THE start of the football season will be exciting as ever for fans, but one thing will again be missing – the ‘Green Un’.

It is 30 years since the Oxford Mail stopped publication of its Saturday evening sports paper.

The Sports Mail, traditionally printed on green paper, hence its nickname, was a ‘must’ for sports fans for many years.

Queues would form outside newsagents across the city and county as they waited patiently for the Oxford Mail van to appear.

Often fans wouldn’t have a clue how their favourite teams, including Oxford United and Oxford City, had fared until they bought the paper.

In those days, radio and TV concentrated on the Football League and ignored lower leagues.

One reader who regularly bought the paper has sent in a copy from Saturday, December 3, 1960.

Oxford United had, by then, changed their name from Headington United, but were still two seasons away from being accepted into the Football League.

They were in the Southern League, and having a great run. That afternoon, they had continued their winning streak with a 2-0 victory in a mudbath at Cheltenham.

The United team was Medlock, Beavon, Adams, Ron Atkinson, Kyle, Jones, Knight, McIntosh, Luke, Dickson and Love. Dickson and McIntosh got the goals.

Meanwhile, Oxford City showed improved form in an exciting game at the White House ground, but went down 1-0 to Leytonstone.

The City team was Syrett, Brown, Rundle, Goodison, Crossingham, Mobley, Bricknell, Bradbury, Castle, Taylor and Woodley.

The highlight in the Football League Division 1 was Chelsea’s 7-1 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion, including five goals from Jimmy Greaves.

It was a high-scoring day, with Aston Villa, Blackburn and Wolves also scoring five.

That afternoon, as every Saturday afternoon in the football season, Mail journalists and printers would be hard at work putting the paper together.

Before the days of mobile phones and computers, reporters had to dictate their stories to a typist over the telephone.

This was a challenge, particularly at away games, when you often had to rely on a telephone kiosk outside the ground being available at the right time.

But somehow, we always seemed to hit the deadline and get the paper out on time!