Before the internet how did people get Pools results if they were not near a TV?

1. Used to phone the ground from a telephone box at half time and full time when at uni, especially mid week games.

2. Used to take a "longband" radio on holiday and listen to BBC World service for a possible score.

if it was a tuesday night used to ring up the mail office

Saturday Sport on Radio Cleveland as a kid, if we were away and I wasn't there - or looking through Rumbelows or Perry's shop window after going to the baths, then walking down to the town to see the results before getting the bus home.

For that Northampton game, got a cheap Dan Air flight(they went bust shortly after), Gatwick -Newcastle, friend picked me up, straight to game, back to Newcastle,back to Gatwick. Think I was only out of the house 8 hours!

oh aye - TELETEXT!!How could I forget watching teletext for hours on end!!!

I remember checking teletext the night we beat Grimsby - the goals just seemed to flurry each time I checked it and I went mental with delight.

Can also remeber checking the result of the 2002 Cheltenham penalties and can still remember it coming up on the screen:

* Aet, Cheltenham win 5-4 on penalties

Think Oracle became Ceefax

I spent many Saturday afternoons around Radio Rentals television with teletext on.

I've also spent many Saturdays watching Pools fight out 0-0 draws on teletext. Worst thing is I was on the edge of my seat for most of it!

Oracle was the teletext on ITV, Ceefax was on BBC.

The Football Mail!!
Or if I was out of town, I had to wait for the Sunday papers. Were we patient or what in those days?!

Sometimes watching Teletext for the duration of the match was better than going to the game. When I went up for the beam back of one of the play off games I half expected a giant screen with Teletext on it.

I'd gone on a workingmens club bus trip to Doncaster Races, spent all day drinking in Donny, never got anywhere near the Racecourse. Come twenty to five I went in search of TV shop, to see how we had got on away to Grimsby. The result came up a 1-0 defeat, and I went back to drown my sorrows with more drink. I only found out the next morning we had won 1-0, and the teleprinter had got it wrong.

Watching Teletext around me Mam & Dads was a regular part of a visit on a Saturday afternoon, when Pools were away.

Most of my communications in those days were people who'd walk up to me and say laughingly, 'your useless wank team has lo...........fook!!, no need for that, youth......!!' as I turned the joke into senseless (I understand it's now called 'Mindless') violence.

They learned. It was the only common language we knew......

I remember my boss at work being fed up with dozens of '0898' numbers appearing on the works phonebill each month back in the late 80's / early 90's. He phoned some of the numbers one day and got through to various 'luscious linda' and 'sexy sam' lines and then this one particular number was repeated dozens of times and so he gave it a call...............Now, not surprisingly there wasn't many hartlepool fans working for NatWest in Surbiton, Surrey at that time and unfortunately I was caught red handed He even charged me about £20 as he then went through the previous 6 months phone bills, the tight barsteward

Now, is anyone sad enough (like me) to remember the clubcall number?

0898 121147

spot on. I used to phone twice a day, even during the summer months, to get my pools fix.

On ITV teletext you used to get the adverts on pages 2 of the stories. One page had the advert from clubcall and it used to have a three words on what the story was about each club to try and entice you to ring. Pre internet days I would regularly check to see the headline on the Pools story but would I f*ck ring up.

'Star defender injured' probably meant Glen Davies had tweaked a hamstring in those days!