The Chairman of Dulwich Hamlet Football Club, Jack Payne, sat down to answer a few questions from us, recently.

Some fans might say Jack is a rare thing in a Football Club Boardroom...an old school gentleman who cares passionately about his Club & listens to the supporters. One thing for sure, he is certainly worthy of the 'tag' gentleman, for it's impossible to not be charmed by the silver haired chap at the helm of our Club, with his welcoming smile, & genial manner.

We took him aside to ask him a bit about himself, his past in football, & he ended up along Edgar Kail Way.

So how did a former Tooting & Mitcham United man end up as Chairman of Dulwich Hamlet?

"Well I could give two different answers to that really. I am a local boy you see, born & raised off of the Walworth Road, so Dulwich Hamlet were always my local side, when I was boy, and when I came out of the army, after I did my service. So in that sense I Was just 'returning home', so to speak.
But, yes, I was a Tooting man of course, first as their manager & then as chairman in the seventies and eighties. When I left there, when they were at Sandy Lane, I still went to watch football, I knew a lot of people in the game. Billy Smith, who played for me, was one.
And Dave Garland's family, through a very good friend of mine, whose grandsons were friends of his boys & they asked to come down and watch a game & just have a drink. I enjoyed it, & came back a few times, then got talking to John Hugh-Jones, who invited me into the boardroom, but I declined as I wasn't atired properly, as I didn't have tie on, but I did start coming down to Dulwich on a more regular basis.
At a later point I got a call from Ron McLean, who asked if I would like to get involved a bit more, to which I explained that I didn't feel I had enough spare time to commit, to do myself justice, as I like to do things properly. He persisted, and gently convinced me that even with the time I had, it would be a help. So we had a chat, and peusuaded me to get behind my local club, from my young days, and it just went from there."

You live out in Rainham, in Essex, nowadays.but you say you were a local boy originally. You mentioned the Walworth Road area, & going to the old ground. Can you elaborate a little?

"I was born around the Elephant & Castle, Oswin Street. Then we moved to Olney Road, though we were bombed out when living there, when I was a little kid. I went to the school in John Ruskin Street, & then onto Avenue Secondary, it was quite a hotbed for footballers! As for living in Rainham, well I'll always be a South London boy, no matter where I live. Most people from our area tend to move out to Kent or Surrey when they get older, but I moved in the other direction, up towards Essex. It's nearer to my son and the grandchildren, that's the only reason, family. It wouldn't be fair on my wife, to be so far away from then, when I'm out so often at football. My early memories of the old ground? Oh, it was such a long time ago now. We used come through the old back entrance, walking along Champion Hill. The huge wooden stand, we couldn't afford to go in there, & many for reserved for season ticket holders and members.You couldn't sneak in, there used to be a posh Commisionaire on the front door, and he seemed terrifying, when you were a nipper, let me tell you! He was always on the door for the players & officials. I was at the famous barefooted game when the Nigerians visited not long after the War, & that really caught the imagination. The newsreels were there, and the place seemed packed."

Did you ever play the game yourself?

"Never to a very good standard, I have to tell you, I'm a much better talker! I was always fortunate to have good players around me, I did enjoy Sunday football. I can't remember the names now, teams like Apples & Pears, in the Woolwich League. I was also involved in the print, by trade. I was always involved in the NATSOPA Shield, which involved the print unions. We later merged with SOGAT."

You were manager of the good Tooting side of the mid-Seventies. Hamlet fans of that era tend to remember your side as how do I put this, well...'dirty'! Grubb, Juneman, Smith and so on. Is that justified?

"Well I never looked upon that side as a dirty one...and that's the TRUTH! I never gave instructions like that. I just told them to compete for every 50/50 ball, even the 70/30% ones against our favour. That's what football is about. Competing. But I never told anyone to go over the top.
I am remembering though, we had a goalkeeper called Johnny Dunne, & he punched Charlie Pooley & got sent off.I think Trevor Ford went in goal. We always respected the opposition & you couldn't win games by just being dirty. Football was football, you enjoyed it, expected your team to give their all and encouraged them to show that on the pitch."

You were in their dugout when Jimmy Rose was in ours. How did you get on with him, and what were his sides like?

"Jimmy & I went back a long way, I also knew him from Sunday football, where he ran successful sides. Although we came up against each other we got on well, there was always that mutual respect. I also got on well with another good Dulwich manager, Alan Smith. There were no real arguments with them, despite being rivals.Jimmy had Ted Murphy, I think, alongside him, he had a good side, but I thought that Alan Smith's side was better. We wanted to win, but despite bing rival teams, there were no enemies among us, to be honest. We were always made welcome enough. I got on well with all the Dulwich managers I came up against. I always had time for a chat with Eddie Presland, it was a great period to be involved in local non-league football in those times."

What players from both Dulwich, & other Isthmian clubs do you recall?

"Well it was a long time ago now, I'm more interested in the good players we have on the Champion Hill pitch with Gavin, now!
I mentioned Charlie Pooley, there was also Kenny Baker, who was very good, for Dulwich.
You've got me thinking a bit now. Ossie Bayram was another great player, a winger who scored lots of goals. So skilful. Another for Tooting was Bobby Pittaway, a centre half without fear.
I do remember a remarkable player who I cam up against at Tooting, when we had our big Cup run. Alan Devonshire, who played for Southall, just after losing to Tooting, he joined West Ham.One of the best who played for me, was Bobby Green, who I signed when he was 17. He ended up at Dulwich late on in his career, I will never know how he was never a professional. Another superb player was Desmond Dennis, & in goal, I had Nicky Sullivan, who was a great keeper.
And it's not just about great players who stand out on the pitch, there are players who were good people to have in the team, decent people to have around, not the 'stand out' players, but the type you need in every side. so good, you don't always notice them. Just glance around the old photos in the boardroom on a matchday. Even though Dulwich struggled back then, we had some old names on there, who became managers in their own right, like me. Brian Wakefield, Peter Gaydon; Ted shepherd was another. And from the mid-eghties onwards, there's a lot who played both at Champion Hill & Sandy Lane. I mentioned Bobby Green. Who else? Erm, Andy McCollin. Andy Edwards. Alan Roughan, Peter Kingston, Neil Norman. Patsy Carolan. So many, if you study the photos.
It's not just the players I remember. There was Tommy Jover, a loyal Club man, who became Club President, & who we proudly named the main stand after, when he passed away, only a few years ago. He was a ture gentleman, who loved his Club, and used to serve in the old boardroom, under the stand and took time to chat about football, a lovely fellow. As was Pat Connett, he was another good host from those days. I really got on well with Dulwich officials in those days,but Tommy was the true legend, it's wonderful to have the stand named after him."

It seems a very open division this season, who do you think will be challenging for promotion, alonside us?

"Maidstone, of course. They have the set up, & the crowds. They are geared to moving on upwards, much more than anyone else. The others? I don't really know, it's still early days, even though we're a few months into the season. The one thing I do know is that, with a great young manager we've got in Gavin Rose, we well be up there, & going for it, too!"

You've said that you've always got on well with Dulwich, when you were at Tooting. But there is a bit of a rivalry, to say the least, on the terraces. For the fans it's NOT just another game. Do you realise that?

"I do now, I'm sure it was always there, but it's never filtered through to the two respective committees, I think. That's not to say I'm playing down what the supporters think. I realise how much it means to you all. One thing I do know, without our brilliant fans the Club are nothing!"

A strange question to finish really, but what does a Chairman do? Most fans won't really know your role.

(laughs..a waves hand)
"Move on to the next question! Seriously though, at the end of the day I am in charge of the Football Club, & it is my job to steer it in the right direction, both on & off the pitch. To get everyone pulling in the same direction with the same aim...which is to get us, at least, back into the Premier Division. You only have to look around the boardroom to see we have a glorious history, something we should all be very proud of and never forget, but I also want to move us on, & work with Gavin to make our own modern history, by getting promoted, at least. I try to make sure everything runs correctly and smoothly on the football side, & if it goes wrong, I have someone to blame, ha,ha! But being serious, again. Even with my past at another club, I am one hundred per cent, make that 150% Dulwich Hamlet! Every time I come into the boardroom I make a point of looking at the old picture of our Club founder, 'Pa' Wilson, on the wall. He is my inspiration. It's not my Club. I am just the current custodian of it, and want to simply continue the good work he started, back in 1893."