Memory Lane Monday

This weekend, we’re hosting the U19s Bob Bamford Tournament, and as we gear up for our centenary next year, we’re excited to share more of our club’s remarkable history with you.

The Under 19s tournament began about 30 years ago, by Upper Hutt United, before the amalgamation of the three clubs (keep an eye out next week for this story). It was originally set up to give U19 teams some more game time before the big U19s tournament in Napier. After the merger, our joint committee worked to create a strong local tournament that filled a gap in the region’s U19 football scene. At its peak, we had six fields at Awakairangi Park and one at Harcourt Park, with as many as 28 teams battling it out. When Bob Bamford passed away in 2014, we thought, “What better way to honour Bob than renaming this tournament after him and introducing a trophy in his name?”

But who was Bob Bamford, also affectionately known as Wobbly Bob? Brian Woods has a great story about Bob’s first appearance around 1998, shortly after we moved into our new clubrooms at Harcourt Park. Bob would regularly pop up on the balcony, newspaper in hand, tackling the crossword while waiting for the bar to open. One day, our chairperson chatted with him and discovered that Bob was well-known at Wests and had recently moved to Upper Hutt to be closer to family.

Before long, Bob became a legend around here—a one-of-a-kind character. He served as our committee secretary but had a real knack for spotting talented young players. Soon enough, he swapped his crossword for scouting football talent. Many of the young players Bob scouted went on to play in the U19s team. One year, when our U19s team headed to Napier, the committee realised that they hadn’t organised for Bob to travel up with the team. Thankfully, when they got back, they said that Bob was there—but no one knew how he got there or where he stayed. Turns out, Bob, with his dedication to the team, had driven up himself and, finding everything booked out, simply slept in his car.

Bob wasn’t just a wizard with football talent; he also dominated at quiz nights. Every time we held one, Bob would team up with a mate, and everyone else resigned themselves to competing for second place. First prize? A bar tab—which Bob happily took full advantage of that same evening.

One World Cup final night, a club member, who happened to be a scaffolder, set up towering scaffolding seating inside the clubrooms. With a special licence to keep the bar open, the place was packed in the early hours for the big game. Bob, ever the trooper, had been at the club all afternoon. While everyone else went home to nap and freshen up, Bob stayed behind to “babysit” the bar. As the match unfolded, there was a sudden bang, bang, bang, bang—Bob had fallen down the scaffolding seating, all the way to the floor. Fortunately, his beer consumption provided the perfect cushion, and he walked away unscathed.

When Bob passed away during the off-season in 2014, it only seemed right to honour his dedication to our club by holding his service in our clubrooms. And we renamed our U19s tournament in his memory, ensuring his legacy continues to inspire the next generation of players.

So, here’s to Bob—and to all the footballers playing in the Bob Bamford tournament this weekend.

~Jane

Source: Jane @ Upper Hutt City Football

30/09/24