As regular readers will know, I am writing a book on Wrexham AFC that I hope to have published by Xmas. As the countdown to publication begins I have decided to look back at the other Wrexham AFC titles that are available. Many of these books have been a fantastic source of information to me whilst researching the volume created by myself.
- Publisher : Sigma Leisure (1 Oct. 1998)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 180 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1850586403
- ISBN-13 : 978-1850586401
Taken from Amazon.co.uk:
Followers of Wrexham, this is the book for you! This new book is packed with stories, facts and figures all arranged alphabetically for easy reference, so that virtually any question about the Robins can be authoritatively answered. There are almost 300 entries in this A-Z including biographies of players and managers who have made important contributions over the years. Packed with photographs of old, new and little-known stories, this is one of the most accessible reference books on the subject.
This book was first published in 1998 and makes for a good starting point when researching the club’s history. Readers should be aware of certain historical inaccuracies and should not take Hayes word as gospel. For example, in the section about dismissals he talks about the first player who got sent off for Wrexham and names him as Brian Simpson. This must leave Bobby Simpson turning in his grave.
Little mistakes like this can be a product of historical research and should be forgiven. However, this error is quickly followed by the old wives tale that Ambrose Brown was dismissed after just 20 seconds of a match against Chester at the Racecourse on Xmas day 1936.
Bizarrely, even the old wives tale is wrong, as it was always quoted that Ambrose Brown saw red while playing against Hull City at Boothferry Park. It is a fact that we played Hull away from home on Xmas day 1936 and we played Chester the day after. We suffered the loss of Brown after six minutes of the game at Boothferry Park, not 20 seconds as recorded by Hayes.
On the whole, this is an enjoyable read. There are more facts that are correct and can be substantiated, rather than embarrassing errors, but what can you expect from an author of books about numerous other clubs. Hayes is clearly not a Wrexham fan, but should be applauded for taking more of an interest in our history than the majority of plastic fans who fill the Racecourse nowadays.
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