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Did you ever get involved with this?
I did for quite some time and never got a touch!
What was galling and, I now think I was naive for not realising was with "Spot The Ball"
I had a little rubber stamp with a fair few tinny and close crosses and did maybe six stamps a time.
Quite often when the result was published I know I was covering the ball!
Why was I naive?
Well, I realised later that the collector could rip off maybe 50% of the coupons, without raising too much suspicion as I would bet that most of them did,
and so the amount of submitted coupons across the country would be generally in line for each collector.
What a nice little earner must that have been!
I did for quite some time and never got a touch!
What was galling and, I now think I was naive for not realising was with "Spot The Ball"
I had a little rubber stamp with a fair few tinny and close crosses and did maybe six stamps a time.
Quite often when the result was published I know I was covering the ball!
Why was I naive?
Well, I realised later that the collector could rip off maybe 50% of the coupons, without raising too much suspicion as I would bet that most of them did,
and so the amount of submitted coupons across the country would be generally in line for each collector.
What a nice little earner must that have been!
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My grandfather was a bit of a puritan. He disapproved of gambling,particularly betting on the horses. didn't stop him doing about 6 pools coupons per week. He was very proud that he once won £75 which I suppose was a fair bit in the 50s but he must have lost 100s ( also a fair bit then ) over the years.
Where did/do you live as two old friends of mine
years ago said they worked where the forms went into
and if you lived south of brum the entry went in the bin.
My dad did get 24 points on littlewoods pools along with
various lower dividends 11 score draws that week so he looked back
at previous amounts payed out for 11 score draws and it was normally
in the 12-15 thousand for 24 points then add on the other divis
He got £874.00 and pennies FFS which in them days payed for a brand new video recorder
and a few blank cassettes
years ago said they worked where the forms went into
and if you lived south of brum the entry went in the bin.
My dad did get 24 points on littlewoods pools along with
various lower dividends 11 score draws that week so he looked back
at previous amounts payed out for 11 score draws and it was normally
in the 12-15 thousand for 24 points then add on the other divis
He got £874.00 and pennies FFS which in them days payed for a brand new video recorder
and a few blank cassettes
Used to collect them at work - late 80's. Very little effort for a fair few quid a week.
Probably 90% pools 10% STB. Never considered not putting any coupons in - as too young and innocent.
Collector in our village got done some years later for not putting pools coupon in - as someone had claimed a decent win. I think
the fraud across the country must have been massive in the heady days of football coupons. Only Littlewoods would ever have
known.
My day won about £1500 on the pools in early 70's which was a fair old cop for someone on a modest wage.
Probably 90% pools 10% STB. Never considered not putting any coupons in - as too young and innocent.
Collector in our village got done some years later for not putting pools coupon in - as someone had claimed a decent win. I think
the fraud across the country must have been massive in the heady days of football coupons. Only Littlewoods would ever have
known.
My day won about £1500 on the pools in early 70's which was a fair old cop for someone on a modest wage.
aunty............knew a pools collector who bragged about not sending in the spot the ball coupons...............he used to tap his pocket.......my bonus he used to say..........I did spot the ball but not with him
I won 500 quid on spot the ball then started to do them with my uncle.............I used to get the right area most of the time .......... but my uncle wrote a letter complaining that most of the winners were from London with jewish sounding names.......safe to say I never again apart from a free go..........my uncle was a right nut
It was common years ago for someone to win the pools but then find their coupon hadn't been handed in.
I'm surprised anyone used the collector system.
I'm surprised anyone used the collector system.
cardifffc
'.......my uncle was a right nut.....'
He'd have been right at home here then
'.......my uncle was a right nut.....'
He'd have been right at home here then
won a first divi on vernons year ago
still remember the bet- only time i ever bet a £5 on the pools
perm any 2 groups from 6 covered by any 8 from 10
got 4 score draws near the top and 4 more in scotland - bottom group.
picked up £1300 and bought a motor bike and went on holiday to Greece
happy days....
oh - picked them out with this method: the away team had to be at least 3 places higher in the league compared to the home team..Simples
still remember the bet- only time i ever bet a £5 on the pools
perm any 2 groups from 6 covered by any 8 from 10
got 4 score draws near the top and 4 more in scotland - bottom group.
picked up £1300 and bought a motor bike and went on holiday to Greece
happy days....
oh - picked them out with this method: the away team had to be at least 3 places higher in the league compared to the home team..Simples
aunty post regarding spot the ball , a mate of mine knew someone who worked in the office where spot the ball was operated ,it didn't matter if you covered the ball with one of those stamper things ,you could have been spot on and nailed the ball but the result was decided by picking of "winners" by opening the nearest bag on a Monday morning and picking a handful of random entrys and declairing winners and runners up prizes .......it had nothing to do with where you had put your xxs it was just a lucky dip type thing .
….wasn't it complicated…writing down 1, x, 2 or whatever on a little piece of paper and comparing with the charts...
Spot The Ball.
When you used to see the results in the following weeks paper (usually on a postage stamp sized copy of the original), the ball was never anywhere remotely where you would ever expect it to be.
The average picture was a 'keeper at full stretch as a cross or corner came in, a couple of defenders and attackers going up for the same 'ball' eyes all on it, as half a dozen players all eyed up the same spot. So you would confidently places the x's around that area.
On seeing the result you usually found the ball about 5 inches off the floor, somehwere near the 18 yard line!
Lottery didn't even come close!
When you used to see the results in the following weeks paper (usually on a postage stamp sized copy of the original), the ball was never anywhere remotely where you would ever expect it to be.
The average picture was a 'keeper at full stretch as a cross or corner came in, a couple of defenders and attackers going up for the same 'ball' eyes all on it, as half a dozen players all eyed up the same spot. So you would confidently places the x's around that area.
On seeing the result you usually found the ball about 5 inches off the floor, somehwere near the 18 yard line!
Lottery didn't even come close!
third time......I am sure sometimes were 2 pictures put together.............some looked very strange
Oh...and every game on Spot The Ball seemed to be played in fog.
Me and a mate won the spot the ball a few times in the 70's but we had an advantage in that we knew where the ball was. It's a long story but true. Meanwhile this article sums up the decline of Spot the Ball
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2908833/Spot-Ball-jackpot-hasn-t-won-2004-number-play-game-falls-14-000.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2908833/Spot-Ball-jackpot-hasn-t-won-2004-number-play-game-falls-14-000.html
When I was in my early teens, I used to collect in a scrapbook newspaper photos of games that I had been to. One such game was West Ham v Spurs in either 1972 or 1973.
A year or so later, my dad's weekly pools coupon (delivered and collected by a collector) started to be accompanied by a Spot The Ball coupon.
Dad never entered the Spot The Ball but then around six months later, the photo with the missing ball was exactly the same one as one I had cut out of a local newspaper from the West Ham v Spurs match. My dad wasn't too fussed but we entered and carefully marked out quite a lot of crosses from where we knew the ball was in the newspaper photo.
But my dad also insisted on showing the picture to our neighbour across the street so they could enter. In hindsight, I now realise all these years later he fancied the wife! But, I digress.
After the coupon was collected, I was quite excited thinking a big cash prize was in the bank. But my dad went out of his way to tell me that the pools company used to magnify the Spot The Ball photo up many, many times until they found just one cross on the exact centre of the ball. Hence, he said, we still had very little chance of winning.
He was right because neither us, nor the neighbours, won but when the result was published it was plan stupid. The ball was well, well away from where it had been in the newspaper picture, although on the same line. Indeed, Mervyn Day, the West Ham keeper at the time, must have been a complete knob for being in the position he was in given where the pools company put the ball, he was not only going the wrong was for a cross but was looking in the complete opposite direction!
Dad thought it funny but it galled me for years.
Having read this thread, I can now see the entry may not have even got there! That said, Dad did win £450 on the pools two years later when it was still the same collector. Hence, the collector must have been OK.
A year or so later, my dad's weekly pools coupon (delivered and collected by a collector) started to be accompanied by a Spot The Ball coupon.
Dad never entered the Spot The Ball but then around six months later, the photo with the missing ball was exactly the same one as one I had cut out of a local newspaper from the West Ham v Spurs match. My dad wasn't too fussed but we entered and carefully marked out quite a lot of crosses from where we knew the ball was in the newspaper photo.
But my dad also insisted on showing the picture to our neighbour across the street so they could enter. In hindsight, I now realise all these years later he fancied the wife! But, I digress.
After the coupon was collected, I was quite excited thinking a big cash prize was in the bank. But my dad went out of his way to tell me that the pools company used to magnify the Spot The Ball photo up many, many times until they found just one cross on the exact centre of the ball. Hence, he said, we still had very little chance of winning.
He was right because neither us, nor the neighbours, won but when the result was published it was plan stupid. The ball was well, well away from where it had been in the newspaper picture, although on the same line. Indeed, Mervyn Day, the West Ham keeper at the time, must have been a complete knob for being in the position he was in given where the pools company put the ball, he was not only going the wrong was for a cross but was looking in the complete opposite direction!
Dad thought it funny but it galled me for years.
Having read this thread, I can now see the entry may not have even got there! That said, Dad did win £450 on the pools two years later when it was still the same collector. Hence, the collector must have been OK.
I remember the case of a chap who did the spot the ball in a National Sunday newspaper in the 1970's.He couldn't believe his luck when he realised he had the original photograph. He placed the original photograph over the one in the newspaper and carefully marked the position of the ball with an X.
Feeling very confident he couldn't wait for the following Sunday's newspaper to see his name down as the winner. At the time the prize was £5000.
Needless to say, when the result was printed in the newspaper, he didn't win the prize and the ball was miles away from where it was in the original photograph. Not happy with the outcome, he employed a good solicitor, who took the newspaper to court and the Judge awarded him the £5000 prize.
Feeling very confident he couldn't wait for the following Sunday's newspaper to see his name down as the winner. At the time the prize was £5000.
Needless to say, when the result was printed in the newspaper, he didn't win the prize and the ball was miles away from where it was in the original photograph. Not happy with the outcome, he employed a good solicitor, who took the newspaper to court and the Judge awarded him the £5000 prize.
'…..But frustration at winning so little over the years drove Mr Cook to contact the organisers about when anyone last scooped the jackpot – which, unlike the Lottery’s, does not roll over each week if not won.
So the £0.25m jackpot payout by the company is voluntary!
So the £0.25m jackpot payout by the company is voluntary!
also when in any competition they pick out the winners and runners up prizes they will be from all over the country ,if the persons/judges who picked a hand full of winning envelopes and lets say 3 from the London area were winners 2 of these would be binned and replaced with 2 from other areas .
As I said right at the start, I at least know I was naive, although that's probably why it galls so much, and I did put "a fair few bob" on it"!
TK....It doesn't prove at all that the collector was "ok".
The ones who pocketed the Pools Coupons had to be desperate, as there was a chance (long one maybe) that they would be found out, and they would only take a handful.
TG...Two things about that story....
Firstly have to ask how he came to have exactly the same photo!
Secondly, it would be a surprise if they printed it the same size, so the story is pants (imo)!
TK....It doesn't prove at all that the collector was "ok".
The ones who pocketed the Pools Coupons had to be desperate, as there was a chance (long one maybe) that they would be found out, and they would only take a handful.
TG...Two things about that story....
Firstly have to ask how he came to have exactly the same photo!
Secondly, it would be a surprise if they printed it the same size, so the story is pants (imo)!
In the 1950s (before i was born)my dad won the pools first divi .He got the lot.He went out and bought a house and a business (freehold).Set him up for life.
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