If, like us, you spent a lot of the 1970s putting self addressed envelopes into bigger envelopes and then into the post, you probably sent one to Steve Earl Football Programmes, Earsham Street, Bungay, Suffolk…
Steve advertised in every issue of ‘Shoot!’ offering a FREE programme catalogue to anyone with the wherewithal to send him a stamped, self-addressed envelope, or 4p in stamps, to his Bungay Prog HQ.
Having done that, and having probably waited 28 days for delivery, I received a thrilling envelope back containing a roughly typed few pages of folded A4 of thousands of available programmes…. what to order?
I trusted to fate and opted for a bargain bundle of 30 progs (many 1st Div) for only £1.50 – or about three weeks pocket money.
I recall the thick bundle arriving through the door, barely able to tear it open with the excitement of which programmes Mr Earl had decided to send to me.
There were a few Everton, a few Birmingham, a Villa, a West Ham, a Man City or two, a Bristol City and something from the Debenhams Cup Final – whatever that was.
I pored over them for the rest of the week…
If you ever sent off to Steve Earl for a bargain bundle then you probably need to send off for this too – ‘Got, Not Got’ … you can get it from branches of WH Smith and Waterstones or online here…
