Any Reading historians out there?

[Jackson Corner]

Since the club Have decided to no longer produce a match day program. I have taken it upon myself to try and get one program from every season after the Second World War. My most recent purchase was a home program From the 1948 to 1949 season. On the front cover it says established 1876? As we all know it was five years prior to that anybody know how that came about.?

[Dirk Gently]

I think it's an error. But although the club was established in 1871, and played their first match the next year, the first actual proper/competitive match they played was in the FA Cup in 1877, so perhaps someone based it on that.

Also in 1877 Reading merger/subsumed Reading's other significant football club, The Hornets, so again perhaps someone took the formation of the club in its present state from that. Can't understand why it's 1876 and not 1877, though.

[Brogue]

https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/blog/k ... reading-fc

[Big Potts]

I have quite a few programmes from the early 1970's onwards looking for a home, so if anyone is interested they are free to anyone who can collect them from Didcot.

[Hendo]

Might be worth trying to get in touch with Star, I know they used to have a big back-catalog of programmes.

Not sure if they still do, though.

[Brogue]

you've also got ya man David Downes who is the club historian, who I'm sure STAR could put you in touch with.

[Jackson Corner]

https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/blog/kicking-earliest-days-reading-fc

Thank you for that it may explain it. I would love a pre war program now just to see if they have anything there. Just to add to the mystery my program is against Swindon at the end of the season, Ted Drake was the manager and we were runners up that season. I went online to look at other programs from that season and none of them have the founding year on the cover?

[STAR Liaison]

Since the club Have decided to no longer produce a match day program. I have taken it upon myself to try and get one program from every season after the Second World War. My most recent purchase was a home program From the 1948 to 1949 season. On the front cover it says established 1876? As we all know it was five years prior to that anybody know how that came about.?

That's interesting. There are occasional references in the club history to the club being 're-formed'.

1876 is a notable point when a formalised set of club rules was written, an amendment to the kit suggested, the price of membership raised by 50%, the number of members reached a record high, and a new HQ address was found. The number of fixtures went from 10 to 17 and some Reading players played in the FA Cup for the first time, for Reading Hornets.

But a lot of the players and committeemen were the same as they had been in the previous season. You could say 1876 was the point that Reading FC began to take football seriously - and that might be what the 1948-49 indicates.

Or it could, as Dirk says, be a mistake / misprint.

[Jackson Corner]

Since the club Have decided to no longer produce a match day program. I have taken it upon myself to try and get one program from every season after the Second World War. My most recent purchase was a home program From the 1948 to 1949 season. On the front cover it says established 1876? As we all know it was five years prior to that anybody know how that came about.?

That's interesting. There are occasional references in the club history to the club being 're-formed'.

1876 is a notable point when a formalised set of club rules was written, an amendment to the kit suggested, the price of membership raised by 50%, the number of members reached a record high, and a new HQ address was found. The number of fixtures went from 10 to 17 and some Reading players played in the FA Cup for the first time, for Reading Hornets.

But a lot of the players and committeemen were the same as they had been in the previous season. You could say 1876 was the point that Reading FC began to take football seriously - and that might be what the 1948-49 indicates.

Or it could, as Dirk says, be a mistake / misprint.

Thank you I think it is a mistake it just seems strange that other programs from that season do not have the year the club was founded.
Here is the offending item!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115465454356