Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.
Player contracts
Henry Irving
Posts: 85,259
From the 1950s
The museum have recently spent a lot of money, for us, on some 1950s player contracts.
They give a real insight into life as a player then.
The most famous player in the bunch was record league goal scorer Stuart Leary
The museum have recently spent a lot of money, for us, on some 1950s player contracts.
They give a real insight into life as a player then.
The most famous player in the bunch was record league goal scorer Stuart Leary
6
Comments
-
These were standard football league contracts with spaces for the clubs to fill in the details.
Note how the Ts and Cs mention national service, something that wouldn't have impacted on Leary as a South African but did on every other player when they reached the age of 18.
4 -
Leary is living in Bexleyheath in what appears to be "digs" over what was then a greengrocers and is now a tea room.
Mike Bailey possibly stayed there too at some time.
2 -
Unusually, Leary was paid per match, rather than per week.
All the players got less in the summer but usually only £1 or £2 less. Leary only gets £1 a week in the summer, £5 less.
The reason for both may well be that he was playing cricket for Kent in the summer and so we were weren't going to pay him when he wasn't available, especially as the season's would have overlapped.
The maximum wage then was £20 so he was still, despite being a top flight footballer (we were in Division 1 then) on less than he could have been (£15 tops).
But there was no freedom of movement then and although the contract was for only one year the club, any club, could renew it without the player having any say in it.
Jimmy Seed was both team manager and secretary, something @JamesSeed tells us he was keen to remind people of, as the same time.
3 -
Only the best for Seed’s lads!Henry Irving said:Leary is living in Bexleyheath in what appears to be "digs" over what was then a greengrocers and is now a tea room.
Mike Bailey possibly stayed there too at some time.
Yes, manager and club secretary. My mum always said he was proud to have had both roles. He was involved in transfer dealings as well of course. I’m not sure how many other clubs combined all these roles. Wasn't Herbert Chapman another secretary-manager though?
0 -
Looking at the dates , 1/7/1955 - 30/6/56 it looks like he was on £1 a week for the whole season but paid £6 per appearance upto a max of £15 pw. I bet he didn't miss many games0
-
A piddling amount - 50 games? £300 plus £12 for close season - so average £6 a week.charltonnick said:Looking at the dates , 1/7/1955 - 30/6/56 it looks like he was on £1 a week for the whole season but paid £6 per appearance upto a max of £15 pw. I bet he didn't miss many games
At today's value that's about £128 a week!1 -
Ah - I thought it sounded like a pub!Henry Irving said:Leary is living in Bexleyheath in what appears to be "digs" over what was then a greengrocers and is now a tea room.
Mike Bailey possibly stayed there too at some time.0 -
He supplemented his Charlton wages by working in the greengrocers after training and on Saturday mornings before a game.bobmunro said:
A piddling amount - 50 games? £300 plus £12 for close season - so average £6 a week.charltonnick said:Looking at the dates , 1/7/1955 - 30/6/56 it looks like he was on £1 a week for the whole season but paid £6 per appearance upto a max of £15 pw. I bet he didn't miss many games
At today's value that's about £128 a week!1 -
Do we know if any of the Charlton players at the time were on the maximum wage?0
-
Fascinating Henry 👍0
-
Sponsored links:
-
Seems odd to combine the roles of manager and secretary, when the latter is more of an admin role, and involving tedious meetings with the various levels of the FA etc0
-
I think things were very different back then.killerandflash said:Seems odd to combine the roles of manager and secretary, when the latter is more of an admin role, and involving tedious meetings with the various levels of the FA etc0 -
We'll checkMametz said:Do we know if any of the Charlton players at the time were on the maximum wage?0 -
He had to find time for the fans forum meeting as well !killerandflash said:Seems odd to combine the roles of manager and secretary, when the latter is more of an admin role, and involving tedious meetings with the various levels of the FA etc0 -
I know Bartram was on £8 a week in 1937 during the season and £6 in the summer. We have a copy of his contract in the museum.3
-
3 hours on a Saturday and 10 hours of training a week works out at about minimum wagebobmunro said:
A piddling amount - 50 games? £300 plus £12 for close season - so average £6 a week.charltonnick said:Looking at the dates , 1/7/1955 - 30/6/56 it looks like he was on £1 a week for the whole season but paid £6 per appearance upto a max of £15 pw. I bet he didn't miss many games
At today's value that's about £128 a week!
0 -
A great trip down memory lane for me. I grew up living in the late 50´s and early 60’s in Hollingbourne Avenue which leads onto The Pantiles. Knew the Greengrocers well from running sundry shopping errands. If memory serves correct Eddie Firmani lived in digs in Norfolk Gardens which was an adjacent cul de sac.
0 -
Thanks to Paul , one of our trustees , Leary's playing record -
Just checked Leary’s record. From 57/8 – 61/2 he played 41, 40, 41, 41, 40 matches!!
That's one way of keeping a player out of the treatment room.0
