Charlie Hurley
One of life’s gentleman,
A giant of football, a legend at the clubs he played for such as Millwall, Sunderland and Bolton, and as a Manager for Reading between 1972-1977.
A genuinely nice man, who enjoyed a good relationship with the fans, a man of the people. Always happy to share a pint with the fans in Reading Supporters Bar after midweek reserves game. After the last game of the ’73, ’74 season at Chester, the result being 0-0, on the way home one of our coaches stopped off at The Bull in Towcester. Charlie, seeing our coach outside the pub, stopped the team coach and told the driver to continue back to Reading and he came into the pub and shared a drink with the fans and travelled home with us on our RFSC coach. In those days, the laws re alcohol were different to those of today.
When Maurice Evans became his assistant at Reading FC, it became the partnership of two real gentleman at the helm of the club.
He signed Robin Friday from Hayes, one of the most talked about players in Readings history, a phenomenal talent, never a dull moment when Robin was around. Charlie was also the first manager in over 50 years to get Reading promoted. Charlie was voted Sunderland’s player of the Century, whilst Robin was voted Readings player of the Millenium.
Whilst Charlie was Manager, Reading Football Supporters Club ran a competition to select a new nickname for the Reading Football Club. As, biscuits were no longer part of the town, it was felt that the biscuit men was no longer appropriate for the club, Charlie chose The Royals as its successor.
The modern face of football is quite different to the era in which Charlie Hurley played a huge part, but he is enshrined in the history of Reading Football Club and of his other clubs, but his memory as a decent, thoroughly nice man will always remain.
Colin Bishop