Allen started the meeting by saying that Barbara was unable to be with us today. Allen also announced that our planned guest speaker for this month, Mike White from Radio Humberside had to cancel due to a rescheduled press conference. Fortunately, Roy Bly who is a Senior Tiger and the son of the legendary Hull City footballer Billy Bly stepped in to talk about his father. Also, Gordon Towse and Dave Jackson talked about their time when they were each the Chair of the Senior Tigers Club.
Richard Mathers from Tigers Leisure gave a presentation on the shop’s merchandise and ideas for Christmas. He told us that they will be having a Christmas campaign the second week in December and, Black Friday deals this month too. Richard told us that the football club’s anniversary programme for the Cardiff match sold out really quickly on the day but that more had been ordered. Other than the ones that were pre-ordered by some of our members he brought some spare ones to sell.
Following Richard Mathers’s presentation, Richard Beachell and Roy Bly took to the stage. Roy talked about his father Billy Bly and what it was like living with a professional footballer as a father. Richard asked Roy why his father was called the Indian Rubber Man. Roy said it was because he was lightweight and flexible. However, he said his mum called him Brickle Bones Billy because he was always breaking bones. This made us laugh.
Roy’s family moved to a shop on Anlaby Road in 1958 while his father was still playing football. It was while they had the shop that his father would be like Del Boy and take a battered leather old suitcase full of cigarettes and sweets to sell to his teammates at half time. He would keep a notebook and knew exactly what each player owed him. Can you imagine that happening today? As well as having the shop Roy’s father was also a painter and decorator. Roy said that his father would tell people that he was a painter and decorator who just happened to also play football.
Hull City and North Ferriby United still contest the annual Billy Bly Memorial Trophy and Roy presents it each year.
Richard thanked Roy for agreeing to be interviewed.
After the refreshment break, Gordon Towse and Dave Jackson took to the stage to talk about their highlights when they were each the Chair of the Senior Tigers Club.
Gordon was one of the original members when the Senior Tigers Club was formed in 2000. It was when Gordon worked on matchdays at Boothferry Park and Mavis Boddy who worked in the ticket office were both asked by the football club to create an organization for their senior supporters in response to ITV’s Year of Promise in partnership with The Football League. It was then that The Seniors Club was born. Four of the original members were at our meeting today. Richard asked Gordon why they chose a Thursday for their meeting. Gordon said it was because on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, there were often night matches and footballers were not available as guests on Fridays because of pre-match preparations for Saturdays.
By 2015 the Committee were looking to retire and was looking for volunteers to take over. Step forward Dave Jackson who asked Gordon what it was like being on the committee. Dave told us that was his big mistake as by the following season he was the new Chair and a new committee was formed. Dave went on to talk about the highlights of his time as Chair. It was during his time that Steve Bruce the then club manager was made an honorary member of the Senior Tigers. Unfortunately, during his time as Chair, the world went through the Covid pandemic and as a consequence all our club meetings were cancelled that was when the Newsletter was born. It was so successful that it continues to this day.
Following the interviews Pat gave a special thank you to Rob Wilson for the time and effort he puts into maintaining the Senior Tigers Website and the Memorabilia Gallery.
Allen thanked Gordon and Dave for giving a summary of the last 25 years of the Senior Tigers Club. Allen also thanked Richard Mathers for his presentation.
We had our largest gathering to date with 174 members attending. The raffle raised £308.50
Shirley Cormack
ITEMS FROM TIGER LEISURE RICHARD MATHERS FROM TIGERS LEISURE
MEMBERS LISTENING TO RICHARD MATHERS ROY BLY AND RICHARD
ROY BLY INTERVIEWED BY RICHARD GORDON & DAVE INTERVIEWED BY RICHARD
MEMBERS LISTENING TO GORDON & DAVE
