Saturday March 31st, 1951. The day George Phippen took his five year old son to The Valley for the first time.
Despite suffering a 0-1 defeat to Portsmouth, it didn’t put young Terry off. He grew up going with his dad, then his pals, then his future wife, and then me, his son.
He told me tales of being chased by hooligans, and being accosted by stewards for carrying an offensive banana. Then there's the infamous incident that saw thieves break into his car, parked near The Valley, to steal the stereo, while taking the time to find the fascia under the seat, place it on the stereo and eject Tel’s favourite Dwayne Eddy tape. The villains tossed it to the floor in a move that Tel found more offensive than the theft itself.
He first took me to a game in 1985, the last at The Valley. I remember him being an embarrassing dad, telling everybody who would listen about my first game being Charlton’s last. But in hindsight I realise he was just excited to introduce the next generation.
He liked to be different, he didn’t want to be like every other family. He liked that my first game was the last at the Valley, it was a nice story to tell. Being a Charlton fan in the 80s, surrounded by Liverpool glory hunters was character defining. We had a funny old car, lived in a funny old house and supported a funny old team, a club who couldn’t afford to throw shirts into the crowd, as Lennie Lawrence once said.
We went to many games at Selhurst, travelled to Wembley for the Full Members Cup final, and he made sure we were made it to the first game back at The Valley. We saw Leaburn fight a referee on the goal line, regretted booing Kim Grant together, witnessed Garry Nelson hit the first hat trick since my hero Jim Milsop Melrose did the same.
His first illness, in the late 90s, decimated our attendance. I went to one game in that promotion year, as I couldn’t bear to go without him. Turned out he wasn’t dying; he just had coeliac disease. Once off the gluten, he was back in action in time for the play-offs. We were among the very last to leave Wembley, and subsequently hardly missed a minute of the Premiership adventure.
As Charlton plummeted, we rarely lost interest in the team, although we both struggled to deal with the negative atmosphere that had taken over the crowd. His serious health issues arose on the day Nicky Bailey fired a penalty into orbit. He recovered enough for us to get season tickets again, and for the last four years I’ve been conscious of the fact that time was going to run out on us sooner or later, and I made a point of enjoying the time we had, giving him a big hug when we scored. Which clearly. wasn't often enough!
I’m not sure what our last game together was, probably the Birmingham draw. I asked him last week, but neither of us could remember clearly. I guess it doesn’t really matter.
Dad passed away this morning. When people refer to a loved one's passing as 'peaceful’, I now know what they mean. We knew it was coming, but that hasn't dulled the shock. Knowing I can never speak to him again. We had a moment, just the two of us on Saturday night that I'll always cherish. I don’t know how the hell I’m going to find a way to go back without him but I know he’d want me to.
He managed just shy of 54 years of solid, unwavering support, and I think Charlton were lucky to have him.
Comments
R.I.P.
So sorry for your loss.
A very moving post.
Thoughts with you right now. RIP
But a lovely tribute to him. I only met your Dad the once at a drink up in the market Porter and instantly I got the impresessin he was a kind, loveable man. The kind of man I would be happy to have as my Dad. May you cherish the time that you had together.
My condolences to you and your family.
Brenda
What an absolutely wonderful tribute to your dad.
Rest In Peace fellow Addick.
Lovely tribute Jimmy
Thoughts are with you and your family Jimmy
a very nice tribute as well
great tribute from which you can tell he was a top man and a top dad.
As i touched on in the Get well thread, your dad notched up over 3,000 contributions on here over the last seven years. Yet i don't think you would find a single post of his that would be controversial, rude or inconsiderate in any way. He was a pleasure to have as a member of this community.
I only had the pleasure of meeting your dad on two or three occassions. The first time was when we organised one of the Charlton Life supporters games up at the Meridian (i think against Burnley). He made a point of coming along so he could put names to faces, say hello and have a chat. We chatted for a while, and I thought he was a really nice guy. One of those usernames off here that it was really nice to meet.
Finally, that was the most beautiful, touching, poignant tribute. I feel choked up reading that and if you hoped when jotting it down to attempt to do justice to your dad, then you have more than exceeded.
RIP Terry
Nice post Jimmy
Dear Terry,
I'll miss our warm little exchanges on Charlton Life.
And thank you for your kindness to me.
I'm so glad we had the chance to meet.
Cheerio, mate,
Rob.
RIP Terry.
He seemed a lovely man and i'm very sad to hear of his passing.
My condolences go out to you and the rest of his family and friends.
I hope there is still time to add his name to the annual tribute on Saturday.
Same as a few here I met your dad at the Market Porter and was the nicest guy you could imagine to meet. One thing's for sure, I bet he loved his train journey to the Covered End in the sky.
RIP March.
RIP