Last night before it all got started we were talking about the numbers on the shirt and how it represents the registration for that player(Russ gave it a mention too).

You told me it represents the date etc that player signed for us.

I then asked you if you knew who the oldest number was alive today. Well a letter in the Mail tonight may just have the answer.

Jackie Price born at Shotton in 1918 signed for the club in 1946,the letter says he is the oldest surviving player.

Is this true and if so what is his registration number?

Is the list ready to be published.

he is indeed the oldest known surviving player and he HATES publicity and the football mail of 1949 was wrong as he never played for shotton

Can we see this list anywhere.

Look forward to seeing it completed.

Nice touch for those Swansea mob.

I have a book at home called The Hotbed of football which was published in 1960 and written by regional sports jouranlist and commentator Authur Appleton. It gives a brief history of the north east clubs and one paragraph in the chapter about Pools says

" At the 50th Annual Meeting, on the 31st March 1959, the Chairman, Mr Harry Sargeant, said the club's average home attendance in 1959 was under 4,000 and that roughly £200 a week was being lost. In 1956-57 the average attendance had been over 9,000. He blamed Saturday afternoon television sport programmes mainly for the decline but said that the club's answer must be more attractive football. "

And 50 years later..............

Sandy

He seems to have overlooked that 1959 was also the start of our love affair with the re-election zone. The only thing he really missed out was the word "winning" between "attractive" and "football".