A Town fan is asking fellow Blues to help with locating and sharing any original items from the club's amateur days as part of an ongoing research project.

Many Town followers will be aware that the current club was formed as an amateur side back in 1878 - nearly 150 years ago - before turning professional in 1936 and joining the Football League two years later. 

The picture above shows the Town side from 1912, wearing stripes, winning 2-1 against Haverhill Rovers in the Suffolk Senior Cup final at Portman Road.

Now James Ager, a lifelong Blues supporter and long-time TWTD contributor, is appealing not only to fellow collectors of ITFC memorabilia, but also to fans and local families alike, who may still hold treasured items from their own relatives days of either playing for - or supporting - Town, prior to the club turning professional.

He told TWTD: “I have spent a considerable amount of time researching the amateur years of our great club, and I have built up a fair collection of items from that era. These include some match programmes, fixture cards, club handbooks, season tickets, cup winners medals, and original team photographs/postcards. 

“While understandably rare, I'm sure there are more of these sorts of items out there from pre-1936.

“I'm not necessarily looking to add to my own collection but I am keen to understand what other items have survived all these years, and to potentially include scans or photos of them in a research project that I'm currently working on.

“I am grateful for some significant contributions from a few Town fans already and I've also been in touch with some surviving relatives of a few of the club's founding members.

“But if you have anything that you think might be of interest or if you know somebody who does, please do get in touch.”

James can be contacted via email at itfcjames@yahoo.com.

Photo: Contributed

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