Ex-Millwall hooligan recollects how he was simply seconds from loss of life in axe assault
A former football hooligan dubbed ‘Ginger Bob’, who had his first ‘tear up’ aged just 13, shared a chilling tale of how nearly an axe ended up in his skull during a violent clash.
Bob, a notorious member of the Millwall Bushwackers since he was just 11 years old, spilled the beans about the terrifying near-miss on James English’s ‘Anything Goes’ podcast, recounting a nasty scrape with Nottingham Forest supporters back in ‘1973.
Describing the bone-chilling moment, Bob said: “We played a match with Nottingham Forest, we took about 100 firm up there. We played them in the League Cup. A little kid came up and said ‘Bob, Bob they’re here.’
“There was 40 Romany Gypsy guys from Newark, Forest boys, all in their 30s and 40s and they all had weapons. So we’ve gone down there 25-handed and we’ve gone straight into them.
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“This guy went to put an axe in my head. One of my friends, Italian Tony, blocked the guys arm,” reports the Mirror.
The ex-thug also reminisced about his first genuine scrap which happened when he was a mere lad of 13, travelling to watch a game against Leyton Orient with his dad before the journey was interrupted by West Ham’s Mile End mob armed to the teeth.
Bob recalled the ominous encounter: “West Ham’s Mile End firm was at Wapping. They broke into the station, they got all these iron bars.
“We was all packed on the train. Once we got out and we got on the platform with them it was like a massive fight and we got the better off them. It’s like a disease, the adrenaline rush. It’s very very hard to get out of.
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“Millwall, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham is like the five families in New York, the Mafia. With Millwall, it was so secretive. Because of my near death experience I’ve got to get the stories out. We’re very tight.”
The former football hooligan spilled the beans on why no one in Millwall’s notorious firm would dare leg it during a rumble – it’s all down to pure dread.
Running away meant being “completely ostracised” from the gang, as put by Bob.
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He divulged further: “We had more heavy guys than the other firms. We seemed to be outnumbered most of the time. If anyone ran, they would be completely ostracised from the firm. Even if you’re going to get killed, you have to stand and fight.
“If you run, you’re not just told, you’ll be physically dealt with. It’s like being in the Mafia and being a grass.”
