Charles Buchan's Football Monthly from 1951
More than 70 years ago, in September 1951, we published the inaugural edition. The initial sentence was, "Our goal is to provide a publication that will be worthy of our national game and the grand sportsmen who play and watch it. Charles Buchan, an experienced reporter for the News Chronicle and the BBC, spotted a gap in the football media market as, after the old Athletic News folded, there was no publication or magazine devoted solely to football for a number of years. Charles Buchan launched the Football Monthly in September 1951. The publication became so popular that this resource was needed immediately. I've never played in this field before, but I'm enjoying it just as much as I did playing football, said Charles Buchan, Learning never stops at any age."
The circulation began at 60,000, a figure that contemporary magazines would kill for; by 1959, it had increased to 120,000; by 1961, it had reached 130,000; and by 1967, it had reached an incredible 250,000 a month at its height. The "Boys Club" boasted 100,000 registered members in 1968.
At the start of the 1960s, Charles Buchan's Publications Ltd. began publishing eleven magazines in total, including 'Soccer Scrap Book', and expanded into music publications for the hippest youths.
It was so successful that it continued to sell for 1/6 at launch for 11 years, only going up to 2 shillings in August 1962, even though it had 64 pages.
It gradually increased to 2/6 in April 1966 and, on the 200th issue, to 3 shillings in April 1968, ahead of the World Cup frenzy. They raised it to 17 and a half new pence in January 1971, utilising decimalization! (3/6) August 1972 saw the introduction of 20p, which persisted until June 1974, when Football Monthly Digest ceased to exist.
Charles Buchan kept up his column from the time it was founded until his death in June 1960 in the south of France. The publication of his previous piece in August, as usual, suggests that his death was unexpected. In the September 1960 issue, there are two pages of tributes from the football world.
The circulation began at 60,000, a figure that contemporary magazines would kill for; by 1959, it had increased to 120,000; by 1961, it had reached 130,000; and by 1967, it had reached an incredible 250,000 a month at its height. The "Boys Club" boasted 100,000 registered members in 1968.
At the start of the 1960s, Charles Buchan's Publications Ltd. began publishing eleven magazines in total, including 'Soccer Scrap Book', and expanded into music publications for the hippest youths.
It was so successful that it continued to sell for 1/6 at launch for 11 years, only going up to 2 shillings in August 1962, even though it had 64 pages.
It gradually increased to 2/6 in April 1966 and, on the 200th issue, to 3 shillings in April 1968, ahead of the World Cup frenzy. They raised it to 17 and a half new pence in January 1971, utilising decimalization! (3/6) August 1972 saw the introduction of 20p, which persisted until June 1974, when Football Monthly Digest ceased to exist.
Charles Buchan kept up his column from the time it was founded until his death in June 1960 in the south of France. The publication of his previous piece in August, as usual, suggests that his death was unexpected. In the September 1960 issue, there are two pages of tributes from the football world.
