which was released in 1981 to celebrate promotion.
Notts would run out to the A-side County's the team for me
for the next decade or so.
Note:- An earlier Notts single "The Magpie Song" b/w "The Glory of the Game"
by folk singer Reg Cooper had been released back in 1973.
 

"Every can supports Notts County". Yes, Notts even had their own
brand of extortionately priced cola in 1983, the sticker was found tucked
inside the 1982/83 Luton Town Programme, I recall some girls giving out
tacky paper hats to promote the drink and some shameless spectators
were actually still wearing them at the next game!
Thanks to Tony Cottee for the can snaps..
 

    
Two Programmes from the successful 1991 Play Off campaign.
The Middlesbrough Semi-final issue has our three star defenders on the cover -
Dean Yates, Charlie Palmer & Craig Short.
Notts own specially produced programme for the final depicts our
England Under-21 heroes Mark Draper (Stood) and Tommy Johnson.
See our Wembley page for Match Tickets and Reports.

    
More match tickets, these from 1991. On the left, an £8 County Road
standing ticket for the 5th round FA Cup tie with Manchester City,
Notts won 1-0 in front of the "Match of the day" cameras.
Right - Notts first match back in the top flight in August 1991
at, of all places, Old Trafford, an £11 seat ticket to witness Notts lose 2-0.

    
Two further 1990's home ticket examples - Tottenham Hotspur were
beaten 3-0 in the League Cup in October 1994, £10 to see that one sat in
the Jimmy Sirrel stand. The price had increased £2 for the FA Cup visit of
Aston Villa two seasons later, the match was actually played on Tuesday
14th January 1997 and resulted in an entertaining goal-less draw.

    
The period around the turn of the Millennium was not a healthy one for the club.
Two token moments of relief included the record breaking 4th tier championship
which adorned the back page of the Sunday Mirror on 3rd May 1998 (Left),
and the "Great Escape" from relegation back down again in April 2002 for which
a fund raising poster (Starring Danny Allsopp) was sold from the club shop.
Sadly, it was all in vain as Notts were financially run into the ground and plunged
to rock bottom of the Football League within 18 months.

    
(Click left) As seen on Ceefax, 2005/06 was Notts worst ever League finish.
(Right) The ticket for the 2-2 draw with Bury that would have been County's last
match in the Football League had both Stockport and Oxford won their final day fixtures.

This page was last updated March 2008