On April 17th, 2024, a package was delivered to us here at Oxford City FC. The envelope contained a most wonderful gift to the football club – it was a lovingly preserved scrapbook belonging to a former Oxford City player, Tony Skull. Tony played for City in the mid-1950s.

The package had been sent to us by his daughter, Amanda, who now lives in North Wales. We corresponded with Amanda to convey our sincere thanks for entrusting us to look after her beloved father’s treasured playing record.

Amanda told us of how proud her father had always been of the fact he’d represented the club and proudly played in the hoops at our famous old White House Ground in the 1950’s, he had fond memories of his sporting days locally, both in Wiltshire and Oxfordshire.

The collection contains not only many newspaper cuttings of the time but some priceless pieces of social and footballing history from an era long before the instant technology we take for granted these days.

There are many charming handwritten postcards which the club secretary would send in the post (yes snail mail) to all players notifying them of a particular game in which they had been selected for.

Details of when and where they should report, either at the White House ground for a home fixture, be they for first team or reserves, or it would contain travel details for away matches.

Wiltshire based Tony Skull made a goalscoring start on his Oxford City first team debut at home to Leytonstone on Saturday October 17th, 1953. Tony who had previously scored a glut of goals in the Wiltshire leagues for Coleshill Athletic, Purton, Highworth and Wootton Bassett Town.

It was for Wootton Bassett Town that he had played in a trial match, at the White House Ground, against an Oxford City Reserves second XI a couple of months earlier in late August ‘53.

The twenty-seven-year-old impressed sufficiently in the trial for City to follow up their interest in him. He was rewarded with a place leading the City forward line in the reserves match against Ilford on October 10th.

Tony took the opportunity to impress with both hands on his first outing in a hoops shirt by scoring four goals, three of them with his head, and all in the first half in a 5-1 victory.

He scored just two minutes into the game against City’s east London opponents. A goalmouth scramble led to Skull heading in the first goal of the game. The second goal came on the quarter of an hour mark. Tony scoring a second, again with his head directing in an in-swinging corner kick into the Ilford net.

Skull added his third before half time, completing a hat trick of headed goals, a feat which certainly made the crowd of just over five hundred certainly sit up and take notice of their new centre forward.

Tony went on to play for Oxford City for the next two seasons in 1953/54 and 1954/55, becoming a fixture in the City forward line and a regular name on the scoresheet, before continuing his football career back across the county border into Wiltshire with Swindon Victoria where he continued to hit the back of the net in the 1955/56 season.

Sadly, Tony passed away in June 2014 and so for today’s fixture with Kidderminster Harriers, we have invited his daughter Amanda Skull and her partner, Rhisiart, to join us as the club’s guest for the day. Saturday's date, January 25th, was significant as it was Tony’s birthday on what would have been his 99th birthday.

The collection will be on display for viewing in the hospitality bar, but please be mindful that this treasured collection is now over seventy years old.