Sheffield United vs Millwall

UTB 35
Fables & Folklore
Blades historian JOHN GARRETT’S long-running inimitable account of following the Blades
always provides a talking point as UTB again extends a platform for his popular article...
T C is a Big Knit!
There always seems to have been
some sort of a mascot around in sport,
doesn’t there?
In fact, mascots appear in so many different
places. The first time I heard about one around
the Blades was of the time of the 1925 FA Cup
Final. At some point during the run to Wembley,
a stuffed Felix the Cat (a famous cartoon
character that surfaced in the silent films in
1923) was adopted by the team and appeared
on many photos around the time, clearly
becoming a symbol of good luck for the boys.
Dora Winter, daughter of the great Billy
Cook who lifted the FA Cup twice for the
Blades, remembered it being around when
she was a child. Dora has a great claim to
fame by the way, she was technically there
when we beat Cardiff and also on the steps
of the Town Hall in Sheffield when the team
came back with the trophy for the civic
reception as her mother was eight months
pregnant with her at the time! Tenuous I know,
but I wouldn’t argue with her as it’s a great
story and she is a lovely lady!
She seemed to think that another player,
Tommy Sampy, may have also had possession
of it at some point along with possibly the
great Billy Gillespie. All I know is that, sadly, it’s
never been seen for many years, and I have
definitely never seen it in my time around the
club - shame!
R Blades mascot Tommy Wood
Tommy Wood was possibly the forerunner
of Captain Blade, but a lot thinner and also
without a character outfit! Tommy was born in
1892, a stone’s throw from the ground and was
regularly seen leading the singing at the front of
the Kop and at big games, such as the 1936 FA
Cup Final against Arsenal in his red and white
striped suit with matching hat, rattle and ‘Play
Up Blades’ rosette. You certainly wouldn’t have
been able to miss him, he ran a newsagent near
the ground as well, so it must have helped drum
business up!
SHEFFIELD UNITED vs MILLWALL