The book “Hy on Palace” that shows every aspect of Crystal Palace’s history from 1971 to the present day is now available. With 384 pages and over 1000 images, it is one of the biggest collection of photos ever dedicated to one club by one photographer and is certainly the first photographic book on a football club ever produced by a woman. Indeed, Hy, once the official photographer for Crystal Palace, is acknowledged as the UK’s first woman sports photographer and was affectionately known as “The Mammarazzi at the Palace”.
Hy - a housewife with four children – had never been to a football match. Then one day in 1971, armed with her camera, she took her three boys to watch Crystal Palace play at Selhurst Park. And so began her love affair with Crystal Palace. 34 years on, her passion for the club remains undiminished.
In 2004, she started cataloguing her enormous collection of over 10,000 Palace photographs. It was then that she began to realise what a unique and important record she has of the club’s history.
The book delves into every nook and cranny of Crystal Palace FC – this year celebrating its centenary - and includes off-field insights of the management, staff and fans as well as stunning shots of the players on and off the pitch. It shows a delightful and innocent side of football in an era before today’s huge sponsorship deals as well as the human side of a major football club, in a way never before documented. It’s the first time that such a collection of photos has been available to the public and nothing like it could ever be produced again due to today’s age of agents, stringent restrictions and lack of accessibility to clubs and players. “Hy was part of the Crystal Palace furniture. She was a pioneer of the male-dominated industry of football photography. The magical moments she caught will be instantly recognisable to Palace fans. With her warm charm and consideration, she gained access into areas that her competitors could only dream of,” says Mark Bright on the book’s cover.
A vast array of past and present celebrities are among those photographed by Hy at Selhurst Park and their never-before-seen photos are included in the book: Ian Wright, Ron Noades, David “Kid” Jensen, Brian Moore, Malcolm Allison, Terry Venables, Jimmy Hill, Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Nobby Stiles, Gordon Banks, Jackie Charlton, Martin Peters, Alan Ball, Bobby Charlton (the England World Cup winning team of 1966), King Olaf of Norway, Sir Alf Ramsey, Ian Smith (then Prime Minister of Rhodesia), Fiona Richmond, Iain Dowie, Diana Dors, Neil Kinnock, Linda Lusardi, Roger de Coursey and Nookie Bear, John Redwood, John Prescott, Garth Crooks, John Peel, Micky Most, Jim Davidson, George Best, David Hamilton, Des Lynam and Steve Coppell.
“I dedicate this book to Palace fans worldwide but I truly believe that it will be appreciated it by all followers of the “Beautiful Game”, says a proud Hy Money.
“Hy on Palace” (ISBN:0 85667 617 9) was published by Crystal Palace fans’ Centenary Publishing (CPfCP) and is available in softback. The book is of the highest quality art paper and the photographs are printed in duo tone with 2 colour sections. The captions were written by Don Madgwick, Project Manager of CPfCP. and the book was edited and designed by Norman Turpin. It is priced at £19.90.
Please note – the book is NOT available from Crystal Palace FC but can be purchased via:
Don Madgwick
CPfCP
PO Box 2005
London
SE25 5EN
E-mail: cpfcp@hotmail.com
Attached: Photo of Hy Money holding a copy of “Hy on Palace”.
Notes for the editor
Hy Money (more info at www.hymoney.co.uk) is available for interview and can be contacted via John Wood on 0777 152 0001 or john@uptone.co.uk
Eminent woman sports photographer, Hy Money, launches her first book, “Hy on Palace”