Blackstone, Mike
Birth Date
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Biographical Text
Mike Blackstone was born in Exmouth and liked to say he was born during the summer "so as not to miss the start of the new football season".
Mike attended the grammar school in Exmouth and lived in the town until December 2002 when he moved to Heysham, Lancashire.
Mike's first Exeter City match was during the 1959/60 season and, as he developed an interest in statistics and collecting programmes, he started contributing to City's programme in 1969 shortly after leaving school.
Mike eventually became programme editor in 1992/93 and, over the next fifteen or so years, his programmes became much-appreciated by City's fans and greatly-admired by collectors in general. Mike's efforts were rewarded as the programme regularly won all sorts of honours and awards.
As well as editing the programme over hundreds and hundreds of editions until 2008/09, each one invariably including far more content than practically any other club in professional football, Mike also started to write and publish books about Exeter City and other football topics. These included:
Exeter City: A File of fascinating Football facts (1992)
Plymouth Argyle: A File of fascinating Football facts (1992)
The Brown Sauce is off: A North West Non-League Odyssey (2004)
Exeter City: A Grecian Anthology (2008)
Exeter City Down the Years (2008)
Exeter City: Grecians Seventies Style (2014)
City Going Up: A Journal of Exeter City Season 1963/4 (2013)
Western League Almanac 1892-2015 (2015)
Mike died on 15 February 2022 aged seventy. He had been in ill-health for a while.
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Collection
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Comments
Nigel wright
Dear Sir,
As Mike Blacksone's brother-in-law, may I just point out one small error, in an anotherwise very good write up!..
Mike's date of birth was 11th June 1950. I know its a small fact, but knowing Mike very well, as I obviously did, he would have insisted on accuracy on all things!.
Yours
Nigel Wright
Ronald Douglas White
We first met in 1955 aged four. He took me to my first match at SJP in February 1961. Hooked on City ever since. I will always be truly grateful to Mike (who knew more about the Grecians than anyone else). A wonderful lifelong friend. R.I.P.