100 years ago

At a meeting of the West Riding county executive, held at Leeds, the chairman said he would like to test the feeling of the executive with regard to the growing practice of allowing “mascots” to appear at football matches.

He thought such proceedings were anything but dignified, and that steps should be immediately taken to put a stop to such ridiculous displays, at any rate on their own grounds. Another delegate said that the mascots were “absolutely idiotic”.

After further discussion the following resolution was proposed: “That this executive expresses its condemnation of the ‘mascots’ which are allowed on the football grounds, and forbid any clubs under its jurisdiction permitting the same at any of their matches, and they also recommend that the Football Association itself should take similar action to deal with the matter.”

50 years ago

The plan to make Elvington aerodrome, near York, into an international civil airport was taken a stage further in York, when the recently formed Yorkshire Airport Development Association met at the Royal Station Hotel.

During the meeting it was stated the airport should not cause any noise nuisance to York.

The association’s aims were outlined at the private meeting by the chairman who said Elvington was visualised as an international airport, catering for transatlantic aircraft, as well as being a “stopping off” place for the Continent.

The meeting heard that Elvington was capable of handling any modern aircraft, because of its 10,000ft runway (the longest in Britain, outside London Airport).

It could easily cater for the giant Boeing 707. As the runway was well south of York, there should be no trouble from aircraft noise. The area which the airport could serve contained every type of industry.

25 years ago

Esther Rantzen hopped to it with Viking leg wrestlers Ashley Bennett and Doug Dunsmore-Dawson.

Crowds gathered in the Coppergate Centre, York, as a That’s Life film crew recorded locals trying the ancient sport. Shop assistants Frances Verhoef and Sue Linfoot tried their hand, and decided leg wrestling was “brilliant”.

Champion leg wrestler proved to be Ashley, a student at the College of Ripon and York St John. He had already appeared on TV demonstrating the sport, in which the contestants rolled around on a mat, legs entwined.

The BBC’s consumer affairs programme was invited up to York by the Jorvik Viking Centre. “Leg wrestling is an ancient Viking pastime which we revived in the 1987 Viking Festival,” said the centre’s Juliana Delaney.