The FA Book for Boys, 5th Edition, 1952–1953 is an elusive volume in this much-loved football annual series. In our years of dealing in football books, very few copies have been offered to us, even without a dust jacket. Why this particular edition is so difficult to find remains unclear, but it is a rewarding addition for collectors seeking to complete their early FA Book for Boys collection.
The contents combine practical advice with contributions from prominent football figures. Walter Winterbottom discusses
Style in Tactics, Wally Barnes explains
The Job of the Full-back, and Billy Liddell offers guidance on
Wing Play. A
Tactics Forum brings together Jack Chisholm, John Charles, Joe Mercer and Billy Wright, while Gilbert Merrick contributes
Go Out and Get It – Quickly!, adding a goalkeeper’s perspective.
An introduction by Sir Stanley Rous leads into a varied mixture of football stories, school and youth football, cartoons, puzzles and the
Soccer Chronicle. Highlights include John Arlott on
The Muratti Vase, Bill Slater’s
An Amateur among the Professionals, and Sir Arthur Elvin’s
How to Run a Cup-Final. The jacket’s advertisement for Walter Winterbottom’s separate book,
Soccer Coaching, adds another appealing touch of period football publishing.
Condition: The grey boards are clean, the binding is tight, and all pages are bright and clean. There is very light spotting on the publisher’s original front and rear endpapers. We have found no gift inscriptions, handwriting or filled-in crossword answers: the contents remain unmarked. The dust jacket has certainly done its job over approximately 73 years, with condition assessed on 13 October 2026. It is approximately 90% complete, with tears and old tape marks at the top and bottom of the spine; the spine area is particularly fragile. However, it is not price-clipped and retains its original 12/6d price. We have repaired the jacket and fitted it with our archival dust jacket protection system, shown in more detail in the image on this page.
This Edition is now protected with Archival Dust Jacket Sleeving
