The November 1954 edition is packed with photographs and a diverse range of articles, marking a return to colourised images—Jock Stein graces the back cover, while Jack Mansell of Portsmouth takes pride of place on the front. Frank Barclay continues his popular column on how to win the pools, sharing tips and strategies for the treble chance. There’s a striking colourised photo of Roy Clarke of Manchester City and Wales, and the pages are filled with a nostalgic array of vintage adverts. Among them, Museum Press Ltd promotes two books—The Rocky Road to Wembley by Harry Johnson and Football Round the World by Tom Finney—while Arthur Rowe advertises his boots, Stanley Matthews returns with his U-Win clothing campaign, and the ever-present Charles Atlas makes an appearance.
“With the Amateurs” by Norman Auckland shines a spotlight on Enfield Football Club, complete with a brilliant team photo, while the “Who’s Who” section gives readers a glimpse of Howard Fabian. There’s a crisp 1931 Everton team photo featuring Dixie Dean, and a feature on Coventry City by manager Jack Fairbrother that includes a 1954 team photo. Additional adverts in this issue include Stanley Paul Publishers promoting “Goals Galore” by Nat Lofthouse and “The World is My Football Pitch” by Billy Wright, as well as a highlight on Wales’ captain, Wally Barnes. The issue rounds off with the regular “Talking Football” section, offering a vivid snapshot of football’s mid-century culture, personalities, and the memorable adverts that defined the era.
In the early 1950s, color photography was rare and expensive for publications. To add visual appeal, many photos—especially on covers and center spreads—were black-and-white prints that artists then hand-coloured. This gave the images a distinctive, sometimes slightly surreal look, with bright, flat colors and bold contrasts.
These hand-coloured photos were created by artists who painted directly onto black-and-white images, using watercolors, dyes, or tinted oils to bring them to life with vivid, often slightly surreal colours. The colouring was sometimes slightly inaccurate—kits or backgrounds could vary, and even the ball was sometimes inserted—but that was part of the charm.
The artists at Soccerbooks have taken these classic 1950s A4 hand-coloured images and elevated them with the latest art technology, producing stunning A4 prints that are perfect for framing—all for as little as £9.99. You can explore the collection here:
Hand Coloured Prints The front and back covers are both intact. Naturally, the magazine shows its age after more than seventy years, but we consider this copy a collector’s piece. We’ve carefully cleaned away surface marks using Absorene, leaving the covers looking as fresh as possible. All pages are present, with no signs of previous owners’ names or any newsagent markings. The staples—though a little dull are not rusted and still hold the binding firmly. A manuscript from the forthcoming book (2026/27),
Finding Its Voice: The Identity Quest of Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly, is being shared
here. If you have any memories or information about the magazine, please feel free to leave a comment— We’d love to hear from you—and maybe even have a chat!
We’ve got the biggest collection of vintage football books, annuals, magazines, and a variety of cigarette and bubble gum cards that were popular back in the day. If you think you, a family member, or even an ancestor might appear in one of the thousands of photos in our publications, just email us your details to archives@soccerbooks.co.uk and we’ll help you find out; just allow 2 to 3 weeks for a reply.
