Eric remembered Brendan when interviewed a while back!
Now it is Brendan’s turn as he recalls Eric White’s the personal side, who he assisted on matchdays from 1993 until his passing.
Eric White was the original Mr Brentford; a fan since his first game in 1936, Press Officer for over 40 years, programme Editor for 37 years, co-founder of the blind scheme, commentator for 10 years, and Deputy Chairman of the football club in his latter years.
I would watch him arrive to Griffin Park from the stairs that led up to the Harry Curtis Suite. He would always walk past the door to his Press Room and continue to the Braemar Road side of the pitch.
Even after attending games for close to 60 years, Eric would make this pilgrimage to take in the view. Maybe he was reflecting upon the undulating fortunes of his club and the changes to the hallowed turf and its surrounds during those years.
In my role as Eric’s assistant, I carried out the behind-the-scenes jobs that allowed him to be the liaison for the media and visitors on matchday.
From allocating the phone lines, producing the team sheet, making the halftime pot of tea and organising the post-match press conference, my day was busy.
The viewing of the game was a welcome break.
The reporters and photographers that came to the small Press Room under the B stand were hugely respectful to the man who sat behind the imposing wooden desk, smartly turned out in his finest suit.
They would discuss the club and the current crop of players, being fed information, on and off-the-record. This man had the ear of everyone in the club. Eric had a distinctive voice that stood out in company; Honed by his 1930’s childhood and his service in the RAF.
He was affectionately nicknamed ‘Zippy’ by the younger journalists as his voice bore a slight resemblance to the then cult, children’s TV character.
Having occupied the bottom two divisions for most of his Press Officer tenure, many senior journalists from other similarly fortuned teams would be classed as good friends. Their match day company and reminiscences were anticipated and enjoyed by White.
As well as the press, regular visitors to the small room included programme contributors and acquaintances. Sometimes elderly gentleman would stop by, and Eric would be always first up to greet them. These gentlemen were players from Brentford’s past, all fondly remembered and held in high esteem when they came to say hello to their old friend.
The Press Box itself consisted of two rows of benches at the top of the B stand with phone and ISDN lines available for radio and live commentary.
The first space on the lower row was Eric’s, giving him a great view of the pitch from near the halfway line. He was on first name terms with the fans seated in the rows in front; they would discuss the game and assist in recalling patterns of play that led to notable incidents.
The seat next to Eric would be gifted to a close journalist friend, or a dignitary in the form of a former player or big name from the media world.
As well as watching the game, Eric would jot down statistics to ring through to the Press Association. They were the suppliers of information to Ceefax and Teletext, the quintessential places to go for fans unable to attend games in the pre-internet days.
Although I only ever saw Eric on matchdays, he was the epitome of the graceful swan cruising down the river while hiding the relentless paddling beneath the water. I never got to see his endless hours of work that went into producing over 1000 editions of the Brentford matchday programme.
Eric’s first programme v Wrexham 25.8.59 Lge Divn 3
Originally writing and editing under the pseudonym ‘Historian’, White took the programme from an 8-page pamphlet to a 40+ page award winning programme.
A team was developed to provide opposition team rundowns, league news, match reports, historical articles and statistics.
Over the years Eric would impart advice and instil a love of the clubs’ history.
For sale in the club shop at the time was ‘100 Years of Brentford’, a book that Eric edited with research from Rob Jex, Graham Haynes and Ian Westbrook.
Malcolm Allison Phil Holder David Webb
Despite his many years working at the club, occasionally there was evidence of a youthful excitement in Eric when the big names graced the Brentford Press Room for the post-match press conferences. During Brentford’s short tenure in what was then Division One and now the Championship, there was a flicker of pride when Malcolm Allison, equipped with cigar and trench coat, accepted Eric’s invitation to sit at the wooden desk and field questions from the reporters. While Phil Holder preferred a non-formal conference (his 5’4” shell suited figure usually disappearing beneath a scrum of journalists),
David Webb preferred the formality of the desk and a refreshing bitter. Importantly, all managers preferences were accommodated by Eric.
Final Programme
Eric announced his hospital trip. His final programme March 9th 1996
Club captain Jamie Bates said that the players called Eric ‘Mr Jingle Jangle’ from the noise of all the change in his pocket.
This noise was amplified by the shuffle Eric had adopted due to years of knee pain.
It was an operation to replace a knee that led to Dave Morley returning to the Press Room to cover the operation, and unfortunately this position became permanent when post operation complications led to Eric’s death in March 1996.
Dave recently retired from this role and remembers how Eric was held in high esteem by fellow journalists. “From the start of the next season, it became the Eric White Press Room.
People used to come in as say “where’s Eric?” and “is Eric about?” and I used to have to say to them unfortunately he’s passed away”. His loss was mourned by those in journalistic circles who, before the instant news environment of today, had not known that his legacy had ended.
Eric’s passing marked the end of an era and the loss of a link to Brentford’s post-war past. The Bees United heritage team strive to maintain the historical links to Brentford’s past, all influenced by Eric’s vision to create a permanent record of the club’s history. Personally, I lost a mentor and a friend, but his memory lives on in the hundreds of editorials in his club programmes, and his contributions to the centenary book.
Brendan’s website has all you need to know about the history of Bees shirts
https://www.brentfordshirts.com/
Brendan Nevin
