This piece pays homage to the former home of Middlesbrough Football Club. It features the stadium guide that use to appear on the back of our ticket stubs during the very early 90′s, plus the Ayresome Park gates which have particular significance given the troubled times we experienced in 1986.

I originally had the railings drawn as single lines and a list of player’s names to the left, but a friend of mine Graeme Bandeira (a talented illustrator in his own right) suggested i try to come up with a way of working the names into the railings themselves.

After a number of attempts I finally achieved the kind of look I was hoping for. If viewed from distance the individual struts of the gate should just look like a solid line. However, if viewed up close the names of players and managers who graced the stadium between 1903 – 1995 (the clubs tenure at the ground) are revealed.

This illustration is currently on display at The National Football Museum were it is being used to commemorate the work of acclaimed engineer and architect Archibald Leitch – who was responsible for Ayresome Park plus many other 20th Century football grounds.

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Tags: Ayresome Park, Boro