{"product_id":"hoolicards","title":"HOOLICARDS","description":"\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeptember 2025\u003cbr\u003eSecond Edition \u003cbr\u003eLinen hardcover with black foil-pressed details on all sides. \u003cbr\u003e148 pages, 95 images\u003cbr\u003eDimensions: 24 x 17 cm\u003cbr\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e978-90-833898-6-8\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe First Edition was published in March 2023 and can be recognized by its light green cover color.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis edition introduces 20 new cards, featuring firms not previously included.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHoolicards is an archive of football calling cards showcasing over 40 infamous UK hooligan firms from the 1980s and 1990s.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eThere are many myths about what we now call ‘casual culture’ one of the most often repeated is that by adopting items of bourgeois sports such as golf, tennis, skiing, and sailing – football hooligans were trying to ‘disguise’ themselves as ‘boys next door’ or even attempting to signal some admiration for the upwardly mobile professionals that inhabited these arenas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe first ‘calling cards’ carried by hooligan firms were a satirical response to the corporate names adopted by many crews. They weren’t simply ‘mindless yobs’ but ‘firms’ like solicitors or gangsters. The ‘firm’ had its own rituals and protocols, especially in London. The Inter-City Firm was an extension of the East End ‘firms’ of professional criminals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eThe business card also chimed with crews moving away from the traditional terrace ends and into the more gentrified seats. Usually, these were in the areas closest to rival fans, but in the days before all-seater stadia, paying more to sit away from the core support at the ‘end’ was a strange phenomenon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eOf course, there was nothing funny about being violently attacked by these firms and left bleeding on the ground with a card telling you that you’ve just been assaulted by the Stockport Stock Exchange Pension Fund (SSEPF).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eThis book is an insight into a relatively short-lived but interesting moment in hooligan history. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEssay ‘‘Youth\/Youth\/Youth’’ by \u003cstrong\u003eJamie Holman\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003eForewords by \u003cstrong\u003ePhil Thornton \u003c\/strong\u003e(Author of Casuals: Football, Fighting \u0026amp; Fashion: The Story of a Terrace Cult) \u0026amp; \u003cstrong\u003eTony Harrison\u003c\/strong\u003e(Former Leicester City F.C. ‘‘Baby Squad’’ hooligan)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47186029576538,"sku":"HC","price":65.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0779\/4484\/8730\/files\/Front_Ed_2_Resize.png?v=1780510433","url":"https:\/\/checkout.550bc.com\/products\/hoolicards","provider":"550BC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}