Spurs stories | Terry Conway, 80 years a Spur

Terry Conway, 93, first walked through the gates of White Hart Lane on 20 March, 1943. Eighty years on, he’s still going strong, attending matches at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with his family, using the Season Tickets in the East Stand that he first purchased ahead of the double season, 1960/61.

‘The reply came, ‘but I’m playing...’

“I was 12 when I first came to White Hart Lane. It was against Millwall (in the Football League Cup, part of the wartime football calendar when we played in Football League South) and the crowd was 8,100. I lived in Shoreditch, and the bus route was all the way from the city to Tottenham, so we went on the bus and then walked into the ground The buses were open at the back, with a conductor. I remember one day the conductor said, ‘okay, first two only, we’ve only room for two’, and then a voice said, ‘have you got room for one more?’, the conductor said, ‘no’, but the reply came, ‘but I’m playing!’ and it was Harry Gilberg (three appearances, 1947/48). It’s a bit different to today!"

Season Tickets - just in time for the double...

“At the end of the 1959/60 season, it was getting a bit crowded, so one of my friends asked, ‘why don’t we apply for Season Tickets?’, so we applied, and I got the message back that there were none available, but we’d be on the waiting list. Two weeks before the next season started - 1960/61 - I got a message to say that there were two seats available and to let the Club know within 24 hours if I wanted them. I applied for them, and I think they were £35 each for the season. That was in the East Stand. Sheffield Wednesday were our main rivals for the title that season and we played them here on a Wednesday night. The trophy was there ready to be presented. We went a goal down but came back to win 2-1. We walked across the pitch... well, I say that, we stood on the pitch and our feet just sunk into the mud! How they played football on it, I’ll never know! We got over to the West Stand and watched the presentation of the trophy to Danny Blanchflower, something I’ve never forgotten. Then, in May, we went off to Wembley for the FA Cup Final. I’ve never missed a Wembley match in the 80 years I’ve been a fan. We didn’t play all that well that day, against 10 men, because Len Chalmers of Leicester City got injured, and there were no substitutes in those days. It was 0-0 at half-time time, then Bobby Smith and Terry Dyson scored in the second half for a 2-0 win. We did the double! It had been years since it had been done."

‘I’ll take each game as it comes!’

“Much has changed, but all for the better. The new stadium... it’s a wonderful development. I come with my family, my sons, my daughter, my three grandchildren, they all share the tickets, well, apart from mine, which is always used by me! It’s a wonderful feeling, at 93, to still be able to come to watch Spurs. I’d love to be here when I’m 100. I try to keep healthy, I gave up smoking in 1961, I haven’t drunk for years, I’m just lucky to have my health... let’s just say I’ll take each game as it comes!”