Paul ‘The Beaver’ Trevillion –A Story of Sock Tags and Self Belief, As told to Neil Jeffries, published by Scratching Shed Publishing Ltd, Price: £16.99
PAUL Trevillion has been described as the Pele of sports artists and he has pretty much done it all in an incredible career spanning 70 years.
He’s drawn some of sport’s biggest names, including the likes of Pele, Jack Nicklaus and Michael Jordan, as well as British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
But it was also his extrovert character and huge self-belief that enabled him to branch out into other areas to create and innovate.
So when Don Revie’s successful but unloved Leeds United wanted to get away from their ‘dirty Leeds’ tag in the early 1970s, who better than Trevillion to come up with the ideas? It wasn’t easy to persuade Revie or his players to get on board, but eventually they did and Leeds’ popularity soared.
There were pre-match warm-ups on the pitch for the first time, players’ names on the back of their tracksuits, sock tags signed by the players to be handed out to fans after games, target balls and even a hit single that became an anthem, Marching On Together.
It all culminated with Leeds winning the FA Cup in 1972, as the link-up ended soon after. It’s a big part of the new book, but it also covers Trevillion’s fascinating life.
With entertaining stories and anecdotes throughout and, not surprisingly, wonderful artwork from Trevillion’s vast portfolio, this book is a treasure trove. It will particularly appeal to Leeds fans, but it’s a fun read for any sports fan.
As for that Beaver nickname, the man himself, who turns 88 on March 11, explains: “Don Revie first called me Beaver when he realised my football artwork was appearing in just about every national newspaper in the UK, and in football magazines such as Shoot!
“The word got around, especially at Elland Road.
“… People used to think there were at least two, maybe three Trevillions! So the name stuck.
“The Leeds players didn’t call me or even know me by any other name. That’s why there is a beaver on the sock tags.”
Rating out of 10: 9
