On this day in:- 

1923

At the annual meeting of the Exeter City Supporters Club it was reported that receipts for the year had been £309 Os 6d whilst expenditure totalled £210 14s 1d which was spent mainly on improvements to the St James Park ground. During the 1922-23 season there had been much talk about covering the popular bank, but the finances of the club would not permit it The Supporters Club chairman Mr G Rice said that there was no doubt that the supporters could themselves cover part of the terracing, but he believed the Exeter City directors contemplated doing the work in the near future.

1948

Exeter City supporters came under fire from the club doctor after he had examined a player. He told the unnamed City member of staff that he was suffering from a nervous complaint. and expressed the opinion that the trouble was due solely to the barracking that the player had been subjected to the previous Saturday!

1950

Exeter City were planning to construct a new entrance for spectators to St James' ParkThis would lead from Old Tiverton Road to the ground and onto the Big Bank. Work was estimated to cost £613 and was expected to be undertaken during the course of the season. The cost of the work was to be met by the Grecians Association and would be lasting proof of the usefulness of that organisation. Mr. S.H. Thomas, chairman of the City directors, praised the Grecians Association for undertaking the decision to raise the money for the scheme and appealed to all supporters to become members of the Association so that the necessary finance would be readily available, or alternatively donations would be welcome.

1958
Exeter City manager Frank Broome was not in favour of the newly formed Fourth Division which had come into operation for the start of the 1958-59 season, having replaced the Northern and Southern sections of the Third Division which had been in place since 1921. Broome said: The Fourth Division is no good And the biggest trouble is the travelling Twice already this season the team have had to go on trips which have kept them away from Exeter for five days That means away from training as well as for coaching, there has not been any "And we are not making any money from our trips eitherSo far we have met two teams from the far north, Barrow and Darlington, and they feel the same way as we do. It is alright being in the Second Division and playing most of your matches on a Saturday, but these are trips we have to make in midweek and they are terrible."

1963

It was announced by Exeter City that they would no longer travel to away fixtures by train as it was proving too expensiveInstead the club were having a coach fitted out with 'swivel chairsand tables so that the players could travel in comfort. City secretary Keith Honey said: "As far as we are concerned British Railways have priced themselves out of business. Most of our fellow Fourth Division teams are in the North so we face a great deal of travelling. "From bitter experience we have found that we cannot trust the railway timetables. this means that we can never leave ourselves just 30 minutes in the timetable for changing trains as connections are missed. "We have to arrive at games on time or face a heavy fine from the Football League for being lateThere is no reduction in the prices in dining cars on trains for parties of people, but now that we are going by coach we can book meals in hotels on the way at about half the cost."

1968

The platform at St Davids station became a mass meeting place on this day for hundreds of cheering football fans For them it was the first phase of what was hoped would be an historic journey They were all going to London on the specially charted train for Exeter City's Football League Cup third round tie at Tottenham Hotspur. More than 800 supporters thronged the platforms in optimistic mood. On arrival at Paddington station the City followers made their way down onto the Underground chanting the names of players and of the club. They made sure that Londoners knew they were being invaded by a large party of Devonians, their chants echoed in the Underground tunnels. At White Hart Lane they were joined by more supporters when it was estimated that there were over 2,000 Exeter fans at the match in the attendance of 25,798. In addition to the train, several coaches and cars made their way to London with the City club reporting that hey had sold 1,600 grandstand tickets alone. Sadly there was to be no fairy tale ending as the Grecians lost 6-3, but not before having taken the lead on two separate occasions to give the Spurs a real fright. It also proved to be the only time that season that Spurs had conceded more than two goals in a game 1974. The age-old question of how Exeter City Football Club became to be known as the Grecians was receiving an airing in the local Press, and as usual there was no definitive answer. Season ticket holder, Mr Hackworth, from Cowley Bridge said that he had started to follow the City when they were an amateur club, and his father took him to see them play in the old Plymouth and District League. "It was never the club's policy to be called The Grecians. It was the supporters who called them that," said Mr.Hackworth" In Sidwell Street, roughly where Woolworths is (long gone in 1999!)there used to be a goldsmith and silversmith jeweller called Sidney Herbert Outside his shop was a clock and written on the sign was 'The Grecians.' I think this is where Exeter's name came from I suppose the traders thought that when Exeter City turned professional it would bring them a lot of trade if they could be associated with the club. For this reason, I think they used to call Exeter City - The Grecians." Another theory was put forward by Mr. Clark from Whipton who could remember that there was a pub in Summerland Street called the Summerland Inn. All the players used to go there after matches. "They used to drink a lot in those days," explained MrClark "It was said it used to make them play better! When the players went in the pub everyone used to shout Set them alight, the greens and whites." Mr Clark was only a boy in those days and he used to go to matches with a group of friends chanting the same phrase used in the pub because City then played in green and white stripesIt was Mr Clark's  considered opinion that people used to confuse Green and Whiteswith Grecians' Yet another theory from a City supporter on how the Grecians came about was reckoned to be the link between Exeter and Greece. There was material evidence to suggest that there had been a settlement in Exeter long before the Roman invasion of Great Britain. Some coins had been found in the vicinity of St Sidwells of a Greek origin dated about 300B.C, which suggested that the Greeks came to Exeter to trade.

1992

Would British Rail be liable if someone fell off the platform in the dark at St James' Park Halt? That was the question being posed by Exmouth based Exeter City supporters who regularly travelled to games by train. After the previous Tuesday night game against Oldham Athletic supporters waited for the train back to Exmouth, but the only light shining on the platform came from the football ground across the road. It was felt that if the lights at the ground has been switched off, then supporters would have been literally left in the dark. The unlocked gate and slope down to the platform was said to be an ideal spot for a potential mugging.

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