The Match of the Day Years - November 2000

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The Match of the Day Years - October 2000

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The Match of the Day Years - September 2000

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Football Comics

On this site I have drawn a distinction between football magazines and football comics. (My definition is that magazines are aimed at adults and comics are aimed at children/teenagers)

Comic strips existed in post war newspapers but the stand out launch in British football comics was the "Tiger- The Sport and Adventure Picture Story Weekly" on the 11th of September 1954.This first issue featured for the first time "Roy of the Rovers" and was an immediate hit. Derek Birnage edited the comic. Roy of the Rovers became synonymous with the Tiger comic and during the 1960's Tiger had a circulation of over 300,000 copies. Tiger survived for 1555 issues and incorporated a number of titles including 'Champion' (1955), 'Comet' (1959), 'Hurricane' (1965), 'Jag' (1969), 'Scorcher' (1974) and 'Speed' in 1980 before being incorporated itself into 'Eagle' (second series) (1985).

The Match of the Day Years - August 2000

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The Match of the Day Years - July 2000

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Profiles Of the Great and Good: Roy Race: It's Real Roy of the Rovers Stuff Here!

Roy of the Rovers was by far the most popular football comic ever.

Running from 1954 to 2001, stories covered various issues—Roy as a teen trying to break into the famed "Melchester Rovers" team, winning every trophy imaginable, representing his country in the World Cup, playing with pop stars and even relegation.

He even had an unstoppable shot called the "Racy Rocket"....ah, those were the days.

Roy Race made his debut in the Tiger comic in 1954. Tiger was from the same stable as the famed "Eagle Comic" which focused on the science-fiction end of things, with Dan Dare as it's banner character.

The Match of the Day Years - June 2000

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Roy of the Rovers Corinthian re-paints

Check them out here

The Match of the Day Years - May 2000

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Roy of the Rovers - a lesson in fair play?

Last week’s demise of The Dandy brought to mind another childhood source of entertainment and insight, Roy of the Rovers.
Like most other 10 year olds, each week I eagerly awaited the arrival of The Tiger comic, featuring the life and times of Melchester’s star player.

Fair Play?
However, on one shocking occasion, a rival player, in full view of the reader, but out-of-sight of the referee, actually flicked the ball with his hand to enhance his shot. This unlawful move so outraged me I rapidly scanned the rest of the strip in vain for evidence that the move had been noted as the subject of a penalty, at least..

The Match of the Day Years - April 2000

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Η προσφορά συνεχίζεται!

Το site των Ελλήνων φίλων του Roy παίρνει την ιστορία από την αρχή! Κατεβάστε εντελώς δωρεάν εδώ το comic strip της ιστορίας όπως δημοσιεύτηκε στο περιοδικό Tiger το 1976 . Τα strips είναι διάσπαρτα, η σειρά κάθε άλλο παρά πλήρης είναι, αλλά σίγουρα είναι ένα δείγμα αρκετά σημαντικό.

Τα strips από το περιοδικό Tiger, τις εβδομαδιαίες εκδόσεις, από το 1976, εως και το 1993, και τα Μonthlies από τα έτη 1993-95 θα τα βρείτε στη δεξιά στήλη του blog. Καλό διάβασμα σε όλους!

The Match of the Day Years - March 2000

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The Match of the Day Years - February 2000

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The Match of the Day Years - January 2000

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Roy of the Rovers: The King!

In the RotR Monthlies Fleetway tried to change the story, trying to explain how Roy Race's career spanned 4 decades. A rather controversial decision for many of the fans. Here's the final installment. As always, open in a new tab and click to enlarge.

The Match of the Day Years - December 1999

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Roy of the Rovers: The King!

In the RotR Monthlies Fleetway tried to change the story, trying to explain how Roy Race's career spanned 4 decades. A rather controversial decision for many of the fans. Here's the second of the installments. As always, open in a new tab and click to enlarge.

The Match of the Day Years - November 1999

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