Memorial Cards: Sledging Rivals in 1912

It is believed the memorial card seen here was printed to mark Manchester United’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City on December 28 1912. Cards like these were popular at most high profile games and in Manchester there was a significant industry behind football funeral cards.

They seem a bit macabre today in our half-half friendship version of professional football but back then cards were used to highlight games frequently. I’ve written and talked a lot on this over the years.

Here for subscribers I’d like to provide an overview of the industry, how it existed, what activities were carried out and provide a potted history of the funeral card business. This is about 3,500 words, so get yourself a brew and settle down to read…