Tradition maintained as Queen is toasted from club’s Loving Cup

Jan 19 2008 by Dougie Thomson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

TOWN maintained a 70-year tradition before their League I clash with Gillingham.

Club director and secretary Ann Hough and visiting chairman Paul Scally drank from the three-handled Coronation Loving Cup which has its home in the Galpharm board room.

It was presented by Stoke City president Sir Francis Joseph to mark the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in May 1937.

Thirty were produced, with the mould then being broken.

Recipients included the King himself, all the First Division clubs in the season just finished – among them were Brentford, Grimsby and Preston as well as Town – the two clubs promoted from Division II (Leicester and Blackpool) as well as Glasgow Rangers, who had played a charity match at the Victoria Ground, which was of course situated in the heart of the Potteries.

Sir Francis asked clubs to fill the cup and drink a toast to the reigning monarch on January 1 of each year.

Town, in common with Stoke and most of the other recipients, now perform the ceremony before their first home league game of the year.

Gillingham, of course. were the club toasting victory after a game they won 3-1.

And manager Mark Stimson was quick to praise the support of the often controversial Scally since he took the Priestfield job in succession to former Town player Ronnie Jepson on November 1.

“Everyone seems to have an opinion about him, and before I took the job, people told me various stories,” said the former Stevenage Borough boss.

“For me, he’s been unbelievable. I thought I had a passion for the game, but his is beyond that and it’s solely for Gillingham Football Club. It’s rubbed off on me and hopefully it will on the players too.”