The Atomic Boys Article

Gareth - did you see Ricky and Lorraine on This morning last week? it was good they spoke for about 10 minutes then did an acoustic version of Dignity with Ricky on piano 👌
 
Syd used to run a newsagents at the back of the Imperial Hotel. The Gazette tried to get him to make a comeback as a one off for the Man Utd match in the 70s when the scum got the kop but Syd declined saying he'd get beaten up and they'd wring the ducks neck.
 
premactopool said:
Gareth - did you see Ricky and Lorraine on This morning last week? it was good they spoke for about 10 minutes then did an acoustic version of Dignity with Ricky on piano 👌
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Got it recorded mate. Looking forward to watching it. Thanks for the reminder. Just hoping the concerts at the end of the year go ahead.
 
They were quite a hit when they appeared at away venues, the home crowds would give them a fantastic reception, will never forget the opening game at White Hart Lane 1950, a very wet affair and the duck took some catching.
There was another occasion at Wolves when the home crowd got very restless and some tried to catch the duck with a section of the crowd demanding the duck have it's neck broken.
 
Whitstabletangerine said:
They were quite a hit when they appeared at away venues, the home crowds would give them a fantastic reception, will never forget the opening game at White Hart Lane 1950, a very wet affair and the duck took some catching.
There was another occasion at Wolves when the home crowd got very restless and some tried to catch the duck with a section of the crowd demanding the duck have it's neck broken.
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It was ever thus at Molineux
 
The mascot was still active until mid 60’s however it was a younger guy. Was it Syd son?
Remember him bringing the duck a couple occasions against Spurs and Leeds.
He started to get abuse from rival fans and missiles thrown at him hence it was too dangerous to continue.

Think Syd appeared one more time with his duck against Newcastle in League Cup in 1987. Gazza was playing in that game.
 
Wasn't it Puskas by then as well ?

I was shown some pictures of the atomic boys in their prime by the son of whoever it was who looked after the duck

Would love to see a BFC museum where some of these great memories can be properly archived
 
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When Yorkshire Seasiders first started, we had some badges made with a duck on them, harking back to the heritage of the club. I'll dig one out and put up a photo
 
The writer Ewan Flynn spent some time in March last year with John Cross and myself whilst researching the Atomic Boys. He also went down to Bloomfield Road and helped with the clean-up. A Spurs fan it was reading Gerry Wolstenholme's memorial of Syd that got him interested in the Atomic Boys originally.

He messaged:

"It was so nice meeting you both last year and that week before the Southend game is a football memory I'll always cherish. Fingers crossed when football does come back Blackpool kick on and get back where they belong."

 
I can’t see how anybody can condone such crass and insensitive celebration of what had happened to the Japanese civilian population just years before. These racist attitudes belong in the past and there is no place for them in today’s modern Blackpool
 
I was one of the Tangerine Arabs in the 1990's onwards and was accused of being Racist by a woman in Newcastle, but was welcomed by some good-humoured Asian men in Cardiff who had a picture taken with me. You couldn't make it up.
 
Wizaard said:
A great read and part of our history. In the current climate how would dressing as an Eastern potentate go down?
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Well you do. Keks tucked into your socks and a ferret doing its stuff and t'Yorkshire is east 😀
 
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