Stevenage Soccer Row Hots Up: Blast From The Past

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By Pete H

It’s a brand new month and the perfect chance to dive back into some old articles. Fresh from our latest search through the vast archives of the British Library, we return with another Blast From The Past for you to savour. It’s a gentle reminder of how very different it all used to be for Stevenage Football Club. At least, that was the case when Boro’ started its journey 40 years ago. So, let’s go back to a simpler time; a time of flares, glam rock and space hoppers. And here’s the The Comet, back in 1977, with “Stevenage Soccer Row Hots Up”.

 

Article: Stevenage Soccer Row Hots Up

Stevenage Soccer Row Hots Up: Blast From The Past

Accusations are flying as the wrangle between Mr Javier Reveulta, former chairman of the now-defunct Stevenage Athletic FC, and officials of the newly-founded Stevenage Borough FC goes on.

In a letter to the Development Corporation, Mr Reveulta states that he is the last person who would wish football not to continue at “Broadwall Lane” (Twice in his letter he refers to the Broadhall Way ground as Broadwall Lane).

Mr Reveulta says he has already met “a consortium of (…) men” headed by Mr Trevor James of Letchworth and agreed satisfactory arrangements with them for the taking over of the Stevenage lease. He says he would go to any lengths to stop the football “piracy” as attempted by the new Stevenage Borough FC when planning to play a match without notifying him.

His letter continues: “The demands that I have set before Mr James’ consortium are those that these gentlemen have agreed to carry out. I have agreed to put in (…) as a start towards a fund for paying off the creditors.”

Mr Vic Folbigg, now a Stevenage Borough FC official, described in Mr Reveulta’s letter as “one of the fundamental disrupters of the game at Stevenage Athletic” also has his say in a letter to The Comet.

Mr Folbigg states that, if payments of the debts of Stevenage Athletic FC Ltd were to be the legal and moral obligations to be fulfilled before Stevenage can have a football team, then “there will never be another senior football team in Stevenage”.

Did Stevenage Athletic FC pay off the debts of their predecessors Stevenage Town FC? asks Mr Folbigg. “Of course not,” he concludes.

Unattributed, The Comet – 03 February 1977


In time, we’ll start throwing some more Boro’ bits and bobs online for you. Part of this includes the results from what we’re thinking is our first season of senior football – 1979-80. In the meantime, however, please do check out our Missing Match Data page. If anyone out there has a loft full of programmes (that’s not a Coldplay album, by the way) that might be able to help us piece together the bits we already have in place, you will go straight to the top of our Christmas card list. Otherwise, we’ll see you for the next Blast From The Past soon!