Luton Town FC – The 1980s

The first professional football match I attended was at Luton Town FC which I believe was February 1959 against Leicester City. This was strange on two counts, firstly I was an Arsenal fan, secondly I was taken by my dad who wasn't a football man at all. I've no recollections of the match other than it was a wooden stand and there were a few goals (4-3). Why and how we got there is a mystery - it must have been a treat. Sometimes I think “did it happen or was it my imagination?”.

When I started playing football, a few of the players in the team were Luton supporters and in those days Luton were in Division One (now the Premiership). We used to go to the evening games where there was always a great atmosphere as it was such a small ground.

I always thought of Luton as a northern town in the south, it had industry, it was in a valley and there were traditional terraced streets - a stereotype I know but it appealed to me. In the 1980s I decided to go and photograph the football ground's surroundings, with fans attending the games.

All images ©Keith Collman - All Rights Reserved