Exeter ended February 1964 in third position after back to back wins against Chester (home; 3-0) and York City (away; 2-1).

One person with a close up view of the Grecian’s progresswas ball boy Rob Doidge.  Long time city fan and former Supporters Trust Trustee, Rob (pictured) reflects on his childhood adventures in the dugout.

“My aunt took me to my first game at St James Park in April 1960. It was a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace. I thought we had won but the ‘winner’ was offside.  When I won a scholarship to Exeter School there was a whole group of us who started going to games and formed a choir in the Cowshed.

“We had long school holidays so a friend and I used to go to the ground and watch the players training.  They would practice on the pitch and then play 5 aside on a mud bath behind the big bank.

“One day, the Manager, Jack Edwards, asked us if we would like to be ball boys. We would get a free pass to games so it was an offer we couldn’t refuse. We were given an official card to gain entry and did it for two and a half years including the promotion season.

“Pre match we had to collect all the practice balls and roll them down the tunnel to groundsman Sonny Clarke.  Then we got to sit in the dugout with Jack Edwards and Barney Singleton who acted as physio with a bucket of cold water, a sponge and a bottle of smelling salts. There were just the four of us as there were no subs in those days.

“During the game it was our job to go and retrieve the ball if it went out of the ground. That involved climbing into gardens on Old Tiverton Road and most dangerous of all going down the railway bank.

“Jack Edwards was relatively quiet in the dugout. He wasn’t a shouter or swearer. Later on I became a basketball coach and I wonder if the reason I went into that was sitting on the bench at such close quarters to the manager.

“My favourite promotion season player had to be Alan Banks but I also loved Cec Smyth. He was such a character. He would show the opposition winger the outside and then slide in and win the ball.

“Dermot Curtis was another star and when he won an international cap for Ireland I asked him if he would bring me back a programme. He did and it was signed. It is one of my most loved mementoes.

“It was a historic season and I will always remember going down to Exeter St David’s to welcome the team back from Workington – the first Exeter City side to ever win promotion.”

Promotion Factfile

Alan Bank’s contract, reproduced in Mike Blackstone’s ‘Grecians Going Up’ book, shows that his basic wage during the promotion season was £30 per week.