When Oxford City played at the White House ground

The pub, the Slow and Steady in Abingdon Road, was originally called the White House and behind it was the White House ground, where Oxford City played for many years.

City could not generate such large crowds as Oxford United, but they had a strong following of supporters who would cheer on the team in their home matches.

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However, one of the most memorable matches at the ground involved not Oxford City but Oxford Boys.

In 1966, the young team had a great run in the major national competition, the English Schools’ Trophy.

Fundraising for Oxford City FC

In the year that England won the World Cup, the Oxford under-15s fought their way through every round to the final.

They excited thousands of fans throughout the city in their finest season since 1908.

Those in the picture above were among 6,062 who packed into the White House ground to see Oxford defeat Luton 2-1 in an enthralling semi-final.

Led by team manager Michael Hammett, a teacher at Wheatley Park School, they had beaten High Wycombe, Swindon, Woking, Cambridge and Havant in the early rounds.

In the quarter finals, Oxford faced a long trip to Seaham in County Durham, where they triumphed again to earn the right to face Luton.

Everything looked lost when Luton broke away to take the lead early in the second half, but a calmly-taken penalty by skipper Tony Tompkins spurred Oxford into action.

With 10 minutes left, Stephen Whelan scored after the Luton goalkeeper dropped a cross and from then on, Oxford’s superiority was never in doubt.

The final whistle brought a huge roar from the crowd, who filled every side of the ground.

The first leg of the final at Oxford United’s Manor Ground at Headington attracted an even bigger crowd – 9,062.

Sadly, East London proved too strong for Oxford, winning the first game 3-2 and the return leg at Millwall 2-1.

But Oxford were not disgraced. The Oxford Mail, in an editorial, summed up the city’s feelings: “We have a team to be proud of.”

The Oxford Boys that year weren’t the only ones to enjoy playing at the White House ground – the club often welcomed junior sides to play competition matches.

However, all that changed in 1988 when City were evicted by their landlords, Brasenose College, which sold the site for housing.

They were forced to leave the Isthmian League, but after a spell of inactivity, they reformed in 1990 and, based at Cutteslowe Park in North Oxford, joined the South Midlands League, winning promotion in their first season.

There was further joy in 1993 when they moved to their current ground, Court Place Farm, in Marsh Lane, Marston.

The Slow and Steady pub, on the corner of Whitehouse Road, where former Lord Mayor John Tanner held his party (Memory Lane, March 9), is owned by Brasenose College and opened in 1897 as the White House Inn.

It was designed by architect Henry Thomas Hare, whose grandest Oxford building, the Town Hall, was completed the same year.