History Revisited series

Discover the origins of sport and the development of professional football in Bradford from the nineteenth century to the present day.

Thoroughly researched as an antidote to simplistic narratives and myths as well as richly illustrated. History revisited, free of political bias and preconceived interpretations.

bantamspast publishes the History Revisited series of books about the origins of sport and the history of professional football in Bradford.

Whilst researching his book A HISTORY OF BCAFC IN OBJECTS during 2012-14, author John Dewhirst realised that a lot of what had previously been written or said about the history of Bradford City AFC and its predecessor, Manningham FC was either grossly simplistic, misleading or just incorrect. The legend of Park Avenue and the story of the original Bradford Football Club was equally distorted. This prompted the objective to publish a series of books to debunk the myths and superficial narratives that have been told about the origins and history of sport and professional football in Bradford.

The intention is to publish a collection of complementary books to provide a definitive history of Bradford soccer from the beginnings until the present day. Where possible the books will incorporate a wealth of illustrative content to allow long forgotten artefacts to be featured. The series is self-published. Financial budgets are set on the basis of achieving break-even rather than profit which means that wherever possible content does not have to be sacrificed to satisfy a publisher’s targets. In so doing we have the freedom to publish what we want rather than comply with inflexible formats. However we are committed to producing books of high quality, in particular with hard cover subscriber editions. A further principle is that each of our books has been produced and printed wholly in Bradford by a local printer, in this case the long-established firm Hart & Clough based in Cleckheaton. Accordingly we are proud to demonstrate a commitment to the local economy rather than seek cheap options offshore.

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The series goes back to the origins of sport in Bradford upto the present day and when completed will provide a comprehensive and definitive history. Through detailed re-assessment of the historic record our books explain why and how events unfolded as they did and demonstrate how the history remains relevant today. The series delivers fresh and original perspectives about the history of Bradford sport.

  • vol 1: A History of Bradford City AFC in Objects by John Dewhirst (bantamspast 2014)
  • vol 2: Reinventing Bradford City: The Extraordinary Story of Bradford City’s Modern History, 1985-2016 by Jason McKeown (bantamspast 2016)
  • vol 3: Room at the Top – The Origins of Professional Football in Bradford and the Rivalry of Bradford FC and Manningham FC by John Dewhirst (bantamspast 2016)
  • vol 4: Life at the Top – The Rivalry of Manningham FC and Bradford FC and their Conversion from Rugby to Soccer by John Dewhirst (bantamspast 2016)
  • Vol 5: Who We Are: Exploring the DNA of Bradford City AFC by Jason McKeown (bantamspast 2018)
  • Vol 6: Late to the Game: The origins of association football in Bradford and the story of its pioneering clubs by Rob Grillo (bantamspast 2019)
  • Vol 7: Wool City Rivals: A History in Colour by George Chilvers & John Dewhirst (bantamspast 2020)

At least three further volumes are planned. 

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Buy direct from us using our ONLINE STORE or send a cheque for £20 (vols 1-6) / £33.50 (vol 7 only) payable to BANTAMSPAST by snail mail to the following address: BANTAMSPAST, PO Box 307, SHIPLEY BD18 9BT

(We sell books post free to UK addresses – please enquire for confirmation of postage costs abroad.)

Volumes 1-6 can also be purchased from the following sources:

  • Waterstones Wool Exchange in the centre of Bradford
  • Salts Mill bookshop, Saltaire
  • The Grove Bookshop, Ilkley
  • by mail order from Bantams Banter and ebay. (We no longer deal through Amazon although you can find reviews of our books on that site.) Books are despatched in Amazon style packaging to avoid damage to the cover so it’s a safe option.

There are limited stocks of all volumes and if you have difficulty finding a copy get in touch. A limited number of hard back editions is also available, contact for details.

On this site you can find out more about our books, updates on new publications and the opportunity to order subscriber editions. You can also register to join our mailing list.

This is a not for profit project and any surplus funds will ultimately be donated to the Bradford Burns unit.

tweets: @bantamspast

authors: @jpdewhirst @Jason_Mckeown @RobGrillo  @Garswoodlatic

em: books [at] this domain [NB You can alternatively use the form on the CONTACT page accessible from the menu above.]