Chasetown Football Club history is brought to book

Author Paul Mullins - who first started watching the Scholars in March 1985 as a 13-year-old - has compiled nearly every result from Chasetown's 70-year history, including their early days when they were known as Chase Terrace Old Scholars.

He has rarely missed a match during his time as a fan - and later a reporter for the Sports Argus, Sporting Star and Express & Star - clocking up the last 831 games over a period of 16 years, so is the right man for the job when it comes to detailing the Scholars' history.

Mullins said: "At the start of writing this book, I had every result and goalscorer name from 1989 to present day – roughly 1,700 results.

"I didn’t believe it was possible to write a complete history of every Chasetown result, until club treasurer Janice Brookes mentioned that among Brian Baker’s belongings was a box of scrapbooks and newspaper cuttings. A real treasure trove!

"In the box was the first three seasons as Chase Terrace Old Scholars – 1954 to 1957 recorded by Baker – as well as complete seasons handwritten from 1980-81 to 1984-85.

"That meant I had results for 41 of the 68 seasons of the club’s history at that time."

He filled in the gaps from the other 27 seasons through newspaper archives - eventually discovering results of 3,203 matches - approximately 64 short of the complete set.

"The 1957-58 season has the most gaps, as I’ve found only a handful of results, but it made sense to put into this book everything that I did find," added Mullins. "It may well be that someone reading this book will step forward with their own dad’s/grandfather’s scrapbooks from when he played for Chase Terrace Old Scholars or Chasetown FC."

The book covers name changes, the club's move to the Scholars Ground, their rise through the West Midlnads League and the Midland Alliance to their current position in the Northern League - as well as memorable runs in the FA Cup and FA Trophy.

Mullins said: "The FA Cup runs and the FA Trophy runs are, of course, the most significant chapters in the club’s history, and these chapters include quotes from some of the star names in those historic runs.

"In this volume, I’ve tried to give an equal billing to every one of the club’s 70 seasons as best I can. As well as Chasetown FC’s story, this is ultimately also the story of Brian Baker and the long-serving Mick Joiner."

He added: "It goes without saying that the contributions of many hundreds of people have gone into making Chasetown FC what it is today – it’s impossible to name them all.

"Joiner, as well as former manager Charlie Blakemore, have been closely involved with many stages of this book and I know if it’s met their approval then I’ve done well.

"It was clear that this book had to be dedicated to Brian and Mick – Baker and Joiner – names synonymous with Chasetown FC and non-league football in the region.

"But, on a personal note too, I want to dedicate this to former managers Bryne Scorey, Mervyn Rowe and Charlie Blakemore - the manager that first made me aware that Chasetown FC existed, the manager that first encouraged me to become part of the club on the press side and the manager that brought the club’s happiest and most successful times.

"When the going has got tough with writing this – as invariably it did – I often looked at the cover of the book and reminded myself who I’m doing this book for."

The book is available through Mullins at Chasetown Football Club or on Amazon.