Football Crazy shop in Spittal Street

[wallpaperman]

Bit of a random question, but thought this the best place for it.

I’m sure a few people on here will remember the football programme shop on Spittal Street run by Alan Cunningham, he previously had a wee attic shop/office in Forth Street. I remember my eyes popping the first time I went in there as a younger teen to see all these thousands of programmes crammed into a small space.

I used to visit the shop fairly regularly in Spittal a Street, but had started working by then and interests changed a bit when work nights out and beer came on the scene.

I seem to remember that he seemed to just empty and close the shop really suddenly, maybe that’s not the case in reality.

Does anyone know the backstory if there was one?

Alan seemed a really nice guy, and a Partick Thistle fan if I remember right, just seemed to disappear all of a sudden.

Sorry for my ramblings.

[hibeg]

Don’t know the answer to why the shop shut, like you I remember it was sudden.
Although I had a bit of a collection, AC was the guy who really got me into collecting Hibs programmes
I just wished I had invested more in the older issues which I remember looking at. He had brilliant stock, including pre war issues which would now be worth a small fortune.
As an inexperienced collector, I remember picking up 1980s issues and working my way back. The shop must have shut about 1987ish ???

[tynehibs]

The programme shop I remember as a young collector was just off Dalry road, can't remember his name but he was really helpful, another opened late 70s or early 80s on Leith walk up from the Spey lounge

[wallpaperman]

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Don’t know the answer to why the shop shut, like you I remember it was sudden.
Although I had a bit of a collection, AC was the guy who really got me into collecting Hibs programmes
I just wished I had invested more in the older issues which I remember looking at. He had brilliant stock, including pre war issues which would now be worth a small fortune.
As an inexperienced collector, I remember picking up 1980s issues and working my way back. The shop must have shut about 1987ish ???

Think you are bang on with it closing around 1987 as I started work mid 1986 and I do remember going after I started work, but less frequently.

Sadly I was not in the market for pre war issues with my budget at the time.

Remember that this was around the time that fanzines exploded, think he used to stock loads of these as well.

[wallpaperman]

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The programme shop I remember as a young collector was just off Dalry road, can't remember his name but he was really helpful, another opened late 70s or early 80s on Leith walk up from the Spey lounge

Remember there being a programme shop on Leith Walk near the bottom but never in it, don’t recall the Dalry one, but was rarely over that side of town apart from Derby day.

On the 80’s nostalgia thread someone mentioned Rikki Raginia’s hut on the old terracing, had forgotten about that. Used to buy away programmes there if I hadn’t been at the game. Is Rikki still about?

[tynehibs]

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Remember there being a programme shop on Leith Walk near the bottom but never in it, don’t recall the Dalry one, but was rarely over that side of town apart from Derby day.

On the 80’s nostalgia thread someone mentioned Rikki Raginia’s hut on the old terracing, had forgotten about that. Used to buy away programmes there if I hadn’t been at the game. Is Rikki still about?

Caledonian road/ place ??

[Iggy Pope]

Rikki Raginia had a stake in the programme shop referred to off Dalry Rd. It was in Orwell Place. This would be around about 1977. They relocated to a shop close to the bottom of the Walk after about a year and lasted another couple. Breaks my heart to think of the stuff I could’ve had for a lot less than the money now. Mind you, I was 15 and I had **** all money anyway!!! Not long afterwards when I discovered drink I stopped collecting only to foolishly start again about 5 years ago.

Rikki and the other fellah (who if IIRC was Hearts orientated), offered subscriptions to fans for Hibs and Hearts home and away. Both of them manned the shop. It was a great place to hang about.

Not sure if RR posts on here but he was and is something of an authority on Hibs collecting.

[hibby6270]

I’m probably going back to late 60s / early 70s but was there not a programme shop in Bothwell Street (off Easter Road)?
Seem to recall popping in there from time to time after games at ER.
Did that become the Spittal Street/Leith Walk outlets or was it, what is now, Almondvale Programmes in Albion Road?

[Iggy Pope]

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I’m probably going back to late 60s / early 70s but was there not a programme shop in Bothwell Street (off Easter Road)?
Seem to recall popping in there from time to time after games at ER.
Did that become the Spittal Street/Leith Walk outlets or was it, what is now, Almondvale Programmes in Albion Road?

There was a shop on Bothwell Street and also a Development shop on Albert Street, very early 70s though, too early for it to be a version of either of these.

[Lester B]

Haven't seen this mentioned yet. Does anyone remember a shop in Gilmore Place not far from King's Theatre. Had programmes, old sports books even old bubblegum cards and Panini stickers. My old man used to collect Scottish Football Books, ended up having the full set once the internet arrived, and I remember picking up a few of those there in the early nineties.

[hibeg]

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Haven't seen this mentioned yet. Does anyone remember a shop in Gilmore Place not far from King's Theatre. Had programmes, old sports books even old bubblegum cards and Panini stickers. My old man used to collect Scottish Football Books, ended up having the full set once the internet arrived, and I remember picking up a few of those there in the early nineties.

That was run by a Hibee called Ian Murray who was in the main a bookseller. I remember he started selling more books online, which was probably the reason for the shop closing down

[Lester B]

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That was run by a Hibee called Ian Murray who was in the main a bookseller. I remember he started selling more books online, which was probably the reason for the shop closing down

Thanks. Remember chatting to him a few times when I was in there. Nice guy though I didn't know he was a Hibee!