DCSIMG

Why register?

CloseX

If you have not signed up previously

It's free and only takes a minute!
Benefits to registering with us
comment on storiesComment on stories
Customise daily e-mail newslettersCustomise daily e-mail newsletters
Arrange your newspaper/digital subscriptions onlineArrange your newspaper/digital subscriptions online
Offers, promotions and deals from partnersOffers, promotions and deals from partners
Add/claim your business on Find itAdd/claim your business on Find it
true
  • 20/05/13
  • 11°C to 19°C Cloudy
  • Leeds 5-day weather forecast

    CloseX

    Tuesday 21 May

    Cloudy

    Temp

    High15°c

    Low7°c

    Wind

    From North

    Speed14 mph

    Wednesday 22 May

    Sunny spells

    Temp

    High15°c

    Low5°c

    Wind

    From North west

    Speed16 mph

    Thursday 23 May

    Light showers

    Temp

    High12°c

    Low5°c

    Wind

    From North west

    Speed20 mph

    Friday 24 May

    Cloudy

    Temp

    High12°c

    Low6°c

    Wind

    From North west

    Speed18 mph

    Saturday 25 May

    Cloudy

    Temp

    High12°c

    Low6°c

    Wind

    From North west

    Speed15 mph

  • Follow us
  • Place your Ad
  • Subscribe

Video: Leeds United superfan hangs up scarf after 70 years

  • by Debbie Leigh
 

He’s been a fixture at Leeds United matches for more than 70 years but the final game of the season against Leicester City will see Eric Drummond take his seat at Elland Road for the very last time.

However his loyalty to United over the decades – from the age of eight – has been nothing short of remarkable.

When he and his late wife Betty moved down to Dorset for several years he regularly made the 12-hour round-trip to watch his beloved Leeds.

And even suffering a heart attack outside the ground after a match 14 years ago failed to keep the decorated war veteran away.

But arthritis – and the fact he has to catch two buses there and back – means getting to games is now a struggle.

So next season he will be watching the Whites from the comfort of his armchair. The Scarcroft widower said: “It will be a sad day. I get a welcome when I walk on there, so I will miss the many friends.”

While Mr Drummond, who describes himself as “100 per cent football”, is finally surrendering the seat in the John Charles West Stand that he has occupied for the past 30 years, there’s no doubt his passion for United still burns brightly.

The former train driver’s love affair with Leeds United Football Club began aged just eight, when his dad Irvine took him to his first match.

He said: “At that time The Kop was railway sleepers and cinders and there was a boys’ enclosure behind the goal.

“He plonked me in there and said you sit there until I come back.

“That was my first introduction to Leeds United.”

His eyes sparkled as he added: “I have been hooked on football ever since.”

Mr Drummond, who served as a radar operator in the Navy in the Far East during the Second World War, has seen managers come and go, from Raich Carter to Don Revie, right through to Neil Warnock.

He said: “The glory started with Revie but I went through it all. We had our ups and downs, our disasters.”

He collected a host of souvenirs, from his 1948 scarf to Yorkshire Evening Post picture cards, programmes and his £1 ticket to the FA Cup Final at Wembley in 1972.He also had autographs from players including Billy Bremner, Johnny Giles, Peter Lorimer and Allan Clarke but handed most down to his best friend’s son, also a life-long supporter.

 

Comments

 
 

Back to the top of the page