The oldest football programme I own cost 10p. It’s for Charlton Athletic against West Ham in the League Cup on Tuesday 21 September 1976, kick-off 7.30, and it’s in dreadful condition (torn corners, a damp stain on the cover and a spine that’s gone brown). I wouldn’t swap it for a mint one!
The handwriting is my dad’s
Back then the teams were pre-printed on the programme, and they were a guess made days before the game. So the usual routine was to write in the real line-ups once they were announced. On this one my dad changed a handful of the names in blue biro, on both sides. On the West Ham side Frank Lampard senior was crossed out for Mick McGiven, Pat Holland for Kevin Lock, and Billy Jennings and Alan Taylor were swapped round. He also added Johnny Ayris as the substitute and wrote “Capn” next to Billy Bonds. (His handwriting was better than my spelling of it, but not by much!)
What I remember of the night
We stood on a huge terrace behind the goal at The Valley, with chicken wire along the front of it, and that was the goal Alan Taylor scored at. West Ham won 1-0. Looking it up now, the crowd was 32,898, Taylor’s goal came in the 83rd minute and it was the League Cup third round. Charlton had knocked out FA Cup holders Southampton in the round before, so they weren’t a pushover.
So what are old programmes worth?
Not as much as you’d hope, I’m afraid. When I looked on eBay on 22 October 2026, ordinary 1970s League Cup programmes were listed from roughly £1 to £5. Those are asking prices rather than what anything sold for, so treat them as a rough guide. What pushes the price up is a final, an unusual match or a programme in very good condition. One West Ham away game at Tranmere in 1974 was listed at £31.85, for example.
Mine is battered, so it’s worth next to nothing in money, but I’d never sell it. The pre-printed teams plus my dad’s corrections are the bit nobody else has.
What to look for on yours
- The cover gives you the date, kick-off time, competition and price, which is enough to identify the match. Mine says Tuesday 21 September 1976 and 10p.
- Any writing inside can add to the interest. Real team changes and scores are history, even if a collector would prefer a clean copy.
- Condition matters most to buyers: creases, tears, stains and a loose spine all knock the price down.
- Check what sold rather than what’s asked. On eBay you can filter for sold items.
So that’s one 10p programme, 1 page of my dad’s corrections and 1 chicken-wire terrace that I can still picture 50 years later.