IT WAS a proud night for the Rosser family as 500 young footballers attended their end-of-season awards evening.

For without Tony Rosser, wife Cherry and sons Tim, Rob and David, their club probably wouldn’t have existed.

Summertown Stars FC in North Oxford was born after a discussion over the breakfast table in the Rosser home in Banbury Road.

Tony recalls: “One Sunday morning late in 1973, we had a talk and decided to form a football team for youngsters in North Oxford as there was nothing for them at that time. We decided on the name Summertown Stars.

“The next step was to choose a strip for the team. Sunderland had just won the FA Cup and we settled on the Sunderland colours of red and white stripes. We ordered a set of shirts to start in 1974.

“Soon after we had got going, Bob Hirons with his two sons, Stephen and Billy, came to help with the team. Bob was a great enthusiast and motivator in those early days.

“We had only friendly matches early on and things tended to be a little hit and miss. The team ranged from age 10 to 14.

“Often, on match days, we would find ourselves short of players and with my sons and some of their mates in the back of the car, we would go and knock on doors and tour the streets of North Oxford looking for players to fill in.

“Perhaps this would be frowned upon these days, but we were determined to get a full team, come what may.

“After a season or so, we joined the Oxford Boys League and after a while, Bob Hirons took over and then my brother Colin became involved with his son Richard.”

Thanks largely to their early work, the club is now thriving, with boys and girls teams. It took nearly two hours to hand over all the medals and awards at a recent presentation evening at the Oxford Hotel, Wolvercote roundabout.

Tony, Cherry, Tim and Rob (their other son, David, is in Australia) were invited to the evening by current chairman David Rundle to explain the history of the club.

Tony, former chairman of Oxford United, tells me: “When we see hundreds of enthusiastic young players – boys and girls aged six to under 18 – coming up for medals and awards for nearly two hours, it makes us feel very humble.

“We remember when we started all those years ago how difficult it was to get a team together.”

During his speech at the presentation evening, he congratulated Mr Rundle, his committee and the mums and dads on the success they had made of Summertown Stars.




Memory Lane this week